Microsoft Corp's plan to end support for the Windows 10 operating system could result in about 240 million personal computers (PCs) being disposed of, potentially adding to landfill waste, Canalys Research said. The electronic waste from these PCs could weigh an estimated 480 million kg, equivalent ...
I really doubt an average Joe would buy a new computer once the old OS goes end-of-life. Joe would just continue using an EOL system and hope everything is alright.
Software updates will stop and render the possibility of an unsafe system more and more over time. Since there are no updates, if a backdoor is found it won't be patched.
Besides that you'll probably be able to use it for a few more years as long as your apps still work
Having worked in tech fields, legacy devices as old as 20 years can pop up occasionally, functioning or not. Once was told a story where this tech was hired to fix a highschool bell system and the whole thing was running on windows 98. This took place in 2015 or so
I work in a field that is considered by many high tech. I have personally seen a system in use today that duel boots windows 2000 and windows 98.
The product it's used by is old generations and the system does not have any network access but still must be supported by government regulation for several more years....
The company I work for has no control over the air conditioning in one of our facilities because it's automated and running on a computer system from the 80's. No one knows how it works.
I still do monthly service checks to industrial computers that use win3.11, 2000 and unix from early 90's. When machines that costs even up to million to replace require legacy os, you scrounge up older hardware to run them as long as you can.
I have a perfectly functioning PC (that will very likely be still perfectly usable by 2025) that cannot be upgraded to Win 11 because MS has for some strange reason put quite harsh but completely artificial hardware requirements on W11 that only CPUs manufactured in the last 3-4 years meet. And before you say "You can switch to Linux", no I can't. Not with the software I use for work. And then there's gaming of course...
(Now, I bought a new PC recently, so I'm fine for the foreseeable future but not everyone can either afford it or simply feels the need to upgrade their computer)
All the limitations can be bypassed easily, if you use Rufus (the program) and a windows 11 iso to make the usb installer it asks to disable telemetry and tpm requirements when you make the usb.
Source: running windows 11 on my old overclocked intel x5690 since the betas came out
there is virtualization so you can run windows on it and work with those pesky proprietary softwares, but yeah performance will never be better than running things directly (except games with shitty directx implementation that run better with dxvk, ie sekiro, elden ring), albeit it can get really close. If you're into tinkering, this will not be a problem.
on that topic, I was considering giving cassowary a try since my partner uses some windows only software too, looked promising.
There's lots of OSs out there. Plenty will just keep using win 10, others will move to various flavors of linux, and others still will continue to stick with win 7/XP as they always have. (yes, I know people still actively using XP)
Windows 10 no longer receiving updates doesn't make those computer's cease to function. Hell some even consider the lack of updates a great new feature.
Many will, but most people will not. The average user barely knows Linux even exists as an option, let alone wants to learn something new.
It's all moot for now. Microsoft will end up extending out security updates for 10. They'll just wait until the deadline is closer before they announce it.
Consumers will just keep going. But businesses that actually care about security? Yeah it might be a lot. I wonder if they will just toss them or if they'll actually donate them.
Many companies I work with either sell their old workstations for pittance to their employees after we have nuked the drives or donate them to projects that provide laptops to students or refugees who can't afford them.
But many companies lease their hardware nowadays, so those end up to landfill or to companies that refurb them and sell them for profit.