This just popped up on my laptop — all by itself. And seriously annoying.
In other words, some of your favorite software — stuff you use every single day of your life — may no longer work if you upgrade to Windows 11.
In fact, your computer or laptop may no longer work. You may have to throw it out and buy a new, more powerful, pricier machine! (Assuming you can get one in today’s tight supply world.)
Remember our cardinal rule: If it works, don’t mess with it.
Right now my Windows 10 and the many software applications that I have running on it work just fine. They facilitate my putting out this blog — which involves, conservatively, at least 15 pieces of software all working together and virtually all of which come from different companies and which I’ve paid for. I just counted the 15.
Not one of these software providers have emailed me to tell me their software will work with Windows 11.
Not one.
Yet Microsoft wants to take over and change the most important tool in my life — my laptop.
I’ve been running businesses and writing on desktops and laptops for over 50 years. I started long, long before Microsoft even had its first operating system — which was MS-DOS. Then later Windows 95. Windows kept changing as Microsoft “upgraded” it. The hard-learned rule around our company was “Never touch every second Windows “upgrade.” It would prove buggy. It never disappointed us.
We pulled our hair out regularly with Windows “upgrades.”. Not once on that journey did Microsoft itself provide any help on the “upgrading.” In fact, many of their own products stopped working — they were no longer “supported” on the new Windows.
The new replacements often lacked the features we’d grown to rely on (and love).
Even under Windows 10, I am lacking some of my most favorite features that worked under earlier versions of Windows, like Windows 7.
When Windows 10 debuted, it came with a user interface that I — and thousands of us — found confusing and not useful. A nice fellow (not associated with Microsoft) wrote something called Windows Classic Shell, which I use every day. For your own free copy, click here.
The problem is they stopped “active development” of Classic Shell in December 2017. Though it works on Windows 10, I have no idea if it will work on Windows 11. My guess would be NO.
I’ve read some of the “testdrives” of Windows 11 in the computer industry press. None of them have promulgated a persuasive reason to get it.
In fact, it gets worse. Back in July, the New York Times summed it up:
The Ugly
These are still early days, since Windows 11 is officially due for release in the holiday season and much about the software is subject to change. But one issue that is unlikely to change is that for security reasons, personal computers must, at a minimum, include fairly recent chips from Intel and AMD to install Windows 11.
That means millions of computers running Windows 10 on older hardware, including some that are a few years old, will not be able to run Windows 11. So at some point, those users will have to buy new computers to gain the stronger security benefits and new features in the operating system.
In other words, unlike past updates that have been free, Windows 11 may mean you have to pay for a truck to move into a house that feels quite familiar, with some new window dressing.
Personally, I’m sticking with Windows 10 until the last possible moment when they drag me kicking and screaming into Windows 11. Or a Windows 12 that gets rid of the bugs in Windows 11. Just like Windows 10 got rid of the bugs in Windows 8.
As a comment on all this, I still have one laptop running a perfectly fine version of Windows XP. It’s running useful software that I need occasionally — and which won’t run under Windows 10.
Microsoft introduced Windows XP in 2001 — twenty glorious years ago. It still works on my old laptop.
I repeat: If it works, don’t mess with it.
This little video reminds me of what we’ll all go through before Microsoft gets the bugs out of Windows 11. Figure two years.
If you don’t see the picture, click o the link.
If you missed Friday’s blog, which was headlined:
Is Meta Really Betta? Watch out for Delta. It’s not betta. It’s worse. The logic of hanging in, despite the fluctuations.
For that blog. Click here.
Semi-horrid earnings reports last week
I wish I had bought Apple’s dip latest last week. (I was playing tennis.) Ditto for Amazon and others, like Twilio.
Maybe I’ll get another chance early Monday morning.
Look at Apple for the last five days. Buy the dips of your best companies.
That’s it for now. I should find something more interesting to do on Saturday night. than bitch at Microsoft. I do like Microsoft stock, however. That’s because of their super cloud stuff. Not their Windows stuff. — Harry Newton
