Microsoft relaxes Windows 11 hardware requirements

[Redaktion]

For a while, it looked like the end of the line for many older PCs: The hardware requirements of Microsoft Windows 11 were going to leave many older systems behind. Now, Microsoft has made it clear that older PCs will be able run Windows 11 - with the caveat that the users have to upgrade them manually.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Microsoft-relaxes-Windows-11-hardware-requirements.557095.0.html

[Pooh Sheisty]

Windows 7 forever. Once Linux becomes appealing enough maybe ill settle on a distro. Never getting the Windows 10+ botnets. If I cannot be assured of the privacy of my device then it's worse than useless

[kek]

Good to see the old Microsoft doing the correct decision and not promoting the generation of more e-waste.

[Dan Ridenhour]

Whenever Linux becomes appealing enough...  I love this one... I think I stopped waiting for that after the first decade or so. 

[Eric]

I switched to Linix after the news of Windows 11 came out--it was a last straw--and am very happy with it. Debian 11 with KDE. The command line takes a lot of learning, but it's very satisfying. It's not for everyone, like grandmothers and children, but it does everything I want. I'm not sure what the complaints are all about. I think the FOSS ecosystem is an amazing phenomenon, my privacy is respected, and I get only what I want (nothing forced on me).

[Erik]

Good to see the old Microsoft doing the correct decision and not promoting the generation of more e-waste.

I disagree, enthusiasts are a very small subset of Windows users, the average user doesn't even know how to install an OS and mobile phone makers have already convinced people that they need to upgrade every other year at the latest, it won't take much to convince people that a 2016-2017 PC is "old" and needs to be replaced.
This is just a move to placate enthusiasts who were concerned with the strict upgrade requirements, if they were serious about e-waste they would relax the Windows Update's upgrade requirements.

[Sportbike Mike]

Glad to see this.  My first Gen Surface Go works much better on W11 than on 10.  I'd hate to go back.  Kind of indifferent on my other computers though.

[anon63828]

I like the visual refresh but care less for the start menu changes. I dunno why MS always gets so radical with it, leaves out options to customise it then acts all surprised when it doesn't go down well.

Current W10 menu is fine. Unpin tiles, collapse it to a single column - bam, good to go. Now it's all oriented around tasks which I won't use. Lemme choose!

As for the widgets... they didn't stick last time so I won't hold my breath.

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the MBEC  CPU  requirements probably have something to do with OEMs writing fat cheques for Microsoft so people buy new computers. Antitrust and Microsoft in the same sentence aren't exactly rare.