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Don’t Forget The Forgotten Tech User
Windows 10’s end-of-life points to the sheer neglect that computer users face when their world isn’t completely defined by technology.
There’s an infamous local news report, dating to the early ’90s, of a mom who just found out about the Super NES, a console that was to a degree controversial with parents because it was yet another expensive console to buy. Maybe it was better in nearly every way compared to the NES it replaced, but that was still a $200 investment that some parents weren’t excited to make.
The mom spoke for a certain population segment that often gets neglected in society: The person who thinks that what we have is already good enough, who isn’t convinced by things like whiz-bang graphics or cool accessories.
“I’m going to say no, and I’m going to explain to him how people market things to make you spend more money,” she said at the time.
For years, I (and most gamers) considered this video to be the ultimate example of a mom not getting the way technology works, but here’s the thing: She’s not wrong. A lot of people, however, just don’t want to hear it, because they’re not the target audience for this particular comment.
Fact is, there are a lot of people like this out there, who don’t necessarily want to be forced to buy the latest and greatest thing just because there’s a new thing out there.
A common example I point to is my wife, Cat, who has purchased just two smartphones since 2013—an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 12 Mini. She only upgraded the 5 because of issues with slowdown, aging hardware, and rumors that her phone would eventually stop working on T-Mobile’s network. She has gotten a lot more love out of the camera, but still frequently talks about getting rid of her phone when the current one craps out.
These are the kinds of users that are getting most screwed in the about five months, when Windows 10 finally loses its support for good.
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Why the death of Windows 10 is going to hurt
For those not familiar, Windows 10 is the last version of the operating system to support 32-bit processors, and has existed since 2015. It is also one of the most popular operating systems of all time.
For much of its history, there seemed to be a lingering belief that it might just be the last version of Windows. After all, it worked fine, it supported a wide array of hardware, and it had found a comfortable place in the market, supporting chips that were innovating relatively slowly.
But then, in 2021, Windows 11 appeared, and came with a surprisingly specific restriction: Effectively, it only supported machines made after 2017 or so, many of which had a specific security chip, called TPM 2.0. These security chips enable a handful of important features in Windows, including its Bitlocker encryption technology and its Windows Hello technology, but it didn’t necessarily feel like the kind of game-changing technology requirement that would facilitate such a dramatic jump in system requirements.
At first, Microsoft demurred, even at one point sharing a workaround that allowed Windows 11 to install on older hardware—and proving that the TPM chip requirement was more arbitrary than it implied. But as time has gone on, Microsoft’s insistence that its users upgrade their machines has proven surprisingly inflexible. And now, as we near the Windows 10 support deadline for most users, a lot of people are going to be left out in the cold.
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Microsoft has claimed that maintaining the TPM 2.0 baseline is essential, with one employee stating this in a December blog post:
By instituting TPM 2.0 as a non-negotiable standard for the future of Windows, we elevate the security benchmark. It allows you and us to better align with the growing need for formidable data protection in the modern digital sphere.
However, many users aren’t so convinced—and based on the fact that Windows 10 still represents more than half of all Windows users as of this month, according to StatCounter, there are a lot of them.
Some of those people are technical die-hards who don’t like the look and feel of Windows 11, sure. But the vast majority are going to be folks who just want to turn on a laptop and not have to think about it, ever. Microsoft seems to be requiring these people to think about their laptop for the first time in years.
It feels like Microsoft is making this bet: Annoy these users enough, and they might just upgrade, which nets both them and their OEMs more money.
10
The number of years that Chromebooks receive automatic updates, after a successful advocacy campaign launched by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a consumer-advocacy organization. The campaign helped lengthen the life of older devices that would sometimes be sold to consumers as new despite Google already treating them as out of service.
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Is Linux Enough of An On-Ramp?
Recently, the United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) put up a fascinating website called the Electronic Waste Graveyard, which features literally dozens of examples of technologies that have seen early deaths because of a lack of software support. (I might write a little more about it later in the week.) Many of these devices are along the lines of toothbrushes, smart fitness devices, and devices built by hardware startups that either got prematurely acquired or ran out of money. In other words, they are devices that have narrow uses that have been directly kneecapped by their manufacturers.
But at the bottom of the long list of devices is a placeholder for basically every device that Windows is going to murder by choosing to drop security updates later this year. In one sense, this is deeply problematic just because of the high amounts of unnecessary electronic waste this creates. But in another, it is also not the full story. Enthusiast communities and developers alike have spent years essentially building alternatives to the Windows experience that cover most common use cases.
Linux works great—and some distros, like Linux Mint, are honestly primed for the new audience. While its support is not up to the level of Windows, we have gotten to the point where it often just works on older pieces of hardware, especially of the kind we’re talking about here.
The interesting thing is, though, that when I asked about the solid capabilities of open-source software, U.S. PIRG’s Lucas Gutterman, who heads the org’s “Designed to Last” campaign, suggested this wasn’t a good solution.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable for consumers to think that the product they buy should keep working, and not have to be thrown out just because the software has expired, or the server support has ended,” Gutterman said during a recent media Q&A.
He added that putting the onus onto users by forcing them to change their software likely puts them in an inconvenient position. “We need manufacturers to sell a product that lasts,” he says.
And honestly, I get it. That mom in the video talking about the Super NES has a distinct advantage from the mom of today, getting by with a 2015 laptop: Her NES is all but guaranteed to keep working, even if it isn’t as good as something new.
That mom was right all along.
Non-Technical Links
It’s a tough market out there. Looking for a gig of some kind? Jason Kottke is running a makeshift job board on his site. In an age where AI has taken over the job market, more of this human-to-human stuff. Please.
For some reason, I have really come to appreciate SNL this season. I enjoyed this specific take on the recent SNL50, a 360 view of the “Scared Straight” sketch with Eddie Murphy, Jason Sudeikis, and an array of current cast members. The thing that stands out about it, though, is the audience. Especially stone-cold Nate Bargatze.
Sad to hear about the demise of Mythic Quest, one of the better shows on Apple TV+. I’m intrigued by the decision to update the already completed season finale to turn it into a proper finale, however. That feels unprecedented.
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