Do Not "Upgrade" To Windows 11

I will update this article when I have new info.

Read this forum post and you'll see what I mean.

Since 1985, Microsoft has been developing an operating system named Microsoft Windows for business and personal use, then sold as an operating environment for MS-DOS (the AARD code prevented installing Windows in competing DOS systems).

In 1995, Windows was then sold as a complete operating system and two years earler saw the debut of Windows NT which in 2001 were merged together to form Windows XP.

In 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10 and was said to be the final version of Windows - until in 2021 a Chinese group leaked a Windows 11 build. The build was later confirmed when Microsoft released a demo video of Windows 11.

Microsoft announced that Windows 10 support will end on October 14^th, 2025.

Why Not To Upgrade

System Requirements

Windows 11 has modified its system requirements to meet only those of only modern PCs and Microsoft claims that it can run on "any device." To run Windows 11 you would need:

• A 1 GHz 64-bit processor. (I would recomend 3 GHz)
• "4 GB of RAM or greater" even though modern Windows actually needs 8 GB to run smoothly.
• 64 GB of storage to install (A typical Linux Mint installation takes only 4 GB).
• A DirectX 12 compatible graphics adapter.
• UEFI-only boot.
• Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 (the main cause of incompatibility with older PCs, yikes!)
• A 720p display or 9" monitor, 8-bits per color channel. Keep in mind that many airport terminal screens and ATMs have a resolution of 800x600.
• An Internet connection. Everything you would use must be connected to the Internet. Some people don't even have an Internet connection. Home Edition requires a Microsoft account to complete the installation. In the US, you'd need to pay a bill based on how much data you consume.
• A webcam. By 2023, all laptops must have a webcam built-in to run Windows 11. If you want to stay private, than this is not the OS you'd go with. Read more about it here.

Keep in mind Windows 11 can't even run on virtual machine software like VirtualBox and very old PCs that your grandma needs because of its "system requirements" shenenigans. The average person can't afford a new PC like this.

Windows 11 cannot run on processors older than eigth-generation Intel Core processors (money-hungry Micro$oft).

Compare that to Windows 10's system requirements:

• The processor can either be 32-bit or 64-bit.
• 1 GB (x86), 2 GB (x86-64) - same thing above.
• 16 GB hard disk space for 32-bit and 20 GB for 64-bit.
• DirectX 9 or later.
• 800x600 display resolution.

User Interface

The user interface of Windows 11 has changed drastically - Taskbar icons are now positioned to the center rather than the left and this option cannot be changed, but in the leaked build it was. The userbase hated this change because they got used to having the icons on the left; in fact, it has stayed like that since Windows 95!

It is also said by Linux fanboys that the Windows 11 UI and slogan were copied from the KDE Plasma Desktop. On the Windows Insider page, the slogan reads "Simple by default, powerful by choice" - while the KDE Plasma Desktop slogan reads "Simple by default, powerful when needed."

Sluggishness

I believe that Windows 11 will run much slower on new PCs because Microsoft adds bloat which cramps up the CPU load and disk space. Linux Mint uses below 1 GB RAM on first boot.

Alternatives

I would recommend alternative operating systems to Windows 11 after Windows 10 support ends in 2025. Linux fanboys claim that the Windows codebase is "bloated" i. e. filled with parts that nobody needs.

Linux Mint - perfect for first-time Linux users who migrated from Windows.
Ubuntu - the most popular Linux distribution.
Manjaro - a cool-looking OS that looks a lot like Windows.

Linux has been proven to boot up faster and to allow programs to use more system resources. Chrome tabs don't consume much RAM on Linux. Games like Minecraft and Left 4 Dead 2 run much faster on Linux and so much more. Linux runs on servers that run 24/7, like Google's and NASA's.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would not recommend anybody to "upgrade" to Windows 11 - it will be slow, bloated with stuff you don't need, and has a completely new interface that makes it hard for you to get used to it.