In the face of Microsoft’s impending decision to end Windows 10 support, the Linux developer community represented by KDE recently launched a “rebellious” propaganda campaign: “Are you still using Windows 10? By October 14, 2025, Microsoft will turn it into scrap metal.” As the retirement date of Windows 10 approaches, the controversy over whether users should upgrade to Windows 11 or switch to the Linux camp has intensified. And KDE’s high-profile voice has further ignited the discussion in the technical community: they not only use “technical blackmail” to describe Microsoft’s strategy, but also pull values such as environmental protection, sustainability, and user freedom into the “war against Microsoft”. Image (Image from “KDE for Windows 10 Exiles” page) Image KDE: Windows 10 retirement, Microsoft’s “technical blackmail” Last month, a campaign called “End of 10” quietly went live (https://endof10.org/), calling on users around the world to turn to Linux before Windows 10 is retired. The project is composed of a group of enthusiastic Linux developers and users who believe that Microsoft is forcing “previously usable computers” into the obsolescence process. So the core proposition of the project is: “Hardware should not be abandoned because the system stops.” To this end, “End of 10” wrote on the promotional page: “Microsoft wants you to buy a new computer, but what if you could make the current system faster and more secure again?” Picture They emphasize that there is no need to throw away the computer purchased after 2010, “just install the latest Linux operating system and you can continue to use it for many years”. Not only that, but the “End of 10” page also provides a general system migration guide to help small white users complete the “move” from Windows to Linux. Compared with the gentle style of “End of 10”, Linux famous desktop environment KDE’s latest launch of “KDE for Windows 10 Exiles” activity is much more radical, and it can even be said to be a “heavy attack”. On the event page of KDE’s official website, the picture bluntly reads: “Are you still using Windows 10? By October 14, 2025, Microsoft will turn it into scrap metal. On the surface, your computer may still be able to run for a while, and once Microsoft officially stops supporting it, it will be officially considered obsolete.” They further point out that even if the system is still ostensibly usable at that time, the end of support means that Windows 10 will no longer receive security patches, which means that the system will become “insecure” and users will be at risk of being hacked. At the same time, many software vendors may also stop supporting Windows 10, and users’ familiar applications will not function properly. KDE believes that this series of changes has forced users to choose only two options: (1) buy a new computer that meets the requirements of Windows 11 and upgrade the system; (2) choose to leave the Microsoft ecosystem and use a free, open-source Linux system. ” Microsoft won’t allow you to upgrade to Windows 11 for free unless you buy a new computer they approve of, “KDE wrote on the page.” You will be forced to pay your hard-earned money, and the old computer that used to work well will only be thrown into the landfill, polluting the soil and water. “KDE even directly called Microsoft’s practice a kind of” tech extortion “- by stopping support and restricting upgrades to force users to buy hardware and software:” Even if you grudgingly accept this technical extortion now, they will do it again in a few years, just like in the past. “In one sentence summary: KDE has no mercy on Microsoft’s” fire “. Can image users easily switch to Linux? It may not be so simple. As expected, the “KDE for Windows 10 Exiles” campaign launched by KDE has attracted a lot of retweets on social platforms. Some users bluntly said that “Microsoft is getting more and more skilled at cutting leeks”, while others asked: “Can Linux really solve these problems?”, “Can we easily switch to Linux?” – Admittedly, while the Linux camp’s propaganda is huge, the actual process of “ditching Windows for Linux” is far less easy than advertised. First, for skilled users, installing Linux system may be a piece of cake; but for the general public, even choosing a suitable Linux distribution can be a troublesome starting point. In particular, some proprietary software (such as Adobe series, AutoCAD, and some online banking client sides) do not have native Linux versions at all; and gamers will find it difficult to run a large number of Windows games on Linux. Moreover, even if some popular software can run through compatibility layers such as Wine or Flatpak, the overall user experience and performance are not comparable to the native Windows environment. What’s more, Linux hardware support is still not fully covered, and some printers, scanners, Wi-Fi network interface cards and other devices may have problems such as missing drivers and complicated configurations under Linux. Therefore, in other words, for ordinary users who are used to the Windows ecosystem, switching to Linux is not just as simple as “changing the system”, but a major operation that requires technical preparation, mental adjustment, and tool replacement, and it is difficult to achieve “seamless switching”. Picture KDE takes advantage of the situation, but excessive rhetoric may be counterproductive. In addition to questioning the ease of switching to Linux, many netizens are still debating whether KDE’s rhetoric is too radical. In terms of publicity strategy, it is understandable that KDE has taken the opportunity to attract users who are dissatisfied with the Windows 11 upgrade policy, but the use of strong words and panic may be offensive. After all, Linux and its open-source ecosystem have many advantages, such as freedom, customizability, security, lightweight… These are the most impressive reasons. According to StatCounter data, as of now, Linux still has less than 4% of the desktop operating system market share, while Windows accounts for more than 70%. Some people pointed out: “If you want to promote the popularity of Linux, I am afraid that it will be difficult to truly win the favor of the public by relying on intimidation and accusation.” At the same time, a number of Windows users have come forward to say that while the term “technical extortion” is exaggerated to describe Microsoft, it makes sense to some extent. It turns out that the hardware threshold of Windows 11 has indeed forced a large number of old devices to be “retired”, including many high-end notebooks and desktops that still perform reasonably well – especially the mandatory requirement of TPM 2.0 chips, which makes it impossible for a large number of pre-2016 devices to install new systems. Even more distressing is that even if your device has enough performance, Microsoft will still prevent you from upgrading if a certain condition is not met. For ordinary users who do not have the ability to do it, this situation is almost equivalent to “forced replacement”. Microsoft’s claim that this is for security reasons, although this statement is true, has also been criticized by many organizations: because it amounts to a large number of computers that are still working normally, being “forcibly sentenced to death”. Essentially, this is a waste of resources. So far, the debate on whether Microsoft should relax the Windows 11 upgrade limit and provide ESU support for more years continues. The Linux community has taken the opportunity of “Windows 10 retirement” to amplify the volume and win over users, which has also become a force that cannot be ignored in the transformation of the operating system ecosystem
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