Re: Before Dimdows 10 Goes EOL, I'm Testing Linux To Save My Laptop From The Landfill

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

On Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:53:13 -0400, WolfFan wrote:
 

1. You don’t have to junk Win 10 if you don’t want to. I have XP and 7
machines running, MS bailed on them a long time ago but they still work,
I just have to be careful. ... because they run $150,000 imagesetters,
that’s why. The imagesetters are very picky about their drivers (not
really drivers, long story, but the imagesetters won’t work without
them) and still work, and management will NOT be replacing them as long
as they work.

 
Would you entrust mission-critical business functions to obsolete,
unsupported software?

This is a common scenario. Significant piece of kit requires a PC to run
it. The PC is simply required to host proprietary command-and-control
software which comes with a few years' of support included. Kit
manufacturer launches new version of software which costs many thousands
and has no benefit to the user over the previous fully working one.
Especially as the business has optimised their workflows with it and don't
want to have to do that all over again.

Hardware itself can last decades so the old software is kept running on
legacy systems. There's no reason for the software to stop working other
than perhaps old PC has critical failure. This can be managed
and maintained quite effectively.