Already on Linux.
Life is good 👍
Made the switch when Windows 7 went EOL. Helped plenty of others make the switch now before 10 was killed off. Life is good indeed.
The PC Gamer article’s title also says “upgrade or”. That’s a heck of a detail to editorialize out of the title.
From the Mozilla post it cites:
After this, no security updates will be provided and you are strongly encouraged to upgrade to a supported Microsoft Windows version.
Or, if your current hardware can’t handle Windows 10 or higher for some reason, you can switch to a Linux-based operating system. The vast majority of Linux distributions come with Firefox as the default browser.
I agree switching to Linux is the better option. I want to try Bazzite.
Yeah, Linux is an afterthought, but I’m glad that they brought it up at all. They could’ve mentioned how Linux is more privacy-conscious than Windows, but that might’ve opened them up to a lawsuit.
Bazzite’s excellent, just be aware going in that it’s an immutible distro and some stuff may be different than you’re used to.
If you’re still using those old and bugged versions then you probably don’t care about unpatched software. Big security issues. Hope no one is using them.
Honestly surprised to learn that they were still supporting 7-8.1 until now.
Microsoft did as well - 8.1 still had ESU support, and as Server 2008 R2 had paid extended support and as it shared a kernel with Vista & 7 you could use those to keep your system updated as well. IIRC both ended January this year.
Get on Linux anyway. You have no privacy whatsoever on Windows.
However, if you (like me) have to dual-boot, remember that O&O ShutUp can help you easily turn off Windows’ insidious tracking measures and delete Copilot off your system.
I don’t recommend dual-boot on the same disk. Windows likes to fuck up the bootmanager with updates every so often so you can’t boot into linux anymore.
Pretty sure Mozilla has the numbers on how many installations each OS has, so it’s probably a legitimate decision. HOWEVER, if they want to maintain their position on Linux, I highly recommend changing the default behavior of Ctrl+Shift+C to match how it works in Helium, where it simply copies the selected content instead of opening Developer Mode, which cannot be closed again using the same keystroke.
What’s wrong with Ctrl+C to copy? Its the default shortcut on pretty much everything except terminals.
You can change that in about:keyboard in the new Firefox versions
Absolutely, all behavior can be changed somehow. But the default defines the product :)
“Most browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, have already ended support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.”
To me Millions of flies can’t be wrong: eat shit. is a crappy argument but at least they’re
“If your current hardware can’t handle Windows 10 or higher for some reason, you can switch to a Linux-based operating system. The vast majority of Linux distributions come with Firefox as the default browser.”
I mean, it’s a lot of work to make security updates for a browser on an operating system that doesn’t get security updates anymore. Why spend money fixing the weapons on a sinking ship?
Windows is so shit. Glad I switched, everything works so much better (and faster) on Linux.
Since most of Lemmy users are Linux fans, this headline sounds nice but is a bit misleading if you read the original post from Mozilla:
How can I get the newest features of Firefox?
If you want to keep your Firefox up to date, with all the latest features and security updates, you need to upgrade your operating system to Windows 10 or higher. In some cases, Microsoft may require newer hardware in order to support the newer operating system. After upgrading, you can easily reinstall Firefox and keep all of your settings.
Or, if your current hardware can’t handle Windows 10 or higher for some reason, you can switch to a Linux-based operating system. The vast majority of Linux distributions come with Firefox as the default browser. Please see the support websites for the version of Linux that you’re interested in.
If you’re still hanging on to old hardware. Linux is the way to go baby
At this point, if you have hardware, Linux is a good choice. New or old. The older it is might change which distro, but still a good choice.
I’m not very techie, so when I took my brand new Lenovo (cheap) laptop from w11 to Linux mint, it really felt like an achievement. I haven’t used a command terminal since college, and I straight up made a bootable usb and wiped w11
I’m still afraid to switch to Linux because I’ve used Windows since i was a kid with Windows 95. It’s gotten progressively worse, and I’m still reluctantly camped out on Windows 10, but the thought of firing up a new operating system and going back to being a confused adolescent who doesn’t know how to get around (with or without accidentally making an older woman crouching in red lingerie the desktop wallpaper on my family computer and then denying any knowledge of it) makes me really uneasy.
Please, Linux whisperers. Calm my woes. 😓
I’ve used Windows since i was a kid
substitute “Windows” with “computer”. If you have any history of resolving “this doesn’t work for me” on your own (as opposed to waiting for someone else do to it for you), you will be fine. Just be sure not to jump into unknown when you have urgent important things to do :)
I did what Lawnman23 mentioned, downloaded the latest Mint release and flashed it on an usb stick. booted into Linux Mint, and all my hardware did function right away from the start. Including my old printer, all my usb devices, bluetooth devices and no problems with my Nvidia graphics card. After that i installed linux mint next to my windows as a dual boot. I installed it on different SSD drive tho. Linux Mint is now the OS i always use, i got all my programs and games working on Linux, and now am deleting Windows from my pc.
You’ve got a very relatable situation. Switching to Linux can be a gradual thing. -Keep your windows main, and get a flash drive boot
- make a folder on you C:/ or D:/ to store your Linux user files (like downloads and documents). This keeps your windows files more separate from your Linux files. It also let’s you keep files across boots. You can delete the Linux folder if you don’t want to keep it around.
- Open up Firefox, and have a browse of your favourite sites. See about logging in and getting your account logged in.
- what’s it like? Is it different to windows? Is the vibe different?
- try installing your favourite app or game.
- get curious!
- too much? Your windows is still right there.
Baby steps! And remember, you don’t need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step :)
Linux is way more similar and familiar than you likely imagine.
Of course, learning is inevitable going to Linux for the first time. But learning is not scary or bad. There are helpful docs and the community. Everyone here was once where you are now.
Also, try Linux risk-free on Windows in a virtual machine.
Next you can dual boot.
Next, you can resort to running Windows apps via Wine and other virtual evironments.
And only last but not least, can you go 100% pure Linux.
So there is a gentle and gradual migration path available. It’s not an all or nothing commitment right upfront.
You only have your chains to lose.
You could do what I did: Install a second drive in your computer and install Linux (e.g. Linux Mint) on it. That way you can always go back to Windows should you come to the conclusion that Linux isn’t for you . But I have to say, being a recent switcher from Windows to Linux myself, the transition was really easier than I initially thought.
Before Windows 11, I told people to switch to Linux because open source software is better for the soul. Now, I tell people because the user experience is just better. I used XP/Vista/7 throughout my childhood, and modern Linux desktop environments really do feel closer to that experience than Windows 11. I use Win11 for work, and I can confidently say that it has the worst settings menu I’ve ever used.
If you know the basics of using a desktop computer, most things won’t feel that weird or foreign to you. The hardest part will probably be learning Linux-compatible alternatives for apps that only work on Windows. What kind of programs do you typically use on your Windows system?
Most distro’s have a live bootable install. You download a .iso and burn it to a flash drive. Plug it in and boot from it, doesn’t touch or change anything with your current Windows install.
This lets you try out the OS before fully installing it. Give it a whirl.
I personally recommend Fedora KDE. https://fedoraproject.org/kde/
Instead of burning the ISO to the flash drive, I recommend burning Ventoy to your flashdrive. Then you can drag and drop ISOs for every distro you want to try without having to burn them every time.
Ventoy is so freaking cool!
it was bullshit when they ended support for XP, and now I have to find alternatives on 7!!?
fuck you Mozilla, you just lost a customer!
Or you could move away from legacy systems entirely by installing Linux.
Calm down, XP was 13 years old when it was retired. It lived a long, happy life. And Windows 7 was released seventeen years ago.
Using either OS in 2026 is extremely dangerous and stupid. Please switch to Linux.
lol how much have you been paying them?
at least $25 a month for the past year!
they won’t get another dime from me, that’s for sure.
Rookie mistake. After your free trial is over, just cancel it and start a new one.
One of the main places windows is used, like it or not, are organizations and companies. Especially small ones. Specially ones that are not in wealthy countries. And the only thing that keeps them from switching to linux is microsoft office. (Most importantly Word, excel).
My company has ~20 people and I would switch them over to linux if it wasn’t for word and excel.
While libreoffice is great on it’s own, companies send eachother xlsx and docx files. And libreoffice isnt great at reading or writing them. Specially complex ones. I don’t think it’s much of libre office’s fault, but more the shitty incompatible, unstandardized microsoft formats.
Currently I’m the only Linux user in the team, and I constantly advocate Linux, but I know if anybody switches, compatibility with microsoft office is going to be a problem. I can take the risk with the tech team but not the office section (hr, sales, secretary accounting etc.) really.
Try onlyoffice and slowly try to shift to libreoffice with open document formats. Or just skip that part and move everyone to the web versions of office. Also if you guys are on office 2010, the last time I ran it via wine, it worked completely fine.
There is stuff Office 360 or whatever is called to that online Microsoft Office can do just fine from Firefox or Chrome based browsers. But if things get overcomplicated, it’s as good or even worse than Libreoffice at handling xlsx, docx documents.
Even current Office struggles with early Office documents.
I like linux and I use it (Raspbian, Zorin, Ubuntu, Arch: diff machines). I also enjoy using Win 8.1 on my Lenovo M93p Tiny (8GB ram), as a Playnite appliance / console. This allows me to play emulated games (Wii, Gamecube, PS2, to about 1.5-2x upscale), ~2013ish era AAA titles (Fallout 3, Just Cause 2, Dead Rising 2, GTA IV) and select indy games (like Donut County, Untitled Goose Game, EXO ONE) all from one device.
Normally, the advice would be to use something like Bazzite or Batocera (and I agree!)…but given the hardware limitations and the “it just runs” nature of these older Window games (under windows) I’ve had better experiences sticking to Win 8.1.
YMMV but the “switch to linux cause windows too old” thing has some shades of gray.
If you play on a machine that is not connected to internet, then by all means there is no reason to switch. But of you are connected to the internet, then those system pose security risks and you would be better off having an up to date system. If Win 10 wasn’t EOL then maybe the advice to upgrade to Win10 would be solid.
