Subject: Re: Running Win10 after end of life

From: Matthew Gibson via PLUG-discuss <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 18 May 2025 13:34:54 -0700

All in all, David.
I appreciate the experience I have gained by researching this topic and am
considering applying it correctly at my place of employment for some of the
use cases we have in office.

Your email shows that you did minimal research and don't fully understand
the designed scope of the license in question. You might want to do some
more research before you suggest using an operating system that is not
intended for General Purpose use to General Purpose users.

Thanks again!
Enjoy the play by play breakdown of your rant E-mail.

> "I don’t know why people ask this"

Perhaps they ask it because it is unorthodox? Because it's not normally
done? Do Apple users install Apple iOS on their macbook when the macbook no
longer receives updates? That is what you are arguing for.

> "IOT and LTSC are just Windows releases without all the bloatware, but
> with a different license and update schedules."
>

This is a severe over-simplification of what the Operating System is.
Enterprise IOT which includes LTSC and SAC is designed for single use case
scenarios. It is not intended for General Purpose computing. The license
for it states it is designed for dedicated use scenarios like kiosks,
medical devices, etc. The only way to legally obtain the license is through
an OEM provider which is a short list.

"Gamers, which make up ~25% of all Windows users, seem to account for a far
> greater amount of noise and complaints than the majority of users,"
>

Your personal bias is showing. But I don't blame you. Mac users most asked
question: 'What is games?'

>
> "WIn 10 hits EOL this fall. But the IOT and LTSC licenses don’t expire for
> 5-7 years from now."

Because it is meant as a dedicated kiosk platform for businesses and
industry. They typically like things to last a little longer so long as
they do one thing, do it well, and then, they move on.

> "MS will continue issuing security updates for them, but not the regular
> crap the Home and Pro users get pummeled with week after week."
>

You obviously don't like feature updates. Can't blame you if you're still
running a Mac OS from 2014.

> "It’s those damned updates that introduce instabilities and reset settings
> that cause other problems for consumers — a HUGE waste of time and
> resources for us."

I haven't wasted any time with my Windows installations... Nor have I
experienced any problems. I do tend to be more proactive in my update
process though. So maybe I've just gotten lucky?

> "In embedded applications they can prove extremly dangerous. So that’s
> what the IOS and LTSC versions are for — situations that require long-term
> stability."
>

Right. Like dedicated uses on your point of sale device, or those
self-serve kiosks at any of the fast food restaurants, Kind of bad for
business if your order kiosk goes down in the middle of your lunch rush
because someone forgot to run updates for the last few days...

> "Instead of EOLing the Home and Pro versions, they should just replace
> them with IOS LTSC licenses. They COULD, but they won’t."

This makes absolutely no sense. You can't. Because, like it has been
enumerated before... The IOT license is for dedicated purpose built
machines. Not General Computing use scenarios.

> "It would cut into revenues they’ll get from all the bloatware and custom
> configurations that forcing people to upgrade to Win 11 will give them."
>

Speculation, also unfactual. Here's my speculation: I think this is an
attempt to drag all those users clinging to old hardware into modern
operating systems, on top of the conspiracy to rake in lots more money.
Kind of like Macintosh did with making the change completely to the USB C
platform. A good number of users whined there too. Users are users and
there will always be those that complain because x feature has been axed
and they now have to change from what they have been doing. Or hold on to
their device from 2014.

>
> "For use in my VMs, I prefer long-term stability. I hate that when I don’t
> type anything for a few minutes, windows goes into some internal
> maintenance mode and the background CPU activity suddenly hits 80%. I have
> no idea what it’s doing. I can’t shut it off. And I despise all of the
> damned updates it keeps shoving down even though I’ve disabled the updater."

Tell us you have no fundamental security sense without telling us directly
that you have no fundamental security sense. Disabling updates is usually
not a good idea. You tend to leave your systems open to vulnerabilities.
Kind of like Equifax back in 2017... Patch was available for the
vulnerability for months... They just didn't apply it... I wonder if
someone disabled their update software...

"This is what the IOS LTSC versions are for. But when I searched for that
> use case, a lot of comments advised against it, mostly gamers who complain
> that IOS and/or LTSC cause performance issues. I think they’re missing the
> point."

Pot calling the Kettle black... You are missing the point of the IOT
license.

> "These licenses are built for LONG-TERM STABILITY"

In dedicated purpose built devices that do one thing.

> "— NOT HIGH-PERFORMANCE."

That costs extra and if gamers are attempting to use it. I suspect they are
attempting to use it illegally and without knowing exactly what they are
doing with it. I propose that they are using a key that does not use the
High-Performance license.

> "It’s particularly ironic considering most gamers have hardware that are
> totally jacked-up using hacks that operate the CPU and other chips well
> beyond Manufacturer recommendations."

This is known as overclocking. and it's typically done in the BIOS, or
through software that interacts with the firmware. Most know what this
entails when they embark on the journey of seeking better performance out
of their existing hardware. I'm sure this is totally foreign to Apple users
who use their Personal Computers in line with what daddy Macintosh tells
them they can and can't do with their fancy high-end hardware.

Let's get back to Linux related discussions since this is a Linux User
Group. Not a WUG or a MUG.
Ciao!
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