Microsoft is ramping up its efforts to force users to migrate to Windows 11, saying it will not support Microsoft 365 on Windows 10 after October 14.

Microsoft has been trying to convince users to switch to Windows 11 for years, but has run into multiple challenges.

• First and foremost, Windows 11 has hardware requirements that many current—including relatively new—PCs do not meet. As a result, some estimates place the number of PCs Windows 11 will make obsolete in the hundreds of millions.
• Second, many users are not happy with the direction Microsoft is taking with Windows 11, from forcing AI integration to inundating the operating system with ads to the gargantuan amount of data Windows 11 collects and shares with advertisers.

Despite Windows 11’s slow adoption, Microsoft is moving ahead, informing users they will not be able to run Microsoft 365 once Windows 10 support ends on October 14.

A Free Alternative

Many users have already begun to migrate to Linux as an alternative to Windows. Some Linux distributions, such as Linux Mint, specifically target new Windows users, providing a familiar interface and a suite of applications designed to get users up-and-running as quickly and painlessly as possible.

In our Linux Distro Review series, we review a number of Linux distros, with Linux Mint taking top honors as the best all-around option for many users.