The Upgrade to Freedom campaign has joined the End of 10 initiative to promote Free and Open Source Software as a sustainable alternative to Windows 10. Learn more at endof10.org.

Messaging around the end of Windows 10 support has been loud, urgent and, unfortunately, irresponsibly narrow.

In a recent article titled ‘Microsoft’s Free Upgrade Offer For 500 Million Windows Users,’, the advice given to users whose PCs don’t meet the requirements for Windows 11 states to recycle or landfill the device.

Let’s pause right there.

Rather than encourage users to reuse perfectly functional hardware with open-source alternatives like openSUSE, the suggestion to discard it not only perpetuates environmental harm, it completely ignores the thriving world of Linux distributions. This Forbes article promotes a false choice between buying new hardware or getting rid of it.

The upgrade eligibility criteria exclude hundreds of millions of PCs. TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and other artificial requirements have nothing to do with a system’s actual performance. What these new features do accomplish is force users to believe they need to buy new hardware rather than seek alternatives.

But these computers still work.

Recycling and landfills should be the last resort; not the default recommendation. The environmental toll of electronic waste is well documented. Replacing a laptop every few years because of arbitrary OS restrictions is not sustainable as highlighted by Joanna Murzyn at the 2024 KDE Akademy conference.

The open-source community has spent decades creating operating systems that run fast, are secure and function stable on modern and older machines alike. Look at openSUSE’s Leap, Slowroll, Tumbleweed, Kalpa, Aeon; these are just a few of the powerful Linux distributions people can install to breathe new life into their hardware. There are no activation keys; there are no hidden costs, and there are no surveillance features like Recall.

Linux has a different approach. It values privacy. Its code is open for a reason: transparency. It’s reviewed by a global community and supported by open-source companies and not tied to corporate lock-in. Security updates arrive quickly without requiring a purchase or subscription. Most importantly; you stay in control of your device.

With openSUSE and other Linux distributions, users can:

• Keep using their hardware long past Microsoft’s expiration dates
• Install professional-grade software at no cost
• Customize and control their computing environment

The Forbes article paints a bleak future for Windows 10 by declaring peoples devices ineligible and obsolete. This is misleading and irresponsible. People should not throw away their working computer and should settle on an OS that upgrades them to freedom rather than filling landfills and recycling centers.

Download an openSUSE flavor today at get.opensuse.org and discover an OS that respects your hardware, your privacy and your freedom.

This is part of a series on Upgrade to Freedom where we offer reasons to transition from Windows to Linux.

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