Let my hat or crow eating commence: Sun Valley is officially branded as Windows 11

[britechguy]

This hit the street from someone I know who watches this stuff, and likely attended "the event," and whom I trust implicitly to share only confirmed information:

Hello Win10 Forum family, Microsoft staff and others,

It is official: Windows Sun Valley is Windows 11.

 

[mmerry]

From what I have read and heard on Podcasts, MS never actually said WIn 10 was the last one. it was actually said by a MS evangelist and MS never corrected him.

Microsoft confirms there will be no Windows 11

A new Windows era begins

www.techradar.com

 

[Sky-Knight]

The question now is, do they make us re-license all our rigs or is it just a feature update.

 

[nlinecomputers]

The question now is, do they make us re-license all our rigs or is it just a feature update.

They’ve offered free upgrades, even while coyly denying it, all this time now. To not do so now would hurt them more than help. It will roll out as the fall update.

 

[Dave 1973]

This story has some details on the roll out. Win 11 upgrade

 

[nlinecomputers]

From what I have read and heard on Podcasts, MS never actually said WIn 10 was the last one. it was actually said by a MS evangelist and MS never corrected him.

Microsoft confirms there will be no Windows 11

A new Windows era begins

www.techradar.com

He is a Microsoft employee and was speaking at one of their official conferences. Whadda need? A memo signed in blood by Bill Gates?

 

[britechguy]

Also: https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-11-announcement

Of course it's a feature update, and at no cost. It was completely developed as the intended Windows 10, Version 20H2.

This is, as someone else I know said, "marketing puffery."

The article I referenced above implies that there will be a Windows 10 and WIndows 11, which I find almost impossible to believe over the longer term. Microsoft has been trying to get to a single Windows for years now, and I see no reason that they'd keep Windows 8 through 2023, Windows 10 through 2025, and Windows 11 as well.

 

[phaZed]

A memo signed in blood by Bill Gates?

Of whom, ironically, doesn't work at Microsoft, lol!

 

[britechguy]

And, lets face it, Windows 11 is not, in any way, shape, or form, the equivalent of any Windows major version number release in the past.

It's a feature update dressed up as new version, plain and simple.

But many will be pleased to know that Microsoft is officially going to one major update per year under Windows 11, or at least that's the statement now.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Also: https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-11-announcement

Of course it's a feature update, and at no cost. It was completely developed as the intended Windows 10, Version 20H2.

This is, as someone else I know said, "marketing puffery."

The article I referenced above implies that there will be a Windows 10 and WIndows 11, which I find almost impossible to believe over the longer term. Microsoft has been trying to get to a single Windows for years now, and I see no reason that they'd keep Windows 8 through 2023, Windows 10 through 2025, and Windows 11 as well.

Because of support obligations. Volume Licensee's agreements require them to support certain existing versions in long term support. There's not going to be a concurrent issues of new Windows 10 and 11 but certain long-term versions will have extended support for years. And they also provide at least 18 months of support for each build. So it's going to take 18 months for Windows 10 to fade out of the market as they eventually will be force upgraded.

 

[nlinecomputers]

But many will be pleased to know that Microsoft is officially going to one major update per year under Windows 11, or at least that's the statement now.

Which has been the policy for the past year or so.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Windows 11's minimum system requirements are as follows:

• A modern 64-bit processor
• 1Ghz clock speed
• 2 cores
• 64GB drive
• 4GB RAM
• UEFI, Secure Book capable & TPM 2.0
• 9-inch display with 1366x768 resolution
• DirectX 12 compatible graphics / WDDM 2.x

Hello. @Sky-Knight there‘s your hardware line in the sand.

 

[britechguy]

Which has been the policy for the past year or so.

Kinda sorta. One "minor" feature update and one major feature update.

Now, if what's said is kept to, it will strictly be one major feature update.

 

[britechguy]

There's not going to be a concurrent issues of new Windows 10 and 11 but certain long-term versions will have extended support for years. And they also provide at least 18 months of support for each build. So it's going to take 18 months for Windows 10 to fade out of the market as they eventually will be force upgraded.

True. I should have been clear that I meant "the usual consumer versions." I'm well aware of the various long-term support versions for Enterprise, for example. I just never have to deal with those.

I also know about the 18-month lifecycle window.

But I think the death of Windows 10 as "an ongoing entity" for "the usual consumer versions" is virtually certain to occur. I went from Windows 7 to Windows 10 because I knew that Windows 7 was going to go away and I'll go to Windows 11 for an analogous reason. Regardless of whatever pain might be involved, keeping up with Microsoft's most current OS has always been "best practice" as far as I'm concerned.

 

[phaZed]

I went from Windows 7 to Windows 10 because I knew that Windows 7 was going to go away and I'll go to Windows 11 for an analogous reason. Regardless of whatever pain might be involved, keeping up with Microsoft's most current OS has always been "best practice" as far as I'm concerned.

Ditto. Gotta keep up.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Hello. @Sky-Knight there‘s your hardware line in the sand.

I think that means at least 6th gen, possibly 7th gen iSeries and younger is required. That is, assuming you can't disable secure boot... which I suspect you'll be able to do that.

Actually worse because many white box main boards simply don't have TPM. TPM is only shipped by the likes of Dell. I assume this reality isn't going to be a hard one.

Just checked the Dell 6th Gen units I have right now, and they're TPM 1.2. So if they hard drive 2.0, this is going to be a train wreck.

My Poweredge T330 that's still got 3 years of warranty left has no TPM at all...

But yeah, I'm not going to panic just yet because I don't believe TPM is really required. BUT, if it is... we're all going to have some very upset customers.

 

[Sky-Knight]

It's likely that the minimum hardware specification only applies to new machines with W11 pre-installed. Microsoft has a long and glorious history of making ancient hardware work well with new operating systems and they'd have to be crazy to change that now.

For what it's worth, I don't think they're crazy and look forward to upgrading my eight-year-old daily driver to W11 with no more than the usual trepidation.

Yep, and any change in this reality would cause a back lash that would bury even them. I don't mind the upgrade either, but we're in a silicon shortage that's going to last right up until that drop dead date of 10. Forcing everyone into 8th generation and younger stuff is going to exaggerate that problem.

 

[Porthos]

But yeah, I'm not going to panic just yet because I don't believe TPM is really required. BUT, if it is... we're all going to have some very upset customers.

Yep, Forced to get a new device in 2025 to stay supported. Windows 7 allover again

 

[britechguy]

Windows 7 allover again

Seriously, refresh my memory. I don't recall specifically having to get new machines during the XP to 7 transition stage.

 

[Porthos]

Seriously, refresh my memory. I don't recall specifically having to get new machines during the XP to 7 transition stage.

No, I am referring to Windows 10 going out of support if UEFI and TPM 2.0 being required to even upgrade from 10 or even clean install.
The out of support issue only, The new computer requirements will leave many users no choice.
There were a few Win 7 and older that could not run 10 well.