A Few Words About Windows 11
Are you excited for Windows 11? We’ve been using it for a while now and, so far, it’s pretty nice. This new version of Windows has had a facelift and looks a lot more like MacOS or certain distros of Linux. That’s a good thing in our book. Your mileage may vary, though. Either way, things are changing.
Taking cues from MacOS and Linux, there’s instant messaging (remember that?!) built into the OS. It comes in the form of Teams. You can also use widgets from the taskbar and even run Android apps. Microsoft is finally headed in, what appears to be anyway, a right direction. It’s been a while since that’s happened.
You can upgrade to Windows 11 for free at this time, but there’s a few things you’re going to need to consider before you pull the trigger:
Windows 11 is unproven. When you upgrade to the latest OS, and nothing rings more true of a Microsoft OS, you will undoubtedly encounter some hidden bugs and unexpected incompatibilities. Your production environment (the computers you rely on every day at the office) is not the place to be trying out new things. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Windows 11 has relatively steep requirements. Microsoft likes to tout enhanced speed and efficiency with every new OS they release. But, as history has revealed time and time again, this isn’t true. In fact, the opposite has always been true. With every iteration or update of Windows, it continues to get bulkier and slower. This means older computers will have significantly reduced performance. Just to have a decent experience, you’re going to want a relatively new PC. What with the electronics shortages still plaguing the world, expect to pay a premium on what you’re able to find on store shelves or from vendors.
Windows 11 has unusual security requirements. Building off the steeper hardware requirements is a new factor: TPM chips. You’ll have to have Secure Boot coupled with a TPM chip in your computer in order to install Windows 11. These two features greatly enhance physical security of the computer while at the same time increase trackability of the hardware over the Internet. We know a few ways around these issues, but in general, you’ll need a pretty darn new PC or laptop in order to satisfy Microsoft.
Windows 11 looks like it could end up being a homerun for Microsoft. But, just like every other Windows operating system, it’s fine for Day 1 deployment on home computers and totally a bad idea to roll it out on your office network. At least, not until a good 6 months to a year have passed while they iron out the bugs.
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