Microsoft Stops Windows Updates—Turn Your PC Into A Chromebook
Should you move to a Chromebook?
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Microsoft’s security nightmare is coming true for more than 200 million Windows users. In just 25 days you will be “vulnerable to cyber threats, such as malware and viruses.” And you may need to pay a fee to delay that cyber cliff edge.
Consumer Reports says Microsoft is acting hypocritically by “arguing that Windows 11 is an essential upgrade to boost cybersecurity,” while mandating that only PCs with certain hardware specs can upgrade, consigning the rest to recycling bins and landfill.
But there’s now an interesting new twist on this problem. As spotted by Windows Latest, a used PC distributor is offering to “turn unsupported Windows 10 hardware into a new product category,” while criticising Microsoft’s “planned obsolescence trick.”
Back Market says “we refuse to watch hundreds of millions of perfectly good computers end up in the trash as e-waste, the fastest growing stream of waste in the world. So, we gave them an up-to-date, secure operating system.”
While we have seen multiple campaigns pushing Linux as an alternative for stranded Windows 10 PCs, Back Market’s interesting twist is Chrome OS Flex.
The reseller says this is “perfect if you mostly use your computer for online tasks like email, streaming, Google Docs, and video calls. Chrome OS Flex is a free version of Google’s OS that turns your old PC or Mac into a Chromebook-like device.”
Chromebooks have become the cheap and simple alternatives to PCs, and so this is a neat solution. it’s also a nice twist to the Microsoft versus Google fight taking place elsewhere: Chrome versus Edge, Bing versus Search, Copilot versus Gemini.
Back Market says Chrome OS Flex “is extremely lightweight, easy to install, and runs well even on older hardware with limited RAM or storage. It boots fast, updates automatically, and is very beginner-friendly.”
From an ironic security perspective, it also comes with “built-in virus protection and encryption.” Something to consider when you’re bracing for a new PC purchase.