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Avoiding Windows 11 - what are people's plans, Some articles are reporting Windows share is reducing, Windows 11 being the deciding factor
 
#1
3.882  
A number of articles/videos are reporting that Windows share is reducing. Windows 11 with its: push to cloud storage, AI, privacy issues, need to be actively online and linked to MS account etc. People switching to Android and phones is another.

I've been a TB user for at least 15 years (currently on v10). With 12 email accounts it's an indispensable tool for managing my affairs. I particularly like the Alt+F2 for accessing all my email accounts in seconds.

There is a trend to webmail but using webmail it would take me 30 mins as my email provider web interface does not prompt password manager to enter the passwords and webapps are slow and rely too much on mice. TB has been very reliable (OK 1 feature I avoid as it looses my emails!).
I'm on Win 10 ESU so my thoughts are turning to moving to Linux and options:.

  1. Wine: I did try TB under Wine many years ago and it seemed to work. There are now a number of Wine GUI front ends (e.g. Bottles, Phoenicis, Q4Wine)

  2. Virtual Machine: I run a 16bit app in Virtual Box but only open a few times a week. Not tried TB and unsure if I / my computer could live with VB being open 10 hours a day (I usually have too many apps & windows open and need less!)

  3. Other Windows under Linux options: A search indicates: Winboat (new),  CrossOver, WinApps (with RDP).

  4. Other email client s/w: Search gives:  Thunderbird, Evolution, Mailspring, KMail, SeaMonkey, Geary, Blue Mail, Claws, Mutt, NeoMutt, Betterbird, Trojitá.
    Key features for me are: able to import messages from TB, multiple POP accounts in one interface, can handle 10,000s emails, filters, flagging/tagging.
TB users considering moving off Windows, what have you tried and found best?
 
 
 
#2
11369.7677  
I'm using Win 11 Pro. I never made a Microsoft account, I don't use the cloud, I have turned off all (or most?) features that might invade my privacy. I'm not sure if it should still be a major concern. My personal impression is that social media like Facebook and Youtube pose a greater threat.
I volunteer as a moderator to help keep the forum tidy. I do not work for Ritlabs SRL.
 
 
 
#3
3.8541  
Alan,

I have an older supermico workstation that came with Windows 8.1 which remains 1 bootable partition of several.

My first thought was I don't want 10, so I added a Zorin OS linux partition and tried to adjust. Most of my hardware was supported just fine but.. Linux desktops just always fall short IMO.. Then an update to Zorin screwed up grub or something and it ceased to boot.. I fiddled with it off and on but was loosing too much time with it so just went back to 8.1. I felt fairly secure despite eventually loosing updates.. It was mature and worked fine for what I needed.. Knowing eventually I'd have to upgrade if I became reliant on something that required 10.
BINGO, then, an application I needed to run dropped support for 8.1.  :(
So.. I added a Windows 10 bootable partition. Sadly, some of my older peripherals had no support for 10+ yet I need daily the one application that requires 10.

The 8.1 dependancy I had slowly became lost and 10 became my main boot environment. Like you I have the extended update until Oct 2026 or whenever.. My system isn't capable of running 11 so I will be running 10 as long as I don't have to change on my own terms.

Like you TB! is essential for me. I have been pulling email from POP3 for as long as the internet has existed and a huge about of it remains in my TB! mail store.

If my workstation mainboard were to finally die I suppose that I'd get a windows 11 capable replacement. However I am NOT going to buy a new computer for windows 11 alone. I've thought about buying a new system for games, but the reality is that I don't care about most of the games that require windows 11 and a more modern (yet old) GFX card gave my system a bit more flex for games I wanted to play.

IMO the *nix ecosystem just can't replace windows desktop suitably, I hate that, but it is the same conclusion I've come up with for decades. All my internet servers are linux, and I even bought a couple iMacs in attempt to get a windows replacement -- meh. Obsolescence built in and 2 macbook pro fried themselves due to the totally useless heat dissipation design. Overpriced apple with a meh OS with a timebomb installed. Put windows 7 on the iMac since it only fried the CD/DVD drive with it's heat issues..

Not sure which of the two companies I dislike the worst... However, windows as much as I hate to say, does (owns) have an edge with a GUI desktop and it's operation IMO.. despite hating the 'modern' GUI cellphone related changes.
 
 
 
#4
0  
My plan is to stick with Windows 10 as long as possible. Apart fr om the annoying practice of "hijacking" file associations which I was only partially able to resolve, it's working perfectly for me. Runs all the software I need, stable as a rock. The only two times I saw a blue screen were when a hard disk died, and when I messed something up in the BIOS settings.

When I'm eventually forced to move on by drivers/software not working, etc., I'll probably take Daniel's route. I already have access to an academic version of Windows which goes easy on some annoying stuff (like aggressive updates), and will definitely use tools like Rufus to switch off the others.

I did try Linux a couple of times but never fully committed to it. I'm well past the phase of enjoying tinkering with the OS setup to get little things to work. I just want the handful pieces of software that I use daily to work and not give me (too much) trouble. The Bat! for e-mail, Total Commander for file management, etc.

Also, I developed so many little habits over the years (decades) that even I find ridiculous, but that's the way it is. One example: 20+ years ago, I added a button to the toolbar in TB to "Dispatch all messages on the server" which I since used exclusively to check for messages. It used to be on the far right of the toolbar, and over the years some new toolbars were added but the button stayed at the same approximate place. About a year ago as I was customizing different stuff in TB I decided to move the button to a more logical place, on the left by the "Receive new mail" button. Guess what kept happening: I was consistently clicking at the location where the button used to be (wh ere, "conveniently", the "Delete" button now was), so much so that I ended up putting the button back in it's old illogical place. The power of habit...

Anyways:

- There is a long-standing thread on Wine & TB on the German TB forum that can be useful: https://www.batboard.net/thread/9260-the-bat-wine-ein-aktueller-bericht/?postID=143723

- We briefly discussed the possibilities of TB being ported to something other than Windows here: https://www.ritlabs.com/en/auth-forums/forum4/topic16669/message58264/#message58264
 
 
 
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