Microsoft is once more at the head of the pack in a tech world where every incremental advance in software and hardware seems to include yet another upgrade. With just a little over a year to go until the end-of-support date for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025, Microsoft isn’t just suggesting that a user upgrade to Windows 11. It’s aggressively recruiting for it. It might be an upgrade full of enhancements, but it’s also full of obstacles and curiosities – and there’s a whole promotional strategy lurking somewhere amid all this that’s as curious as it is bizarre.
With the end-of-support date for the current version of Windows 10 looming, Microsoft has been pushing hard to get users to migrate to Windows 11. While Windows 10 has been a huge hit and still holds a strong market share, there are several improvements that are being promised in its successor and some niceties that, I guess, Microsoft hopes will lure you into staying with them, such as Widgets that will keep you in the know about everything from the weather to (no joke) the headlines about your favourite celebrities.
Microsoft says that Windows 11 is ‘easy on the eyes and easy to use’ and comes with a ‘new look and new ways to do things’ such as Widgets. The new upgrade will give users an experience that’s ‘more personal and productive with new ways to connect to the people and information you care about most,’ according to the company. Widgets provide real-time information on sports, stocks and weather, as well as celebrity gossip, directly from your desktop.
One of the most hyped features of Windows 11 is the Widgets, a mixture of digital-universal utilities and amusements that appear visible at a tap or click, right on the desktop. At first available only to users with a Microsoft account, Microsoft has since lifted this restriction on Widgets, in a hint that the firm may eventually allow third-party developers such as Facebook or Spotify to incorporate their services. This raises the prospect of fundamentally changing the way people engage with their desktops.
There are, of course, reasons to not switch, not least Microsoft’s stringent system requirements for the new OS, made only more cost-prohibitive during a regressive economic climate, nor the design criticism levied against the OS and the invasive advertising campaign it has endured, nor the need to buy top-of-the-line hardware to make the most of next-gen AI features set to be released in a forthcoming Windows 11 update (a workaround has been found to allow it to run on low-end hardware).
Microsoft’s efforts to get users to upgrade have been multi-pronged, ranging from persistent popups to educational webpages detailing the differences between Windows 10 and 11 This juggling act of promotion methods has no doubt been noticed, though not always positively.
Some of the most exciting new features in Windows 11 are those that integrate next-gen AI: Live Captions, Windows Recall and more. Unfortunately, these features require the latest hardware with NPUs. This unfortunately means that most people won’t get to enjoy the future. That hasn’t stopped the unpredictable ingenuity of hackers, who have already figured out how to bypass these restrictions, Power Users are discovering that they can enjoy some of the latest features of the future, despite not having the latest hardware.
Every feature update, every support cutoff and every promotional campaign represents a vision of the future of computing. Migrating to Windows 11 isn’t just about keeping up with the latest software innovations. It’s about entering a future where technology is more connected, more personalised and more accessible. Few companies are more successful than Microsoft in reinventing the gaming landscape. Microsoft innovates to deliver a more technical, secure and engaging way to use computers.
From a small software outlet founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft has become a global leader in technology. In line with the company’s mission to ‘empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more’, the firm continues to bring a host of products and technologies to users worldwide, ranging from the Windows operating system and Office Suite to the industry-leading cloud computing platform, Azure. Latest creations include a new Windows 11, being rolled out to users who are left behind on Windows 10.
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