In a way I kind of find this ironic as back around this time in 2015 Microsoft had started their ‘Nag Campaign‘ to get users of Windows 7 and 8.1 devices to take advantage of the ‘free upgrade’ to Windows 10. As the year progressed Microsoft got more and more aggressive with the Get Windows 10 (GWX) campaign even as going as far as to install malware via KB3035583 a (recommended) Windows Update and changing the behavior of the red X on the upgrade screen in late 2016 (something Microsoft sort of apologized for doing).
Word comes now that Microsoft is at it again, this time nagging Windows 10 user to upgrade to Windows 11 with a full screen ad if they have installed an optional January 2014 update. As reported via PC World:
Microsoft is going all out here. You’re not presented with a small pop-up; the advert for Windows 11 upgrade covers the entire screen and, on top of that, there are several sliders to click through. According to Windows Latest, there are a total of four slides that users need to click through if they want to stay on Windows 10 (a situation we’ve witnessed ourselves). On the slides, Microsoft tries to make the advantages of Windows 11 palatable without pointing out the possible problems of an upgrade, for example due to incompatible hardware.
Just as they did back in December 2016 with the Get Windows 10 nag/ad screen, Microsoft is trying to deceive people into thinking they don’t have a choice to NOT install Windows 11:
There are two buttons at the bottom right of the slider: One to decline the upgrade and one highlighted in color to download Windows 11 in the background.
FWIW I have two machines running Windows 10, an HP Omen gaming desktop from early 2020 and a Lenovo Yoga laptop I bought in March 2017. I’ve been ‘asked’ to install Windows 11 on the Omen, but don’t want to. That is my everyday machine which I use for everything from reading news feeds, YouTube and gaming. I’d be willing to install Windows 11 on the Yoga since I just use that laptop to watch YouTube Videos in the evenings and don’t care if I had to do a factory reset if something went very bad. However, the processor is a generation too old and therefore is not ‘compatible’ to run Windows 11. Last summer I did buy a new Windows 11 laptop, but had nothing but issues with the machine. Not sure if it was the hardware (might have been a reason why Best Buy had it so steeply marked down) or Windows 11. However, after returning that machine I ended up getting a new power adapter and replacing the battery in the Lenovo laptop. Coming up to seven years now and have no plans on replacing that machine until it stops working.
