Microsoft officially announces Windows 11

[Chiefcrowe]

Announcement:

Upgrade to the New Windows 11 OS | Microsoft

Looks good, and apparently they said this which is good news:

"As Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay noted in today’s announcement, the overall idea behind the design is to make you feel “an incredible sense of calm,” but at the same time, the Windows team has also worked to make it a lot faster. Windows Updates, for example, are supposed to be 40 percent faster, but Panay also noted that starting up your machine and even browsing should feel much faster."

You will be able to run android apps too:

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-announces-windows-11-will-be-able-run-android-apps

 

[mikeymikec]

UEFI only. That should upset dozens of people

 

[UsandThem]

My very first thought when the Windows 11 leaks/rumors began picking up over the last 2 weeks or so, was "I bet Microsoft will go a step further in making people use a Microsoft account over a local account".

And then what do I see listed in the system requirements from the link in the OP?



I mean I know they practically began tricking people with later versions of Windows 10 when the PC was connected to the internet during installation, but I'm just not a fan of having to use a Microsoft account.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not sure what bothers me more: The requirement for an MS account, or a TPM 2.0 module?

Wait, it requires not only UEFI, but also Secure Boot? Some combinations of PC hardware, even UEFI-capable base systems, need Secure Boot disabled to use certain GPUs.

Anyways, TechYesCity made a video on how to combine the Win10 MCT USB installer with the Win11 dev iSO to get around the TPM requirement.

Those requirements of the official version are going to orphan LOTs of older PCs that were at least able to move into the modern era with Win10 (esp. 32-bit and "legacy" boot systems).

 

[PingSpike]

Sounds pretty gross, but that's about what I expect.

 

[crashtech]

Waiting for Windows for Luddites, or at least a version that is friendly to local accounts and friendly to user control over updates. If they would make a consumer version of Windows LTSC, that would be a great start. But there's little in that for MS, I would imagine. Therefore, my migration to Linux proceeds apace, 6 out of 11 PCs under my care are running Mint 20.1.

 

[solidsnake1298]

You do not need a MS account. LTT did a video of the install process and it is trivial to create an offline account. Linus already had an account and used it in the end, but you can see it was just two clicks and an "are you sure" prompt to switch to making an offline account. Pretty much the same as Windows 10.

 

[crashtech]

@solidsnake1298 , appreciate your sharing the info. All my Windows 10 installs are local accounts, so it's nice to know they won't make the local account creation process even less friendly and more unintuitive than it already is.

 

[McLovin]

Here is a comprehensive list of all the links we've shared for external use. Feel free to share!

Windows 11 Insider Preview - June 28th, 2021

Windows 11 General Availability - Holiday 2021

One Feature update per year in CYH2 (Calendar Year, 2nd Half - Fall release) + Enterprise updates supported for 36 Months (Home and Pro get 24 months).

Licensing

No changes to Enterprise subscription and volume licensing.
Free upgrade for existing Windows 10 Pro devices.


Windows 11 for customers:

Announcement Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog009

Microsoft 365 Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog001

Docs What's new aka.ms/Windows/docs001

Docs Requirements aka.ms/Windows/docs002

Docs Plan for Windows 11 aka.ms/Windows/docs003

Docs Prepare for Windows 11 aka.ms/Windows/docs004

Windows 11 Enterprise aka.ms/Windows/web001

On 6/25

Security Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog010

On 6/28

Windows 11 for IT Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog002

Windows 11 Servicing Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog003

Test Base for Microsoft 365 aka.ms/Windows/blog007

Windows Insider Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog004

Office Insider Blog aka.ms/Windows/blog005

Universal Print what’s new aka.ms/Windows/blog006

 

[mikeymikec]

You do not need a MS account. LTT did a video of the install process and it is trivial to create an offline account. Linus already had an account and used it in the end, but you can see it was just two clicks and an "are you sure" prompt to switch to making an offline account. Pretty much the same as Windows 10.

Actually, that's a lot easier than with Windows 10. Yet again the other day I had to pull the network cable in order to get around it demanding I set up a Microsoft account after a customer had done a reset.

They might even encourage me to update to Windows 11 if they guaranteed that it's not going to hassle me to sign in with an MS account; it's about once a month with Win10, between the occasional hijacking of the login process or the Windows Security Centre "checking" for the umpteenth time that I don't want OneDrive or automatic file submission or whatever other stuff they're peddling.

 

[taisingera]

And just like that, Microsoft created several tons of e-waste with all the PCs and laptops that can't be updated to Win11. For Linux knowledgeable people, they will put Linux on the systems, for the sheeple it becomes e-waste or a listing on ebay, facebook or craigslist. Way to go "pro-environmentalist" companies with moves like this and making things hard to repair.

 

[solidsnake1298]

And just like that, Microsoft created several tons of e-waste with all the PCs and laptops that can't be updated to Win11. For Linux knowledgeable people, they will put Linux on the systems, for the sheeple it becomes e-waste or a listing on ebay, facebook or craigslist. Way to go "pro-environmentalist" companies with moves like this and making things hard to repair.

In a way, I agree with the sentiment. But there comes a point where supporting legacy technology isn't feasible. Especially from a security perspective.

 

[mnewsham]

Looks like the CPU generation (8th gen+ intel) and TPM 2.0 requirements are "soft" requirements, whereas TPM 1.2 and secure boot are hard requirements that MUST be met for install. Soft requirements not being met will just result in an unsupported legacy hardware warning or similar.

 

[CuriousMike]

The Android app compatibility / mode has peaked my interest.

What I don't understand is why it's "Android compatibility with help from Amazon" - I thought Amazon's "Android" store for their devices is extremely limited ( assuming its the same mechanism.)

 

[jpiniero]

The Android app compatibility / mode has peaked my interest.

What I don't understand is why it's "Android compatibility with help from Amazon" - I thought Amazon's "Android" store for their devices is extremely limited ( assuming its the same mechanism.)

Guess they wanted to have an App Store for the Android apps but either couldn't get or didn't want Google's.

 

[VirtualLarry]

And just like that, Microsoft created several tons of e-waste with all the PCs and laptops that can't be updated to Win11. For Linux knowledgeable people, they will put Linux on the systems, for the sheeple it becomes e-waste or a listing on ebay, facebook or craigslist. Way to go "pro-environmentalist" companies with moves like this and making things hard to repair.

Microsoft is becoming more and more like Apple Computer every day.

But eventually, Microsoft's customers will realize that, and ask themselves, "why buy the 'imposter' when you can have the real thing", and then they will be Apple customers.

 

[VirtualLarry]

In a way, I agree with the sentiment. But there comes a point where supporting legacy technology isn't feasible. Especially from a security perspective.

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot don't do much of anything to block the 0-days in MS's system code.

 

[mxnerd]

Wow, run Android Apps natively? That's impressive and I'm really interested, but the TPM requirement?

 

[iCyborg]

You do not need a MS account. LTT did a video of the install process and it is trivial to create an offline account. Linus already had an account and used it in the end, but you can see it was just two clicks and an "are you sure" prompt to switch to making an offline account. Pretty much the same as Windows 10.

I don't want to watch a whole clip just for that - which version did he install? From MS page, the Home version requires MS account, so Pro should still be fine with local accounts.

 

[mnewsham]

I don't want to watch a whole clip just for that - which version did he install? From MS page, the Home version requires MS account, so Pro should still be fine with local accounts.

I want to say it was W11 Pro for workstation

 

[KeithP]

You do not need a MS account. LTT did a video of the install process and it is trivial to create an offline account.

Actually, when he tried for an offline account Windows 11 Pro gave him a message about a "limited" experience and he ended up signing in. Also, he was using Windows 11 Pro. Windows 11 Home does not allow for an offline account. Home requires and internet connection and a Microsoft account.

-KeithP

 

[Shmee]

Does secure boot have to be enabled? Or just a board capable of it? Also how do I know what TPM my board(s) have?

 

[coercitiv]

I'm not sure what bothers me more: The requirement for an MS account, or a TPM 2.0 module?

The TPM requirement is not gong to fly, they should have announced this years ago. Tons of irony from a presentation that talked about Windows feeling like your cozy home and a new Windows product that arbitrarily requires you to buy new hardware. That's how your cozy home is, high maintenance.

Does secure boot have to be enabled? Or just a board capable of it?

AFAIK Secure Boot needs to be enabled, I enabled Intel PTT last night to pass the TPM requirement and the requirements check app still says Nope.

Also how do I know what TPM my board(s) have?

Normally your (consumer) boards will only have empty TPM headers. The good news is both relatively new Intel and AMD have optional TPM tech embeded at firmware level. You can search for AMD fTPM or Intel PTT to lern more about each.

Your basic steps would be something like this:

• go into BIOS/UEFI
• search for Security section or equivalent
• enable fTPM or PTT
• boot into Windows
• Win+R and run "tpm.msc"
• check that system sees the CPU based TPM module

Your 5900X will definitely support TPM 2.0 via fTPM, but my understanding first gen Ryzens support TPM 1.2. Also on i7 8700 & Z370 I was able to enable PTT, while my old I5 6600K & Z170 combo did not have the option available in BIOS.

Last but not least, make of this what you will:
Windows 11 Supported Intel Processors
Windows 11 Supported AMD Processors

Personally I think MS is making a big mistake, this is not a hard floor requirement that you can announce months prior to such a launch. They had enough trouble getting people to upgrade to 10, wait till the majority of existing PCs will display that dreaded "This PC can't run Win 11" and people just go on with their lives.

 

[Shmee]

I am hoping there will be work arounds, if MS does not change there mind. Apparently there are some already, not sure how long they will continue to work. I might try this on my X99 machine as a guinea pig if I can get it working.

 

[WelshBloke]

Windows 11 General Availability - Holiday 2021

Being from the UK this doesn't mean much to me, which holiday?

Not impressed with the Microsoft account thing. I don't mind using one but I don't want my kids having to use one, particularly the youngest.