National environmental groups recently held a "funeral" for Windows 10 on the streets. Protesters carried coffins in the procession to symbolically declare the death of this operating system.And asked Microsoft to extend the support period to 2030. Organizations participating in the protest include Non-Violent Action COP21, Alternatiba, April, Stop Planned Obsolescence, Que Choisir Ensemble and Zero Waste France.
They said,Microsoft is making billions of dollars in profits while using a "planned obsolescence strategy" to force the end of support for a still widely used operating system.Millions of functioning devices will become electronic waste.
Protesters pointed out that manufacturing a new laptop consumes about 800 kilograms of raw materials, and that a large number of users are forced to replace their devices due to the hardware requirements of Windows 11, which will further increase the environmental burden.
50,000 people have signed a petition calling on Microsoft to extend the support period of Windows 10 from the current ESU one year to 2030.
Microsoft will end mainstream support for Windows 10 in October 2025. Users can continue to receive security patches by paying or meeting certain conditions to join the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.
But protesters believe this is far from enough, and some participants even directly call on consumers to abandon Windows and install Linux on existing computers.
It is worth noting that the French government decided to abandon Windows and switch to Linux earlier this month in order to reduce its dependence on American technology. However, historical experience shows that this type of migration is not smooth sailing. Munich, Germany, finally returned to Windows after using Linux for ten years.
The likelihood of Microsoft giving in to such protests is extremely low. The company has repeatedly reminded users of Windows 10's end-of-support schedule for years in advance, and it probably won't change its plans because of the coffin parade on the streets of France.
But this scene does remind people of the past in 2010, when Microsoft employees held a funeral procession for the iPhone to celebrate the release of Windows Phone 7. Of course, we already know the final outcome.