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by mindcrash 182 days ago
"Just" some Copilot integration (in the form of chat or smart suggestions) is just the start.

The next major Windows 11 update coming in 2026 will have full agentic AI with full control over your (your?) PC. And it will hard require a pretty recent processor with Neural Processor Unit to make it work (so a lot more e-waste is coming).

I fear for the future.
1 comments
falcor84 182 days ago
> And it will hard require a pretty recent processor with Neural Processor Unit to make it work

Am I right to understand that as people don't upgrade their hardware, they're safe from that, right? Sounds like a plus to me.

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reactordev 182 days ago
Nope, you go to upgrade, because windows update downloaded it and restarted, and it tells you “Your processor is not supported”.

Why would it be any different than the Windows 7 -> Windows 10 debacle? Disabling entire processor families after it boots into installation and wiped the previous windows.

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beAbU 182 days ago
I think they fixed that to some degree. I have an old win10 PC that now has a persistent "upgrade to W11" banner that informs me my PC is below spec, so I can't upgrade. Fine by me!
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dmicah 182 days ago
Eventually Microsoft will stop providing security updates to their old OS, compelling users to upgrade if they want to stay on Windows
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reactordev 182 days ago
Which is fine. No one expects them to support everything forever.
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mindcrash 182 days ago
A 2025 Linux kernel with all recent features is able to boot on a system from 2006.

Likewise the Windows 11 (which is just a rebranded Windows 10, just look at the full build number which should start with 10.x) kernel could boot systems from ~2017 onwards. Maybe with some kernel features disabled which most (if not all) Windows 10 users would not miss anyway, but it could still boot without any issues. Those running a Rufus-patched Windows 11 are living proof of this.

This never was a technical issue, or one which could cost them money, but a cold blooded business decision which generated thousands upon thousands of kilos of e-waste.

And for what?

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ragequittah 182 days ago
Almost nobody has this functionality on their desktop processor. I hate Microsoft as much as the next guy but there's enough real problems to yell about without making some up. The agentic AI will even be entirely opt in.
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mindcrash 182 days ago
It's not. Like TPM and several new CPU features are a hard requirement for Windows 11, which are patched out by tools like Rufus but can lead to a broken system with every single update you install, a NPU is a hard requirement for the upcoming major update with agentic AI.

They got a storm of criticism after that announcement, but Microsoft seemingly has not given a single fuck about that and has not backtracked on this decision.

(Just like they technically could have allowed Windows 11 to run on older PCs with some disabled features out of the box, but didn't)

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duskdozer 182 days ago
Lots of people are now upgrading hardware because of the end of standard Windows 10 updates
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