Windows MVP for another year - and I feel terrible about it....

I feel terrible about this. After writing a blog post saying that I won’t be upgrading to Microsoft Windows 11 (which is looking even nicer the more I look at it) because my computer won’t run it I discover that Microsoft have renewed me as a Microsoft MVP.

Thanks so much to Microsoft for putting up with me. And there have been some very interesting chats over email between MVPs and Microsoft folks who have patiently explained the reasons why Microsoft will not be allowing machines like mine to run Windows 11. Having thought about it properly I agree with their policy. It is all about containerisation and security. What you really want is strong, hardware based, protection for your processes that the operating system can use to make sure that stuff that appears on your machine is managed in a proper way and that badly behaved code is detected and kicked off before doing any harm. The threats to vulnerable software and hardware are only going to get greater over time and if a device has flaws that make it impossible to secure you really shouldn’t be using it in the long term.

In the olden days people used to drive around in cars that had no safety features at all. These cars were perfectly good for moving you around but they were inherently dangerous to the people inside and those around them. Nowadays we don’t do that. Cars are built with crumple zones and air bags to make things safer for drivers and pedestrians. Me saying that I want to stick with my old PC because it still works is a bit like a driver saying that they are quite happy to zoom around in a car with no seatbelts and a really pointy bumper.

Maybe there is a place where systems like my existing one can be used in a secure way. Perhaps playing a server role behind a secure firewall. I’m going to look into that. I’m also going to start saving my pennies for a Windows 11 box. Rather looking forward to it now.