Early final month, we reported on a Linux (KDE)-backed initiative referred to as “Finish of 10,” which aimed to point out of us the right way to save their unsupported Home windows 10 PCs by putting in Linux. Now, as we pace in the direction of October 14, 2025, end-of-support date for Home windows 10, KDE continues to be urging, or quite, inviting what it calls “Home windows 10 exiles” to contemplate making the change.

KDE’s message is fairly blunt: your Home windows 10 pc is about to grow to be “junk” and “formally out of date” as soon as Microsoft pulls the plug on assist. The group paints a grim image of unpatched bugs resulting in elevated dangers of being hacked, doubtlessly compromising your knowledge and identification.

Past safety, KDE means that new variations of functions will stop to run, and Microsoft will successfully block upgrades to newer Home windows variations until you buy new {hardware}. KDE calls this “tech extortion” and factors to the environmental impression of discarded PCs. The choice introduced is to “improve the good manner” by retaining current {hardware} and putting in Linux, particularly highlighting its Plasma desktop, which it claims can run nicely even on machines a decade outdated.

To entice customers, KDE particulars why Plasma may very well be a very good match. The setting goals for a well-known really feel, with a launch menu and workspace akin to what Home windows customers are accustomed to, but additionally presents in depth customization to imitate Home windows, macOS, or create one thing solely distinctive. Being open supply and developed by a nonprofit, Plasma is free. KDE additionally factors to highly effective options like a number of digital desktops and the Dolphin file supervisor’s built-in connectivity instruments for servers and cloud providers.

Recognizing that switching working programs is a major step, KDE presents recommendation for the transition. It concedes Linux “does take some getting used to” and encourages new customers to lean on the neighborhood for assist. A key piece of recommendation is to not count on the very same Home windows applications however to search for Linux functions that carry out comparable features, noting that necessities like Firefox and LibreOffice usually come pre-installed. For extra software program, KDE factors to bundle managers like its Uncover utility, which acts as an app retailer.

KDE additionally outlines what it believes customers is not going to miss from Home windows, equivalent to viruses, advertisements injected into the working system, spyware and adware, compelled updates, and necessary account registrations. Curiously, this “What’s going to you miss” part, whereas specializing in shedding undesirable Home windows behaviors, did not point out the actual belongings you’d additionally miss, like the complete Adobe Artistic Suite, particular Microsoft Workplace desktop functions, or in style titles like Name of Obligation and Fortnite, which are sometimes unsupported on account of anti-cheat programs that do not work on Linux.

If this all sounds good to you, probably the most simple technique to get began is by downloading a Linux distribution (or “distro”) that comes with KDE Plasma as its default desktop setting. A number of good choices embrace Kubuntu, Fedora KDE Spin, openSUSE, and KDE Neon. However as KDE notes, Plasma is not your solely possibility. Different desktop environments exist, like GNOME, Xfce, and Cinnamon.