It’s almost like the good ol’ days of install fests and the like! ‘End of 10’ is an organization that’s making it easy for Windows 10 users with computers that can’t upgrade to Windows 11, to install Linux instead of sending good hardware to the landfill.
Wowie zowie! I don’t know how long it’s going to last, but for the time being some of that old time “we’re doing something radical, important, and good” open source feeling is back. It’s like being part of a movement again, and I’m tempted to take the advice once handed out by David Crosby and to just let my open source freak flag fly.
What I’m talking about is a group of hippie radical open sourcers — warning, they may object to being called that — who have started something of a movement which is going to last at least until October 14, 2025 — maybe even longer if I have anything to do with it.
This movement, which started and is still centered in Europe, has already — like in less than a week — spread throughout the world and has even landed on the shores of these United States, where we could use an old fashioned freak fest with all the weirdness in Washington we’ve been going through lately.
In case you haven’t guessed or you haven’t heard or you’ve been too busy keeping your head stuck up Zuckerberg’s, Musk’s, or Bezo’s dark side (phew!) to know what’s really going on, the movement is called End of 10. The name points to the day –five months away — when Microsoft’s gonna stop supporting Windows 10, which will put a gazillion perfectly good computers out of work simply because Redmond wants desktops and laptops to have the specifications of a mainframe before it’ll let it have Windows 11 installed on it.
Methinks the folks in Redmond are suffering from a double case of “too much” syndrome: They’ve been drinking too much Seattle’s Best, while spending too much time hanging out with the yuppies at Starbucks.
End of 10’s Better Idea
With a whole bunch of people in the world thinking that computers require Windows to run, this means a whole bunch of perfectly good computers with more than enough resources to run a sane operating system will be headed to the recycling bin — if not to the landfill — come the end of October. It also means that people will be shelling out money for a computer to replace the computer they have, that only needs replacing because it can’t run Windows 11.
The End of 10 folks have a better idea. Instead of euthanizing your computer just because Microsoft has made it artificially obsolete, they ask, “Why not run some version of Linux on it?”
All of us reading FOSS Force know the answer to that. They very well might install Linux on their artificially obsolete hardware if only they knew. The problem is, they don’t know, or if they do they’ve been brainwashed into believing that only computer Einsteins can even think about running Linux, because if it’s that good, it has to be hard to use, right?
The End of 10 is here to convince people that… no, even you can master Linux, and in fact, some people think that modern Linux is even easier to use than Windows. The project has even put up a website — hosted by KDE — which was initially scheduled to go live on May 28 but which is a hoppin’ place right now.
Obviously, they’re ahead of schedule, which is a good thing.
Who’s Behind End of 10?
It would be synchronicitous if End of 10 had 10 people behind it, but it has 11 — which is also fitting. Not surprisingly, all 11 are connected with open source in one way or another, with several of them working for or contributing to well known open source projects such as Gnome, KDE, Free Software Foundation Europe, openSUSE, and others.
End of 10 is supported by a coalition of FOSS projects, which includes all of those same projects.
The project’s mission is basically threefold and includes:
- Empowering Users and Promoting Sustainability
- The campaign’s core message, “upgrade your software, not your hardware,” is meant as a challenge to the widespread belief that older computers must be discarded when Windows support ends.
- The environmental impact of e-waste is highlighted, with the organization noting that more than 75% of a computer’s carbon footprint is generated during manufacturing. By encouraging Linux adoption, the campaign hopes to reduce unnecessary electronic waste and promote digital sustainability.
- Community-Driven Support
- Through the project’s website, it connects users with places, such as local repair cafés, independent computer shops, and installation events where they can get hands-on help transitioning to Linux. It also has step-by-step instructions for installing Linux for those brave Windows users who’d like to take the DIY approach.
- Volunteers and FOSS advocates organize install fests, provide educational materials, and offer guidance to both individuals and organizations considering the switch.
- Distro-Agnostic Approach
- End of 10 intentionally remains neutral regarding Linux distributions, aiming to unite the broader FOSS community and avoid promoting any single project over others. Individual communities are welcome to participate and promote their own work, provided the messaging remains positive and inclusive.
How to Get Involved
The campaign is open to contributions from anyone interested in supporting its mission, whether by organizing events, translating materials, or spreading the word online.
In addition, the project is seeking individuals and groups who’d like to sign up as a “repair collective” to help people in their area who’d like to make the move to Linux: “A description of the information we need for places and for events can be found at the Git repository’s README. Send the information by email to endof10@lists.posteo.de. If you can, help us out by providing that information in JSON format.”
On it’s website, the project has posted a slew of other ways you can get involved, but ask that if you do that, to please contact them so they can coordinate your efforts with theirs.
Some of the things you can do include:
- Put repair cafes and independent computer shops offering Linux support in touch with us.
- Organize an installation event and let us know about it.
- Design materials for new users such as guides, promotional flyers, etc.
- Distribute materials in cafes, shops, universities, and schools in your area.
- Boost the campaign’s online presence by sharing our social media posts.
- Translate the website (more below), campaign materials, etc.
- Volunteer with FOSS communities participating in the campaign (improving documentation, software debugging, design, etc.).
About the translation work… End of 10 says: “The website is hosted by KDE and follows the translation workflow used for all of KDE’s websites. Find your language team: https://l10n.kde.org/. Learn about the process: https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved/translation“.
Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux
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