Isn't that typical the modern ways. Pressure and control. We'll. Now it's even easier to choose.. I will just stay with win10. . Until September. Hopefully there will be some enlightenment around there.
Hmm, I wonder if they're doing this so they can drop some code for Spectre/Meltdown mitigations? If memory serves the fix was somewhere around the 10th-11th gen for Intel.
What is MS's end game here? The development cost savings seem not worth it. The only plausible reason I can think of is collision with PC manufacturers to boost sales.
1) For the past two decades, "botnet/vector as a service" has been a hidden feature of every unpatched internet-connected Windows system, and Microsoft since Windows 10 have been enforcing policies that signal their stance that platform security isn't elective. Dropping or locking support for Windows on vulnerable hardware is a logical next step if the next guess is true.
2) Like Google and Apple, Microsoft has fully entered the Global Identity Services game, and forcing TPM is necessary for their vision of a complete digital identity, from endpoint to cloud.
They've been blurring the lines between desktop and cloud for years, and the Microsoft Account is going to be their passport to accessing your games, apps, and files on your home PC anywhere. I mean, it already is, but it hasn't reached peak mindshare in enterprise where they're competing with IBM and other identity and access management providers.
They also enforce secure shit boot for 25H1 and forward. I don't see Windows being successful aside from office environment. But even here some already look for alternatives because the costs for very buggy software have become substantial.
What a shitty policy by them.
Given how hard notebook maintenance is for simple things like accessing the HDD, an UEFI password is probably just as safe for many users.
And Intel discontinued 10th gen desktop 4 years ago. So it is not unreasonable to tell OEMs not build new machines with those parts.
The list of supported parts can be found here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/mi...