Your advice to seniors... stay with Windows 10 or try Windows 11

I am 75 and enjoy using my mind now more than i did as a young whippersnapper, i say go fo it A Mind is Not something to Waste ! I watch my brother's wife's mind go dark & she knows nothing (Alzheimer's), so try to keep your minds active some say it helps !! My wife & i have W11 on our machines & 1 with W10 with no problems at all ! And i still do Malware Removal !
Chuck

I knew the responses here would be great. My reaction to just a few:

Bree- I agree with your statement about it being a judgment call. Lots of things to consider.

Ghot - "The elderly are people too, and are individuals, with individual desires and abilities."
Exactly. "Unlike all you young whippersnappers." You made this 80 year-old

Wynona - It sounds like you get a lot of satisfaction with your work with seniors. Good for you! Elderly does carry a certain connotation doesn't it? Like the person is feeble and out of it.

flashh4- That's what I was thinking also..... about keeping our 'pc between our ears' active too.

Anibor_11 said:

Stay with 10. In old age, time becomes very precious, don´t waste it learning 11. Better still, if you are not working anymore, stop using PCs. They are very complicated, not user friendly. Instead, use a smartphone.

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I disagree. Working with computers and solving problems keeps one's brain active.

Ever heard the old adage; Use it or Lose it? Well, when we stop using our brains for solving problems, we do in fact lose it! Doesn't matter whether a person writes code, solves computer problems, learns how to knit, goes bird watching, etc. The bottom line is to keep our brains active!

mackie said:

I knew the responses here would be great. My reaction to just a few:

Bree- I agree with your statement about it being a judgment call. Lots of things to consider.

Ghot - "The elderly are people too, and are individuals, with individual desires and abilities."
Exactly. "Unlike all you young whippersnappers." You made this 80 year-old

Wynona - It sounds like you get a lot of satisfaction with your work with seniors. Good for you! Elderly does carry a certain connotation doesn't it? Like the person is feeble and out of it.

flashh4- That's what I was thinking also..... about keeping our 'pc between our ears' active too.

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I would rather your original post had started with Senior Citizens rather than the elderly. You're right . . . being called elderly just hacks me off and I want to bite someone's head off.

BTW, I also play pool two nights a week. Staying active keeps my body in shape and my mind sharp.

Berton said:

I consider the age of my clients, to be blunt about it some are a bit older than me and I'm a week away from 82. It's obvious some may not make it to the need to get a new computer for Win11, none I deal with have compatible machines now so 4 years may be sufficient.

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Hi, Berton. Yeah, as we age, it does get harder to learn new things. And I realize age should be taken into consideration. Just don't call 'em elderly!

Wynona said:

Hi, Berton. Yeah, as we age, it does get harder to learn new things. And I realize age should be taken into consideration. Just don't call 'em elderly! :)

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OK, you're a senior (or "seniorly") like me. LOL!

Anibor_11 said:

Stay with 10. In old age, time becomes very precious, don´t waste it learning 11. Better still, if you are not working anymore, stop using PCs. They are very complicated, not user friendly. Instead, use a smartphone.

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or better yet a pay phone.

I'm an old broad who helps a lot of even older broads (and gents) with their computers. Some of them are so challenged they get confused if their Facebook icon gets moved to a different position on their desktop. They don't deal well with change AT ALL and any explanation confuses them more. Others are inquisitive and want to try new things. I've worked with them all long enough to know which ones will accept the minor changes in Windows 11 they can physically see and run with it. I take what I know about each one and give my recommendation accordingly. But if their hardware is incompatible, it's always stay with 10.
PS-You can call me elderly, old, gray-haired, senior, or ancient and it doesn't bother me, just as long as you call me and I'm still alive and able to answer. All those adjectives apply.

Anibor_11 said:

Stay with 10. In old age, time becomes very precious, don´t waste it learning 11. Better still, if you are not working anymore, stop using PCs. They are very complicated, not user friendly. Instead, use a smartphone.

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I have a fairly large Android smart phone (OnePlus 7T, 6.55" display, HDR10+). I avoid using it for Internet related matters. Sites that automatically switch to a crippled mobile version when accessed by a phone annoy me. I get similar complaints from iPhone users.

Android and iOS remind me of AOL: "The Internet on training wheels." I'm not an expert - never coded a line of HTML - but there's a balance between making something easy to use, and hiding so much from the user as to make the experience frustrating.

I cannot believe the ageist articles from ignorant media persons saying do not upgrade. Shame on them!

Every individual is different - I may be getting on a bit but I know far more about computers than most of my colleagues at work, and I bet a damn site more than the prats writing such articles.

Little known secrets, just unearthed from ancient Egyptian tombs...

1. Old age and treachery, win out over youth and skill... every time.
2. Respect old people. They graduated without Google or Wikipedia.
3. It takes hard work and dedication to find time for an afternoon nap.
4. In old age you've matured to the point where you don't succumb to anything less than a triple-dog dare.

I'm one of those elderly, I'm 78, the only reason I didn't start using 11 when it was first around is that my laptop is not compatible.

I left that running 10 and as soon as I could I bought myself a new laptop that could run 11. I may be elderly but I still want to learn and keep up with the technology as I enjoy it, even more now I can't get out or move about.

I certainly don't see why I should stop using a computer just because I'm not working anymore, I didn't have to use my brain when I did work in the last few years before I retired. I can't do the physical activities I used to but I can still type and explore a computer and learning a new OS is using my brain.

My late mother-in-law had Alzheimer's and it was very upsetting to see her deteriorate, even more so over the last few months of her life and if possible I'd like to try and prevent that happening to me, I have enough problems without any more.

Just because we are older doesn't mean we are on the scrap heap and if we want to learn we should be given the chance to do so.

I wonder how many here are considered "elderly" and yet they seem to be adapting to Windows 11 just fine.

I'm just 62 but I know I'm somewhat of a youngster here, but as I once told my than 81-year old mom.... I hope to get where you are.

I feel it's more about the individual and not their age. Some people can adapt to change very easy, and some can't. For those who like change and feel comfortable about learning their way around a new OS, I think they should go for it if their system meets the minimum requirements or better. I would only suggest upgrading a non-compliant device to someone who knows how to handle any problems that may happen.

mackie said:

I knew the responses here would be great. My reaction to just a few:

Bree- I agree with your statement about it being a judgment call. Lots of things to consider.

Ghot - "The elderly are people too, and are individuals, with individual desires and abilities."
Exactly. "Unlike all you young whippersnappers." You made this 80 year-old

Wynona - It sounds like you get a lot of satisfaction with your work with seniors. Good for you! Elderly does carry a certain connotation doesn't it? Like the person is feeble and out of it.

flashh4- That's what I was thinking also..... about keeping our 'pc between our ears' active too.

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Thanks for changing the name of the thread, @mackie! Much appreciated.

If it makes you happy, do whatever you want (Win 10 or 11 that is)

Zardoc said:

If it makes you happy, do whatever you want (Win 10 or 11 that is)

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But, but, but, what if I want to do both???

cereberus said:

I cannot believe the ageist articles from ignorant media persons saying do not upgrade. Shame on them!

Every individual is different - I may be getting on a bit but I know far more about computers than most of my colleagues at work, and I bet a damn site more than the prats writing such articles.

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That advice may be a kindness for some.

I remember my late father. He couldn't use a DVD player. because the concept of switching inputs on a modern TV never registered with him. A GUI didn't help him: he retired in the mid 1980s, and probably never used one at his job (at IBM). He died 4 years ago at 95.

By his late 70s, he basically refused to do anything that he thought might confuse him. He never had a computer, or a smart phone. (His cell was a flip phone.)

I'm pretty sure that there are a number of people here in their 70s and 80s or later who do a bit better. I hope to be one of them, if I survive that long.

(My mantra: This gear was designed to be used by someone of average intelligence or less. I ought to be able to manage.)

Windows 11 will be a better operating system than Windows 10 when it comes to gaming. The new DirectStorage will also allow those with a high-performance NVMe SSD to see even faster loading times, as games will be able to load assets to the graphics card without 'bogging down' the CPU.

Some seniors are a lot more competent than youngsters these days-- for starters some of them have used all sorts of computers for YEARS including older cludgy mainframe systems with hideous text based email / collaboration software e.g IBM PROFS , and often these days they have much more time to try things out etc. Many youngsters are so pressurized via work etc that they haven't got the time or inclination to mess around with this sort of stuff.

As far as W10 / W11 is concerned -- seems from a standard users perspective there's very little difference so just use whatever is on the machine if you don't want to mess around.