• melbaboutown
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    7 months ago

    Hey I have a silly question…

    I have a Mac given to me by family when my old laptop had an issue, but I’m finding it really awkward and/or not compatible with many things I do. I have an old Windows desktop that I’ve pulled out that still runs. However it’s Windows 7 which is now out of support. I’m not paying a large fee to buy Windows 10. And it’s too old to be compatible with the free Windows 11 upgrade.

    I do have a Windows 10 rescue disc but it’s specific to a different laptop so wouldn’t have the right drivers.

    I’d go Linux but it also doesn’t do some stuff I want.

    I did manage to find a loophole and get a downloadable Windows 10 iso by accessing the downloads page with the Mac, which showed me a “Windows 10 multi-edition iso”. It’s too large to fit as a bootable on the format offered by the stick drive and too large to fit as a bootable on a non-double sided DVD, but I could mount the iso directly from the partition.

    However. Is this iso legit to use? It’s from Microsoft so it wouldn’t be cracked, but idk if there could be some tech issues cropping up or I could get stung for not being licensed to use it or some shit.

    • Taleya
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      7 months ago

      Linux is your best bet, win10 is on the way out as well. Win 7 does still work as long as you’re not a dumbfuck with it, but up to you.

      Wrt things you don’t want, what’s missing? Mint is the easiest transition from a windows environment and will put less bloat on your system

      • melbaboutown
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        7 months ago

        Basically I want to be able to have a wide pick of games and apparently Linux can be difficult for that and a fair few don’t run on Mac or Linux. I know there’s stuff like Wine or emulators but I don’t really have the spoons to keep running into roadblocks and stuff. It can be a learning curve and I just don’t really have the brain cells to spare right now

        Edit: I also find it easier to sign documents digitally with the mouse and email the signed copy back. This was something I did easily on Windows but the tools for that on Mac are really really not suiting me.

        • Taleya
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          7 months ago

          Wine really has come a long long way (and steam has a native linux client if that’s your jam) . you really just set up once and go.

          • melbaboutown
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            7 months ago

            Lately I has teh dumb ;-;

            I could look into it at some point when I’m less scattered and see if it’s something I could potentially get going.

            • Taleya
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              7 months ago

              Know the feels i’ve been in full on asd overload for way too long

              • melbaboutown
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                7 months ago

                It’s so bad. And you’re seen as smart so there’s not always a lot of understanding for it or grace given

      • melbaboutown
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        7 months ago

        It might! I do know the period to get Windows 10 for free is over and I’m not being allowed to upgrade to Windows 10 or get the iso on the Windows machine, but I may still have the key for the Windows 7 to use their suggestions. I am a bit concerned about Microsoft getting litigious about it though. As Adobe is considering people using old versions of Photoshop as not having permission.

        Yes the internet is becoming a capitalist hellscape

        • T156@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          You might be able to. Microsoft kept the Windows 10 upgrade page for a good long while, so it might still be possible.

          As Adobe is considering people using old versions of Photoshop as not having permission.

          Realistically, as a non-solicitator, I can’t see them winning that argument. People paid for that version of Photoshop, and are using it. They’re not using it to sneak into some special upgrade programme.

          It would be like Sony showing up to your house to confiscate all your CDs, because its old enough they decided that you no longer have permission to own the thing.

          • melbaboutown
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            7 months ago

            Crunchyroll removed digital content that people paid for after absorbing Funimation, and I think some streaming companies pulled movies/music that people had bought. And Adobe also didn’t pay Pantone some fees the company wanted so if people using Photoshop didn’t pay up the Pantone colours in their finished art turned black. (Stuart Semple released a plugin called Freetone to fix it.)

            So I don’t know :(

            If I had more organisation/energy/braincells I would just go Linux as recommended and have open source versions of everything

    • SituationCake
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      7 months ago

      There may be free online aps that you can access through your Mac browser, eg with a google account you can use google word processor or spreadsheet. If you have a specific task maybe some more knowledge people here can help on how to do it without windows?

      • melbaboutown
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        7 months ago

        I’m super wary of free online apps but thanks for the suggestion