Would you rather be stuck in the woods with an updated Windows 11 or a Windows 7?

Can I fashion a simple linux distro from various sticks and pebbles I find on the forest floor?

Everyone in this thread is missing that this is just a copy of the OS. OP said nothing about having a computer, or internet, or electricity.

I'll take Windows 7 because it was still issued on DVD which would be useful as a signal mirror for getting rescued.

Errrmmm. So is 11. I have tons. Never take them out if the packaging but I still has them.
- Oh, really? I thought they were distributing on USB drives these days. Are they OEM copies?

def win 7

And that’s only because XP wasn’t a given option.
- Let's not kid ourselves. Xp is extremely dated and 7 was the better OS
- Same applies to Vista despite being much closet to Windows 7 than XP.
  
  But I bet it's this way only because nobody gave a shit about Vista. I was the only person who gave a shit about it.
No question.

I wouldn't care either way because I doubt it's connected to the internet out in the middle of the woods which is what would really limit what I could and would use a computer for in that situation.

Then again, if it uses Windows 11 it might get hotter and be able to keep me from freezing to death... 🤔

Some low hanging fruit here (lol Apples) but Win 11 for surely my location and situation will be known afar.

Bonus edit: To the Wincopter! A subscriber is away from employ!

I always keep a short length of single mode fiber optic cable with me when I'm hiking. If I get lost, I just bury it, and it less than an hour some idiot will show up in a backhoe and accidentally cut it in half.
- Ya got me. Literally peed myself at this

Windows Me. I play on hard.

Microsoft Bob.

Come at me, bro.
- Bob was ahead of its time.
You sick bastard

Hahahaha
Oof.

Roommate in college got ME the night it released. Came back installed by around 1am. By 2am it was uninstalled and never touched again.
You, sir, are a very sick person. Mad props to ya.

Can I choose the bear?

I choose the bear too

Permanently Deleted

Neither. I go into the woods to unplug.

I go there to get bitten by mosquitos.
- Mom: We have mosquitoes at home.

Win 7, because I can use it as bargain to trade with locals who help me to get out of the forest and back to civilisation. No one would be interested in Win 11 so that choice is obvious.

Win 11 because wsl. At least I have some of Linux so I can use a computer.

I worked for msft. I evangelized Windows, even through 8, I found the silver lining. 11 can die in a fire.

Windows 11. Because Windows 7 ate Windows 9.

I don't really get all the windows 11 hate. I have had 0 problems with it

Not everyone is ok with os not being yours and sending everything you do to someone else so they can better advertise to you.
- Let's not act like Microsoft hasn't patched that into older Windows versions too.
  
  Anything older than Windows 10 is a massive security risk. And Windows 11 is just Windows 10 with a slightly worse UI and a handful of new features on top.
If you like it and it works for you, then great. I’m in the same boat.
- "Go with what works best for you"
  
  --basically how I've lived for the last 10 years or so
At least it isn't Windows 10.
- Don't get me started on windows 9
Back on Reddit it seemed like a standard pattern that every once in a while some particular subject would come up that was popular to dislike, and a generalized negative sentiment would wash gently across the zeitgeist for a while before eventually receding. My theory is that being part of a mob is fun, it lets you unleash righteous anger and feel validation along with the rush of endorphins, so it's a self-perpetuating pattern.

Here on the Fediverse it feels more like a steady lashing storm of waves. Right now Windows 11 is hated. In most threads it's impossible to say something that is insufficiently negative about it without getting tons of downvotes.

Oh well. If Karma was meaningless on Reddit, it's doubly meaningless here. So I'll just keep on saying my thing.

What the hell do I need Windows for if I'm stuck in the woods??

I don't know about you, but my Outlook on survival while being an Explorer would definitely rise. I'd say I would Excell at the task at hand if I'd be pushed to the Edge like that, mark my Word!
- This made me chuckle!

Def 7, it was the first OS used at work that turned invisible.. It didn't need constant defragging, optimizing or registry hacks like 98, 2000 or XP used to. It was a workhorse.

That said, I haven't used 11 yet. My company just announced that this year all PCs will stay on 10 for the foreseeable future.

for the foreseeable future.

Oct 2025, I hope. That's when Ms will stop supporting 10.

No one seems to be considering that only Windows 11 lets you run Linux as a subsystem.

Windows 10 was the one that introduced this feature though.
But I could download virtualbox on 7 then grab an iso...

I am already in the woods on Windows 7

11, so that when I outrun the bear, it'll be 11 who dies, while 7 is waiting for me at home

im in the woods, help me

Win7 4 lyfe, yo

Next question, pls

Windows 7. And I would hope for the mighty superhero penguin Linux to save me.

11 easily. Not everyone hates. It personally I think it's worth it for AutoHDR alone. And the simplified start menu makes a lot of sense once you put the start button back where it goes and block ads in the menu.

Windows, the only OS you must hit the start button in order to halt it

Can I side load the Linux distribution of choice?

Sure, if you can figure out how to partion your drive properly.

7

Not sure it matters. I'll be drawing a girlfriend in MS Paint, and it hasn't changed much.

I have a surprise for you: there were big updates to Paint in Windows 11. Most notably AI image generation features. So that may affect your girlfriend-drawing endeavours.
- Me: Tries to draw ScarJo.
  
  AI MS Paint: Here's that sexy picture of Clippy you wanted!

You'd be screwed with 11, please connect me to the internet to login to your account. So I'll take 7.

Since the woods has not internet, 11. No ads, no tracking. Do need the old context menus and a few things before I head out though.

Sorry, but you can't even log in without Internet.
- Really? LOL
  
  I'm on Windows for work but I login to a Linux box to do any work within the first five minutes

Linux

Depends, assuming a fresh install, can you even create account on win11 without internet access? Last i checked, it wont let you start with local account and requires MS account.

Apparently you can, during setup there is a window of 11 milliseconds during which you need to press a combination of 11 keys so you're allowed to create a local account. The procedure only costs 11€ per try too
Yes, Windows 11 N or using a Rufus modified version.

Mine doesn't have a Microsoft account.

Windows 7, maybe I could even download iTunes 10 and get my old music library back

Windows 7 got Solitaire so probably that

Grew up on windows 7. It was all I needed and was perfect. I don't need anything else. I didn't even want 10 but 10 is...ok I guess. I def don't want 11 though.

whichever of the two is more like a bear

Duh, I'd rather be stuck with Vista.

But since it's not even an option, I would choose Windows 7 by default. Although 8.1 wasn't really THAT bad, I just think it will be treated exactly the same as 7 in terms of software support, similarly to how programs dropped support for Vista at the same time they did for XP.

Windows 7 all day long or 98 perfection

Microsoft peaked in '98
- Too many blue screens, my favorite was XP.

I would prefer a REAL girlfriend to a square headed girlfriend. Stuck. In the woods.

Windows 2000 all the way.

The stability of the NT combined with that classic Windows look and feel. God I wish this did get released to consumers instead of Windows Me.

But my virtualisation software treats basically every Windows version before Vista really poorly, even with the necessary drivers installed. I guess I'll just get a real computer and install Windows 2000 on that instead.

Both would be a bear…

I dunno, if I'd built a shelter, 1 or 2 windows would be enough I think.

Hm, nobody addressed the fact that Windows 7 is outdated and has known vulnerabilities. The idea of this question was to see whether people would rather be spied on by Microsoft or by unknown strangers.

Spied on in the woods without an internet connection?

I pressed X to doubt so hard that my phone screen cracked.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with a computer in the woods but I guess Windows 7 if I have to pick between those.

7 because I don't want to be stuck in the woods with someone elses computer. Also 7 has the good version of paint.

7

7 fo sho