Since Windows 7 is going to lose security updates, I have been looking at what to replace it with. My main use case being games (actual work and internet being on Debian).
What I found was that Windows Server seems to cut most of the features I do not want in Windows (Cortana, Windows Store and Microsoft accounts, OneDrive...) while still being purchasable on Amazon (although at 3-6 times the price). There are several issues (drivers and application compatibility, various settings have to be changed to match the "regular" Windows behavior), but so far I prefer it a lot to regular Windows 10.
For some reason I don't ever see people recommending the MSMG Toolkit[0]. With it, you can take a regular Win10 Home or Pro .iso, and completely gut it. Like, completely gut it. It'll stop automatic Windows updates (you can still choose to do them yourself), you can remove all default metro apps, you can completely remove the Windows Store from ever being on your system. Seriously, this thing is an absolute godsend it my opinion. Combine with the Windows 10 Privacy Guide[1] to pick up any slack that it misses.
Maybe it’s time to find alternates? I have a really hard time imagining there’s anything other than specialized control software that won’t run on Linux and is worth that.
I do not precisely disagree; I personally have exactly zero Windows machines left. But I know people for whom that transition would mean replacing the majority of the software that they use every day, and for less-technical folks that's going to hurt.
Story time. I know a small business owner who uses WordPerfect, FileMaker (database), and who needs a Java web applet that interfaces with a hardware device and backends into a government database in order to do their job. Now, I would 100% be thrilled to move them from WordPerfect to LibreOffice, but they have 20-year-old macros that we'd have to port. Then FileMaker: I guess something could be done with sqlite? But now we're talking custom software solutions to replace something that a non-developer could drive before. And the Java applet... well, that's gonna hurt regardless, but it talks to hardware which means that it'll need drivers, and the government isn't going to support anything but the bare minimum, so that may never move.
In my experience, 90% of software is totally possible to port or replace. Unfortunately, that last 10% (games, drivers, business-critical app written for MS-DOS 6.22) tends to be what makes or breaks the migration.
I just realized my message was wrong in the context. The price was not 3 times 300$ but 3 times the regular price of a Windows 10 Family license. Basically, the price I am seeing on Amazon is 345$.
What I found was that Windows Server seems to cut most of the features I do not want in Windows (Cortana, Windows Store and Microsoft accounts, OneDrive...) while still being purchasable on Amazon (although at 3-6 times the price). There are several issues (drivers and application compatibility, various settings have to be changed to match the "regular" Windows behavior), but so far I prefer it a lot to regular Windows 10.