Let's talk about Open Source software first. Yes, open source is free and that, alone might be one reason to consider it. But there are other aspects which go beyond the price tag which are important to understand when considering open source software.
And what about the environmental implications of the open source model? With no products to sell, most open source software has no vested interest in the planned obsolescence that plagues the users of commercial software. While the open source model does include major revisions and releases, it generally tends to follow a more evolutionary development process that is far less likely to require you to go out an buy a new computer to be able to run the latest and greatest version. And linux updates are very rarely as problematic as those Windows 10 cumulative updates.
Why Linux?
Even if you're addicted to Windows or otherwise reluctant to take the take the plunge and undertake a full scale conversion to open source here are some things you might investigate and maybe even try:
But if you do go out a buy a new computer, what are you going to do with the old one? "E-waste" is a growing environmental issue. Below are several links addressing this issue and suggestions (some Ottawa-based since that's where we're located) for less environmentally objectionable ways of disposing of no longer wanted computer equipment. And before you dispose of that computer, however you opt to do so, you out to consider what happens to the data it contains and suggestions on how to safely erase your data.
