Click bait? Sure, but I will argue the TPM point. I will not argue that TPM by itself is a bad thing — any technology that helps individuals maintain a more secure environment is a good thing — but I don’t know enough about how Microsoft is implementing TPM to feel comfortable about it.

However, going into bios and just changing a setting is something that will not be available to everyone. I have 3 gaming PCs in the house currently. My new rig (assembled in 2020) my old rig (assembled around 2012) and my son’s rig (assembled in 2018). All 3 units fail the check for Windows 11. Why? The 2012 rig is obvious, TPM was not common enough in the 2018 build to have a module installed. As for the newest 2020 rig with a $400 MSI x570 motherboard? MSI offers a nice “TPM (header)” but no actual chip (which they are happy to sell for an additional $30).

Yes — I know how to solve this. Buy a chip, update bios. That will work for all 3 of the systems in my house. I could also make an argument that anyone that has the wherewithal (both money and intelligence) to build their own custom PC has no excuse here either to bridge this gap — but I am not going to hold my breath here. Therefore, I stand by the initial premise: some people will get left out in the cold by Windows 11.