Top 10 end user computing stories of 2025
The biggest event of 2025 in the PC market has been the end of support for Windows 10. It was positioned as the last major release of the Windows operating system, which would be kept updated by over-the-air Windows updates. But when Windows 11 was launched in 2021, Microsoft set the date for the end of support for Windows 10 – October 5, 2025.
It was not much of an industry shock that Microsoft decided to release a new version of Windows. A new operating system install allows IT departments to clean up their PC estates and ensure devices are running a core set of applications. Some may use the upgrade to purchase new PCs, but Windows is only certified to run on any PC with a TPM 2 (trusted platform module), that enables its Secure Boot functionality.
While the Windows OS offers backwards compatibility, Microsoft’s security stance means that as PCs get older, there comes a point when the device driver software needed to keep these PCs functional offers too large an attack surface to continue supporting them.
Microsoft is unwilling to coordinate the effort required to support device drivers indefinitely, which means that perfectly good peripherals will lose support eventually; they may still run using the older (legacy) device driver, but there will not be any newer versions.
To prevent older PCs from running Windows, Microsoft enforces signed device-drivers, which means that only certified driver software is allowed to be installed on Windows when it boots up securely. There will always be workaround to get devices working, but these break the Microsoft security model and potentially expose corporate IT to cyber security attacks.
While the migration to Windows 11 eventually got going, many corporate IT departments have found it harder to migrate to the latest version of Windows, which is why there is an extended support option available. Home users have until October 26, after Microsoft recognised that there were plenty of consumers still on Windows 10. Consumers who register for extended support and back up their PCs in the Microsoft cloud will be able to get free security updates until October 2026. Corporate PCs and devices connected to Active Directory will only receive Windows 10 security updates if they are covered by an Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription.
A potential enticement to migrate is new PCs with neural processing units (NPU), aimed at running artificial intelligence (AI) workloads locally, rather than relying on cloud-based AI acceleration. Among the interesting developments in AI PCs is that Microsoft initially only certified ARM-powered devices based on Qualcomm chips, but Intel and AMD -based PCs are now supported.
Running AI inference workloads locally offers application developers and hardware providers the ability to use the built-in NPU to provide smart capabilities in their products, with noise-cancelling webcam microphones among the early use cases. It can also help improve the rendering of backgrounds in video conference calls. However, these do not appear to offer a compelling enough reason to upgrade to an AI PC.
The annual Build 2025 conference was Microsoft’s chance to convince developers that creating AI functionality in their applications is the direction of travel for Windows software. Without compelling use cases, there is no reason for IT departments to pay the current premium being commanded for NPU-enabled PCs that offer local AI acceleration.
Microsoft offers an AI inference engine, Windows ML, in Windows 11, which can be accessed via an application programming interface (API), and, significantly, can be trained on custom data. It is unclear how this will evolve, but the capabilities are now built into Windows 11, which means it is highly likely more AI-infused PC applications will be coming online during 2026.
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 AI stories of 2025.
1. US tariffs drive PC sales boost
While the end of support has driven PC purchases, there also appears to have been an increase in PC refreshes in preparation for the new US tariffs. In April, analyst Canalys reported that PC shipments experienced a surge in first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), driven by manufacturers accelerating deliveries to the US in anticipation of initial tariff announcements.
2. What happened when a tech journalist experimented with AI on a PC?
Google Gemma, Meta Llama, Mistral and DeepSeek can all be downloaded free of charge for use on a personal machine without paying for online services or exposing your data to the cloud. In this article, we assess the technical feasibility of doing this on a personal machine and the quality of the output with the resources available.
3. Windows 10 end of support: Time to go virtual?
With Windows 10 no longer supported, IT leaders need to consider how to manage the devices that haven’t yet been upgraded to Windows 11. This is because stranded Windows 10 boxes and legacy applications will become a tempting target for hackers. This requires mitigations, such as uninstalling as much end-of-life software as possible or segregating devices that can’t be upgraded.
4. Microsoft at 50: Enterprise IT for the masses
Before the web allowed businesses such as Facebook and Google to flourish, there was traditional computing. Until the late 1970s with the era of homebrew computer devices, computers were seen as complex, expensive machines that ran in specialised facilities. But on 4 April 1975, Paul Allen and Bill Gates formed Microsoft, a company that defined the PC era and opened up computing for all.
5. How Toyota is transforming its digital employee experience
The traditional way of handling IT issues through helpdesk tickets generally delivers an unsatisfactory user experience – something Toyota is looking to rectify. Instead of waiting for IT issues to be manually triaged, Toyota’s 100,000 staff members now benefit from the IT department using Nexthink’s DEX technology to proactively detect, diagnose and remedy IT issues across endpoints, leading to an improvement in digital employee experience.
6. Warranty fraud fuels hidden army of hardware hackers
Widespread warranty fraud is not only costing companies billions but also creating a breeding ground for advanced hardware exploits, warned hardware hacker and researcher Bunnie Huang at Black Hat Asia 2025.
In Shenzhen, China, there is a bustling market of hardware tinkerers, repairing and repurposing old devices, enabling them to build a deep understanding of hardware vulnerabilities. According to Huang, these technicians are perfectly positioned to identify and exploit manufacturing defects.
7. IT departments face huge Windows 10 support bill
When Windows 10 reaches end-of-life on 14 October, organisations will need to purchase an Extended Support (ESU) contract to receive Microsoft patches.
“There will be no more bug fixes or performance enhancements,” said Gartner analyst Ranjit Atwal.
Businesses can buy an ESU, but Atwal expects that only a small number of organisations will pay for this, to provide a “support” bridge enabling them to continue to receive support from Microsoft when they complete the migration away from Windows 10.
8. PC makers use CES to showcase AI PC efforts
A range of AMD, Intel and ARM-powered PCs with neural processing units are aiming to boost office productivity. DellLeading PC makers, HP and Lenovo all demoed their latest AI-enabled PC offerings. These devices pack vats amounts of memory for running local AI inference workloaads, along with powerful AI acceleration hardware.
9. Windows 10: Microsoft Extended Support Upgrade programme explained
Gartner explains how IT leaders can manage their migration from Windows 10 to Windows 11 using the Microsoft ESU programme. However, customers experiencing technical issues with Windows 10 that are unrelated to the ESU updates are advised to upgrade to Windows 11 because ESU does not provide complete patching. Vulnerabilities rated as “moderate” or “low” will not be addressed.
10. Brits clinging to Windows 10 face heightened risk, says NCSC
Businesses and consumers alike may not feel the need to upgrade to Windows 11 as its predecessor approaches end-of-life, but they are putting their own security at risk, said the NCSC.
The NCSC released updated recommended configuration packs for Windows 10 – part of a set of recommended configurations it maintains for the main operating systems to help organisations rapidly deploy recommended baselines.
