Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss
Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss (he/him) is community manager for the KDE Eco initiative, which aims to strengthen ecological sustainability as part of the development and adoption of Free Software.
Session
Windows 10 security updates end on 14 October 2025, KDE's 29th birthday and also, ironically, International E-Waste Day [1] (you cannot make these things up!). Hundreds of millions of functioning devices [2] will become e-waste. This means manufacturing and transporting new ones, which is perhaps the biggest waste of all: hardware production alone can account for over 75% of a device's CO2 emissions over its lifespan.
Free Software is a solution, today, and if we work together Windows 10 could truly be the last version of Windows users ever use! In this talk I will present the issue of e-waste and the importance of right-to-repair software, and invite the audience to participate in coordinating a global, unified Free Software campaign over the next year to raise awareness about the environmental harm of software-driven hardware obsolescence, while promoting upgrading users from Windows 10 to GNU/Linux directly. Extending hardware's operating life with Free Software is good for users, and better for the environment. Let's think big and act boldly as a unified community!
[0] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/lots-of-pcs-are-poised-to-fall-off-the-windows-10-update-cliff-one-year-from-today/
[1] https://weee-forum.org/iewd-about/
[2] https://www.canalys.com/insights/end-of-windows-10-support-could-turn-240-million-pcs-into-e-waste