Microsoft unveils its "Windows 11" operating system

 Windows 10 PC owners can now download Windows 11 for free, but the ability to use Microsoft's latest operating system will largely depend on the age of the computer and the type of processor it has, according to ABC News.

When Microsoft first introduced Windows 11 this summer, it also announced some restrictions on the types of computers eligible for the new operating system. The company said your computer would need a special processor known as a Trusted Platform Module, or "TPM" chip. In order to run Windows 11.

“It’s a little chip the size of your fingernails that sits on a device’s motherboard, and sometimes it’s on the CPU,” said Nick Mukey, digital trends management editor for ABC Audio.

David Weston, Microsoft's director of enterprise and operating systems security, wrote in a June 25 post that the company's TPM requirements are intended to "help protect encryption keys, user credentials, and other sensitive data behind a hardware barrier so that malware and attackers can access that data." or tampered with.”

Windows 11 is being launched against the backdrop of a rise in ransomware attacks, and some of these attacks, such as the SolarWinds hack, specifically targeted Microsoft code, and Muki said newer computers are more likely to include a TPM chip.

"The exception is that some of the people who build their own PCs may not have the chip we need, and some gaming PCs don't come with it," Muki said.

"But if you've had something in it or have bought some kind out of the box for the past few years, it's very likely that you can run Windows 11," Muki added.

To find out if your computer can run Windows 11, Muki recommends using the Microsoft PC Health Check app. “The download takes a few seconds, will run on your computer, look at the specs and tell you without any ambiguity whether You could have run Windows 11.”

Windows 11 provides a number of non-security updates for PC users as well, and Microsoft has moved the Start menu from the bottom left corner of the Home screen to the bottom center, though the system also gives users the option to move it back to the traditional location.

Muki said that this is only the beginning of the design updates to the new operating system, and added: “It is definitely a very different look than Windows 10, I think it is a cleaner look, Microsoft has implemented these menus, sort of, round and glass looking, and some animations are more fluid “.

“Microsoft also promised some better performance, and that means better battery life, better security, and there are actually some perks as well in terms of performance speed,” Muki said.

One of the most popular features Microsoft is promoting with Windows 11 is the ability to run Android apps on the desktop, as this will allow users to download and play apps like TikTok through the Microsoft Store.

“I think that was one of the features that people were most excited about,” Muki said. Microsoft did not say when the feature would launch on Windows 11.