Windows 11 officially launches today, October 5, and Microsoft is hosting a special launch-day livestream to celebrate the occasion — and it promises to be an intriguing event.
The Windows 11 launch day livestream kicks off today at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET over at a special "Elevenation" website Microsoft seems to have set up just for the occasion. What makes it so interesting is the lineup: Microsoft claims this will be a "6D musical experience" that you'll be watching in your browser, with appearances from musicians Tate McRae and Allen Stone.
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Plus, if you tune in Microsoft is promising a chance to claim a Windows 11 NFT, a "one-of-a-kind cryptographic token" which will unlock "valuable experiences and rewards" — presumably within Windows 11.
While Windows 11 is officially released as of today, that doesn't mean it's sweeping the world by storm. Microsoft will offer it as a free upgrade to Windows 10 owners through Windows Update, but not everyone gets the offer immediately. Microsoft is rolling updates out through mid-2022, and depending on how old your PC is, it may not get offered an upgrade for some time. And for many users, the update might not come at all if it doesn't meet the stringent Windows 11 system requirements.
That's why this Windows 11 launch event is so puzzling: lots of people can't easily upgrade to Windows 11 yet. It's on Microsoft to sell them to either run out to buy a new Windows 11-ready laptop (including its new Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Pro 8 PCs, though perhaps not the disappointing Surface Go 3) or upgrade their home PC so it can upgrade to Windows 11.
And frankly, after spending a month or so beta-testing Microsoft's newest operating system, I can tell you I wouldn't upgrade to Windows 11 yet. It's got a slick new look and some smart improvements, but it doesn't add much of real value over Windows 10 and its not quite feature-complete yet.
But perhaps Microsoft will give us more reason to be excited at tonight's 6D musical Windows 11 experience, whatever it turns out to be. Catch it live over on the Elevenation website, and stay tuned to Tom's Guide for more Windows 11 coverage.
As for NFTs, they are proving to be lucrative as a 12-year-old has become a multi-millionaire by embracing the NFT action.
