As 2025 will be the last year that a bunch of software and hardware products will be supported by their manufacturers. To avoid any surprises, we’ve put together a list of products that you should definitely look to upgrade or replace this year.
Microsoft products.
Windows 12 is slated for release in 2025, so support will be ending for Windows 10. However the good news is that Microsoft will now allow you to upgrade a computer that did not previously meet its minimum system requirements for Windows 11. So in theory you can upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The only issue being that you will have to manually apply Windows 11 updates to that computer.
Then for the 2016 and 2019 versions of MS Office, Microsoft will be ending extended support. Which means that while these versions of Office will still work, they will become susceptible to security threats. So if you are using these older versions of MS Office, perhaps now would be a good time to look at buying an upgrade.
Synology Disk Station Manager
Synology is known for keeping its cards close to its chest, so it’s hard to say when they will release Disk Station Manager 8. But based on their past product cycles, 2025 might be the year we see a new version of Disk Station Manager.
However, here’s the thing. DSM 7.2.2 caused a bit of a stir when it removed video transcoding support for HEVC (H.265). This meant that Video Station, which if already installed, got uninstalled, and a bunch of other apps like Photo and Surveillance Station, lost certain features.
Worst still if you decided not to update to 7.2.2, support for DSM 7.1 will be ending in June. So if you’re still using 7.1, it’s time to start thinking about upgrading to DSM 7.2.2. Then where possible, use Docker to install and run applications that will bring back the features and functionality that your Synology apps have lost.
For those with a Synology NAS that can run Docker. You can install and run many Docker images to recreate features and functionality that Synology removed. Examples include Jellyfin, Plex, and immich.
Samsung Tizen
If you’ve got a Samsung smartwatch that runs on Tizen, it’s time to start thinking about a new one. Tizen support ends in September, which means you’ll lose security updates and some of the watch’s features. Which is definitely a major downer if you were an early adopter of a Samsung smartwatch.
Google Chromecast
In August of 2024 Google announced it was focusing on its TV streamer. So while you will still be able to purchase the 4th generation of Chromecast’s until stocks run out. All models of Chromecast’s will eventually go end of line. Which means that this year the second generation of Chromecast (2015) will stop working. Then successive models of Chromecast will go end of line over an 8 year period.
What we are up to this year
At the beginning of each year we like to remind ourselves why we started the mydoodads website. . Our main objective has always been to learn and where possible share knowledge. So it’s been gratifying that over the last 10 years. We have been able to build up a body of knowledge, and create content that we hope you have found useful.
However, as some of the websites content is starting to look dated. We will be either stripping it from the website, or when necessary remaking it. We will also be looking to continue to rebuild the website to try and make the content more accessible.
As to the projects we will be tackling this year. We will be finishing up the Beginners guide to setting up a Synology NAS, Synology BeeStation and Synology router. We will also be starting a new beginners guide series, that looks at setting up an Asustor NAS. Which we hope will be an interesting alternative to the Synology content we have previously been making.
This is not to say that we are abandoning Synology products, as we also intend to start making videos that look at specific projects on a Synology NAS. These include topics like installing a VPN server, DNS server, and media services like JellyFin.
Please bookmark our site, and if you could drop by every now and again to see what we’re up to, that would be awesome! Happy New Year!
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