When it comes to enthusiasts looking to upgrade unsupported PCs to Windows 11, Microsoft is now playing games with our hearts. And that’s too bad: this should have been a slam-dunk for Microsoft, what we sometimes call a “dipsy-doo” in basketball.

I assume most of you are familiar with what’s happened to date, but here’s a quick recap. After a series of leaks, Microsoft announced Windows 11 in late June, surprising us all. But the Windows 11 reveal was tarnished in part by stricter than expected hardware requirements and, even worse, poor communications, a Microsoft hallmark. The communication issues were particularly confounding because the software giant actually prebriefed the press and some bloggers and never fully explained just how strict those requirements were, let alone why. And so we started this little episode with bad information. Thanks, Microsoft.