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Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

helgeklein.com

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Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#221
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind that you'll only find results from people who have issues. Few people will go online just to say their hardware works with Linux. To give a concrete recommendation for a wifi adapter, look at Intel-based hardware. Intel stuff generally works out of the box because they contribute drivers to the Linux kernel directly. The ASUS PCe-AXE58BT is based on Intel's AX200 so should work out of the box on any mode…

The Asus card isn't available in my region. I can find TPLink Archer TXE75E V2 which seems similar (BT5.2, 6E) - I can't find any info on linux support or BT.

I haven't used it, but the page lists "The latest Intel Wi-Fi 6E chipset" so I would run under the assumption that it works fine.

It's the chipset that you would need to ensure compatibility with, unfortunately I can't find anything concrete on the actual chipset used, Intel only has 3 wifi 6E chipsets and as far as I can tell (from here https://venzux.com/intel-ax411-vs-ax211-vs-ax210-wi-fi-6e-mo...) they should all be compatible with Linux.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hah, I thought Silverlight was dead years ago, but I don't keep up with Windows tech at all.

Silverlight is long dead, the poster was mistaken: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/2090

Yes and no. That post is about the plugin, but silverlight the standalone application framework is now just part of UWP (and this is about the netflix standalone app after all)

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#223

I read a lot of comments here wanting to block the connections, but wouldn’t be easier/better to switch to an OS that doesn’t spy you? The answers possibly is no, because they might use X or Y that requires them to use Windows, so a better question is, what holds you back to switch to Linux? (macOS also talks to a lot of servers and collect telemetry as Windows, maybe in a different scale, so isn’t an alternative if…

"I read a lot of comments here wanting to block the connections, but wouldn’t be easier/better to switch to an OS that doesn’t spy you?"

I mean, in a perfect world, sure. But it's not always an option.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#224

I read a lot of comments here wanting to block the connections, but wouldn’t be easier/better to switch to an OS that doesn’t spy you? The answers possibly is no, because they might use X or Y that requires them to use Windows, so a better question is, what holds you back to switch to Linux? (macOS also talks to a lot of servers and collect telemetry as Windows, maybe in a different scale, so isn’t an alternative if…

> what holds you back to switch to Linux? I occasionally need to do some development work in a Debian VM. I can't even remember the name of the window manager it came with; but I just can't figure it out. The equivalent of the dock / taskbar just isn't useful. I had to jump through hoops and hoops just to get Visual Studio Code to work, in part because it took awhile to figure out how to have root access to my own VM…

"It's just too much work for me to figure out how to use Linux"

This is the crux, really. I'm adept at server administration, and have used Linux there for decades, but on the desktop it is, from my POV, pretty much a dumpster fire of bad usability.

Had Apple not gone to OS X 20 years ago, I suspect desktop Linux would be materially further along, but with a well-designed and well-supported commercial *nix OS in the market that ships married to bespoke hardware, there's materially less motivation to make desktop Linux better for people who won't want to have to tinker to make things work.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's obvious. It's much less expensive to buy a Windows PC than a Mac. Linux on the desktop is still quite terrible in a number of ways (particularly if you are ever unfortunate enough to deal with drivers and kernel modules for your slightly uncommon hardware). Chromebooks still don't rate that highly and haven't really entered the public consciousness as a result. Not to mention that many people are using Windows…

I am surprised people on hackernews are still regurgitating talking points from 20 years ago - Linux on Desktop is quite terrible ? When was the last time you used Linux .. I have been using Linux systems from the past 10-15 years and they have been my daily driver for almost everything - and I live on my computer. Never have I faced any issue that can't easily be solved. (If at all there were issues)

I am surprised people on hackernews still don't seem to understand that, on the whole, happy Linux users are a self-selecting group based on their own skills, understanding and tolerances.

I'm not saying that people don't have good experiences with Linux desktops. I'm saying that those experiences are still nowhere near universal, especially when you start to involve people who aren't really power users. The most common desktop environments are still wildly inconsistent at best and frequently an accessibility nightmare at worst. Trying to work out whether a given piece of hardware will be well supported (or supported at all!) is difficult. Resolving package manager conflicts, handling non-free firmwares, building and managing kernel modules, these things are _not trivial_. That's before we've even addressed the software that people are often forced to give up. I use a Linux desktop frequently and there are papercuts _everywhere_.

I'm really not sure where this prevailing mentality that you can just install Linux and ride off into the sunset comes from.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#226

I read a lot of comments here wanting to block the connections, but wouldn’t be easier/better to switch to an OS that doesn’t spy you? The answers possibly is no, because they might use X or Y that requires them to use Windows, so a better question is, what holds you back to switch to Linux? (macOS also talks to a lot of servers and collect telemetry as Windows, maybe in a different scale, so isn’t an alternative if…

What's holding me back is accessibility. See [Linux Accessibility: an unmaintained mess](https://medium.com/@r.d.t.prater/linux-accessibility-an-unma...).

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#227

I recently helped a friend de-cruft their slow as molasses laptop, and as ever was struck how Windows is always freaking DOING shit. It's sitting there seemingly idle, but the start bar takes 5 seconds to open. You open task manager and it's grinding away at network, grinding away at CPU, grinding away at disc, all via opaquely named processes. The bloody thing is relentless.

Based on my experience, I blame the 3rd party stuff. All kinds of software and devices just love to add background processes to the system. I guess this is the price you pay for system where everything is possible.

I'm sure it doesn't help, but even with all that stuff disabled it's bad. svchost.exe's mysterious machinations, windows updates, superfetch (or whatever they call it now), one drive syncing, malware checking, app updates, it's like 'everything everywhere all at once' for Windows.

You can make a case for all those things, of course. Just why does it have to launch into them all immediately upon startup? On a beefier machine it's probably not noticeable but it's sad to see on older PCs when Windows 10 at launch was quite reasonable when it came to lower specs.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Silverlight is long dead, the poster was mistaken: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/2090

Yes and no. That post is about the plugin, but silverlight the standalone application framework is now just part of UWP (and this is about the netflix standalone app after all)

Ok, but the the standalone application is still not required for 4K. You can watch Netflix in 4K using Edge on Windows or Safari on Mac.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#229

Why do people still use Microsoft is a great mystery to me.

I'd say convenience is the topmost reason. For most, it's not a matter of choice, Windows is preinstalled, they have been provided experience with it in schools, and Microsoft is often the standard choice in offices, with doc/docx, xls/xlsx being the de-facto standard document formats. For many, Windows is synonymous with a PC. Windows, in this context, is a low-level utility, beyond the boundary of care, like the manufacturer of car tyres.

Re: Windows OS, Services and Apps: Network Connection Target Hosts (2021)

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's obvious. It's much less expensive to buy a Windows PC than a Mac. Linux on the desktop is still quite terrible in a number of ways (particularly if you are ever unfortunate enough to deal with drivers and kernel modules for your slightly uncommon hardware). Chromebooks still don't rate that highly and haven't really entered the public consciousness as a result. Not to mention that many people are using Windows…

You are saying why people are stuck in MS, not choosing it.

You didn't say anything about "choosing" Microsoft. You said "use".
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