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Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

theregister.com

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Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#21

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

zeroego wrote: post #16

I use Ubuntu for work, but my gaming rig runs windows. I went through all of the applications I use on my windows pc the other day and they're all available on linux now. With proton getting as good as it is, app availability on linux, and with the annoying occasional ads coming through my windows os, I'm starting to think I won't upgrade to windows 11 when 10 stops being supported.

I had to use Ubuntu at work and the experience made me hate it to the core.

My experience: Gnome it ships with is too opinionated with no basic configuration options without installing 200 extensions which may or may not work, no option to turn off the touchpad when an external mouse is pugged in, no hibernate option because z-ram or something, no fractional scaling because "pixels aren't fractional" to quote Gnome devs, Wayland broke screen sharing in some apps and extensions while switching to X11 gave me screen tearing and made touchpad gestures stop working, had no HW acceleration in Chrome, SNAP and APT shit the bed needing me to spend hours going through forum posts for fixes and tinker with the command line, OOM daemon can just straight up kill your main productivity app you're currently using, the list goes on. This is not a great UX.

All those issues are productivity show stoppers for me, and in Windows 11 Professional they just work for out of the box without the need to install any extensions or tinker with any config files. Also better battery life.

Hot take: I can ignore/disable ads but I can't ignore an OS where much is broken or is never meant to work.

I thought this was supposed to be the flagship Linux distro but I'm sorry to say that it's more janky than the car Homer Simpson designed.

Still like Linux but via ssh and on a server or embedded system.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#22

Post by [deleted] »

wlesieutre wrote: post #12
bhouston wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is still mental and visual pollution. I switched from Windows to MacOS 2 years ago after being a long Windows holdout and damn, MacOS is nice and the Mx series of CPUs/GPUs are also incredibly fine.

Apple’s products aren’t perfect at this either, but they’re at least much easier to control. You basically just have to disable notification permission for TV. News is spammy also, but not strictly advertising Apple’s junk, it’s just regular attention spam. Meanwhile in the App Store guidelines: > 4.5.4 Push Notifications must not be required for the app to function, and should not be used to send sensitive personal…

[deleted]

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#24

Post by pwinnski »

Most people will sign up for a Microsoft account, or already have, and so won't even see these ads.

But let's say you use Microsoft Windows, but don't want a Microsoft account. You're going to leave Windows over this? And go where?

Wait, is 2023 the fabled Year of Linux on the Desktop, at long last?

I haven't used Windows in many years, and I'm not trying to defend Microsoft here. Still, the framing of this piece seems silly. Very rarely is any single thing reason enough for the average person to completely switch operating systems. The cost of switching is too high.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#25

Post by esperent »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #9

To anyone who hasn't I highly encourage setting up PiHole. Great for reducing the severity of these sorts of things, and helps to sanitize and clean up your internet. Don't need to buy a Pi either, it can run on a laptop or desktop just fine. It's great for catching anything that can't be by an in-browser adblocker, like in the OS or on other devices.

How does a pihole compare to NextDNS? I know you can set custom lists in a pihole, are there any other differences?

NextDNS is very easy to set up. Pihole always feels like it'll be yet another thing to manage.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#26

Post by Marsymars »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #9

To anyone who hasn't I highly encourage setting up PiHole. Great for reducing the severity of these sorts of things, and helps to sanitize and clean up your internet. Don't need to buy a Pi either, it can run on a laptop or desktop just fine. It's great for catching anything that can't be by an in-browser adblocker, like in the OS or on other devices.

If you don't want to host your own DNS, there are also managed options.

I pay for and use both Eero Secure (intercepts DNS requests sent to non-NextDNS servers) and NextDNS (set on my clients so it's also effective when away from home).

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#28

Post by belter »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #21
zeroego wrote: post #16

I use Ubuntu for work, but my gaming rig runs windows. I went through all of the applications I use on my windows pc the other day and they're all available on linux now. With proton getting as good as it is, app availability on linux, and with the annoying occasional ads coming through my windows os, I'm starting to think I won't upgrade to windows 11 when 10 stops being supported.

I had to use Ubuntu at work and the experience made me hate it to the core. My experience: Gnome it ships with is too opinionated with no basic configuration options without installing 200 extensions which may or may not work, no option to turn off the touchpad when an external mouse is pugged in, no hibernate option because z-ram or something, no fractional scaling because "pixels aren't fractional" to quote Gnome d…

Only Chuck Norris could use Windows...

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#29

Post by alistairSH »

Marsymars wrote: post #20
websap wrote: post #15

It's outrageous that once a great OS builder, is now resorting to pushing it's subscription services through it's OS. Imagine MacOS and iOS showing in menu ads, I hope Apple never stoops to this level.

In my day-to-day usage, ads in the core user interface in iOS are worse than in Windows. Windows ads can be disabled pretty easily. iOS App Store ads cannot be disabled at all and are often for utter trash. The Microsoft Store is entirely optional, and app installs/updates can be entirely handled via winget/chocolatey (or installs in some other form). The iOS App Store cannot be avoided for installing apps or for man…

...ads in the core user interface in iOS...

Where are you seeing ads in the main UI?

I occasionally see a small ad near the top of "Settings", usually for an Apple service. I don't recall ads on the home page or lock screen, or in the main Apple apps I use (Camera, Photos, Files, Health, Fitness, Watch).

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#30

Post by snarfy »

FloatArtifact wrote: post #7
bhouston wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is still mental and visual pollution. I switched from Windows to MacOS 2 years ago after being a long Windows holdout and damn, MacOS is nice and the Mx series of CPUs/GPUs are also incredibly fine.

I agree about the mental and visual pollution.

Pollution is a nice way to put it. I prefer phrases such as 'cognitive assault', 'mental violence' and 'attention rape'. I really hate advertisement in all forms.
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