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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

#331

Post by npteljes »

JCWasmx86 wrote: post #68
JohnFen wrote: post #54

> As Microsoft puts it: “We are continuing the exploration of badging on the Start menu with several new treatments for users logging in with local user accounts to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account (MSA).” What is Microsoft really thinking here? You have to go out of your way (and probably do a web search) in order to figure out how to install Win 11 without using a Microsoft Account. So…

Companies should really accept a "No" from their users. No I don't want to use a microsoft account just to use my computer. (Without jumping through hoops) Don't ask me again the moment I say "No". You can see the same with all those dialogs that only have "Yes, do $THING" and "Remind me later".

Companies should be regulated to offer No as an option, and to make that option for all intents are purposes equally represented. No other way will work. Abuse makes a lot of money.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#332

Post by npteljes »

mihaaly wrote: post #173
chongli wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how we get them to accept a "No" when they know they can make more money by relentlessly badgering the users until they say "Yes".

Not paying them, perhaps? : / Not buying their products.

Doesn't work. The market is not perfect, nor can it ever be.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#333

Post by brewdad »

Night_Thastus wrote: post #41
esperent wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I have no experience with NextDNS, but with PiHole I can say it has been very "set and forget". Logged into the router, set the DNS server IP. Then into Windows to disable IPv6. Now it just runs in the background quietly for years. It can be set up to do updates automatically as well if desired. I have occasionally disabled it, thinking it may have been the cause of some internet trouble, but so far that's never been…

> I have occasionally disabled it, thinking it may have been the cause of some internet trouble, but so far that's never been true.

I hear people say this about PiHole all the time but I have a hard time believing it. I run into a couple sites a week that don't work right with Firefox standard privacy settings and UBlock Origin. I certainly don't want to add another troubleshooting step when web sites break.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#334

Post by npteljes »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #67
JohnFen wrote: post #54

> As Microsoft puts it: “We are continuing the exploration of badging on the Start menu with several new treatments for users logging in with local user accounts to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account (MSA).” What is Microsoft really thinking here? You have to go out of your way (and probably do a web search) in order to figure out how to install Win 11 without using a Microsoft Account. So…

I went ahead and installed Linux the moment I realized I had to go through a ton of hoops in order to install Windows 11 offline. I'm only ever going to use Windows for work machines that someone else is paying me to use, and even then, I might just start asking for a Mac instead. I'm over this awful OS nonsense they're doing to Windows. Whoever is in charge of the OS clearly does not care. If I were manning the ship…

You think a Mac is better, but it really isn't. In fact, MacOS and iOS are further ahead in terms of dark patterns like this. FOSS OSes don't have these patterns, but they have other issues of course.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#335

Post by neogodless »

gumballindie wrote: post #60

Move over to linux. KDE has the eye-candy, XFCE has the simplicity and OpenBOX is distraction free. Games work well and so do dev tools.

What's the best distribution to get "all your modern hardware works out of the box" alongside KDE (which I like a lot better than GNOME or Cinnamon)?

I used Linux Mint, added KDE, but had issues[0] that were showstoppers. Everyone blamed my Nvidia GPU, but that's what my laptop has and it would be very expensive to replace with a comparable all-AMD gaming laptop.

As a "non-expert" Linux user, deciphering the distribution decoder cards has been difficult. Maybe I want newer kernels for better hardware support, but rolling releases mean dealing with more bugs?

[0] Loss of brightness controls, frequent hangs on booting, many games worked great, but a few were very bad. Long-form - https://www.retorch.com/blog/linux-mint.htm

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#336

Post by criddell »

doodlesdev wrote: post #140
criddell wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And most distributions have the permissions structure of, well, 1980's Unix. I know it's being worked on, but it's a little crazy to think that on most Linux systems you still don't get a permissions popup when your calculator app wants to turn on your microphone. You can't grant access to your contacts or email on an app-by-app basis. I say most because it has been largely solved on Android, for example.

You can use Flatpaks to basically solve this issue. Most applications nowadays are already available as Flatpaks, the ones that aren't probably have been reviewed by your distribution. Stick to official repositories and there shouldn't be any worries really. Of course for the average user this kind of discipline might be impossible, but for power-users out there: https://firejail.wordpress.com/ You could also play a…

The kernel APIs may also need updates. You shouldn't be able to open a device or file without a security token.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#337

Post by warner25 »

dasv wrote: post #275
JCWasmx86 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently installed Windows 10 in a VM to port a program to Windows (Was a horror story). On the left side in the start menu I have ads and other crap: "Trending searches", "Trending videos from the web", "Games for you", "Trending news" and some other stuff like a reminder for the International day for Monuments and Sites. On the right side I have a weather/news widget from some really shady or local newspapers abo…

It seems there is enough pushback from Microsoft's enterprise clients because the W10 LTSC versions lack all the adware and most of the spyware that is pushed on the regular versions. Of course, they are not advertised anywhere and buying licenses through regular channels is impossible for a home user or a small company. I haven't compared resource usage between my previous W10 Pro VM and my current W10 LTSC VM but i…

Ironically, my employer just replaces all of Microsoft's crap with its own crap, pushed out to every client through GPOs and SCCM and other tools. So we get full screen banners, sometimes by launching PowerPoint and showing a slide, about things like cybersecurity awareness or [minority group] History Month. And it takes many minutes to boot up and login and get a functional desktop with all that, plus the scanning by McAfee and Nessus and Tanium.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#338

Post by npteljes »

spicyusername wrote: post #10

The only reason I use Windows in 2023 is for video gaming. Every other non-gaming PC I own is running Linux. Windows has become inferior to Linux in every other way. More upgrade headaches, worse resource utilization, worse desktop environment, more crashes, data collection, and now embedded ads. These technology companies have really demonstrated over the past few decades that they are unable to maintain reliable pr…

Games are my only reason too. Fortunately LTSC saves me most of the madness.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#339

Post by dang »

omoikane wrote: post #312
dang wrote: post #161

Related: Microsoft is slowly rolling out ads in the Windows 11 start menu - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35545566 - April 2023 (201 comments) Windows 11 KB5023778 update adds promotions to the Start menu - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35346137 - March 2023 (251 comments) Microsoft is turning Windows 11's Start Menu into an ad delivery system - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33694202 - Nov 2022 (…

Also: Windows 11 KB5023778 update adds promotions to the Start menu - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35346137

Good catch - added - thanks!

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#340

Post by thewebcount »

cduzz wrote: post #285
alex_young wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy a car from a dealership does that make you less of a customer of the manufacturer?

If you buy a car from a dealership, then yes indeed you are "less" of a customer of the manufacturer. Consider this relationship: Toyota makes a car to the specifications of general motors, who brands the car as a "Pontiac Vibe" and sells the car to a Pontiac dealership. The Pontiac dealership then sells you the car at mostly a wash because you're also financing the purchase and they want to sell "your" loan to a loa…

This seems like something we’ll get to see play out over the next few years. Given that GM has decided that they don’t care if customers want CarPlay, we’ll see if customers say “No thanks” to buying cars from GM because of that.
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