If a 365 subscription is what it takes to never show me ads and just be an operating system, so be it. But it _isn’t_. There is still crapware pre-installed on a ‘pro’ edition. There is still tabloid news pushed in the taskbar for… reasons?
Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
571–580 of 647 posts
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#572> 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…
So far, you can remove all of these on Windows 10 and I recommend doing so. I do agree with the sentiment that I might finally learn Linux just to avoid all the ads.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#573MS Windows is the daytime television of operating systems: If you're still using it in 2023 you have only yourself to blame. It's not like there aren't better options at your disposal...
Maybe for individual/home/personal use but Microsoft rules the enterprise. It is easier to find IT admins who can manage a fleet of Windows boxes than MacOS/Linux. There is also a whole ecosystem around the use of MS Office tools. The sunken cost fallacy applies IMHO, but too many corporate IT managers just assume Windows systems and Windows AD is the the only way to manage a large set of corporate users.
> Windows AD is the the only way to manage a large set of corporate users.
What do you recommend? I wouldn't try to manage an org of over 1k people without AD, it's just a nightmare.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#574It'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.
> Imagine MacOS and iOS showing in menu ads,
Apple does this.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#575Earlier quoted context omitted.
How well-supported is it? Looks like the last release was almost a year ago. Replacing the Windows shell, especially in Windows 10/11, with their constant updates, isn't something I'd recommend for non-experts, but I don't even do it myself anymore because it seems like none of the replacements are ever consistently supported in the long term.
Open Shell has been around for a long time -- it's basically done so it doesn't need many updates. That being said, it actually isn't designed to work with Windows 11 (as the entire Taskbar has been re-written) but it does it actually work with it. Requires some extra customization of the settings to get it to look right. I've used Classic/Open Shell since Windows 7.
This is my experience too. I've been using Classic Shell and then Open-Shell on Win10 at work for years. I was using Classic Shell on Windows 7 before that.
It seems to just work for me. I've had no problems.
I have a little nuc-style Windows 11 box for my TV, and I'd say we're in the typical "wait to update" period with Windows 11.
Microsoft always introduces unwanted changes (Vista bling and lag, the entire Windows 8 desktop, the dumbed-down Windows 11 start menu), and then reworks the system to produce a compromise that institutions, businesses and conservative users can tolerate. Just the other day, I noticed the return of task manager access from the taskbar.
By the time I adopt Windows 11 for work, I suspect that the worst design changes should be fixed and the third-party add-ons should work perfectly. That's been my experience in the past.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#576Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But when it's almost freely given away... If that's a problem it's one created by Microsoft themselves. They're the one that sets their license fees. Their execs set stock guidance.
Perhaps they figured they could rake in much more cash by giving the license away for free and charging someone else for showing ads.
Microsoft does not give their license away for free. OEMs pay for every PC they ship. The OEM licensing price is lower than the retail price but the PC buyer most assuredly paid for their copy of Windows. Microsoft just decided they needed to double dip. They make money on the front with licenses and subscriptions and on the back with advertising.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#577Hot take: it’s not really Microsoft’s fault or responsibility, as there is no Microsoft to be responsible or faulted for this craziness.
It’s one individual (or two? Or a small team, but really not that big of a group) who is rotten to the core and is so career-obsessed they don’t understand that they are making lives of millions of people worse with this, so that they can just show their PowerPoint to higher up.
It is a personal responsibility of a PM / engineer (unlikely) to not come up with this cancer.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#578Hot take: it’s not really Microsoft’s fault or responsibility, as there is no Microsoft to be responsible or faulted for this craziness. It’s one individual (or two? Or a small team, but really not that big of a group) who is rotten to the core and is so career-obsessed they don’t understand that they are making lives of millions of people worse with this, so that they can just show their PowerPoint to higher up. It…
The org doesn’t promote PMs who have those ethics, so they never get to make these calls the correct way. The company wants this, long term at least, and select the people that will do it via hiring and promo.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#579> 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…
It's not harassment. It's just there is some set of managers of various levels tasked with increasing the % of people using the online account in Windows. They have a metric, and they work towards it. There is no one in the company who can decide to not do this nagging - either a person doesn't have the authority, or it requires negotiating with too many owners, or this metric is very high-level, or it's the CEO who…
Exactly! It’s the personal responsibility / fault of a handful of specific people who cowardly hide behind the corporation.
I wonder if they would dare explain how they decide to add these adds to people’s OS in some new social setting.
Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
#580Earlier quoted context omitted.
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".
It's what the phrase "the customer is always right" originally meant. It means you can do all the market research, development, testing, polling, and seeding to sell a product. But the ultimate decider of whether the product is "good" is whether or not the people buy it. If your sales plan flops don't say "it's not the product's fault, I just need to do a better job marketing it." No, the product is wrong, the custom…
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