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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

#611

Post by dlivingston »

Rimintil wrote: post #590
Dah00n wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not disagreeing with your point, but I don't think those frustrations are comparable with advertising in the Start menu and file browser. I also find it funny that you mention problems with fonts as this is an area where I believe both Linux and macOS are ahead of Windows.

> fonts as this is an area where I believe both Linux and macOS are ahead of Windows. Windows caught up quite some time ago to macOS. I don't see Linux as superior with font handling. Certainly lacks on the rendering side of things (DPI etc). > comparable with advertising in the Start menu and file browser Wouldn't know. I use Win 11 Pro so those updates don't seem to have come down to it (yet?) and use Win 10 Ent at…

> Windows caught up quite some time ago to macOS

How so? I use Windows 10/11 at work and macOS at home, and Mac's font rendering is light-years ahead of Windows IMO. The font rendering subsystem is why macOS is the go-to choice for graphic designers IIRC.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#612

Post by dlivingston »

oh_nice_marmot wrote: post #50
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…

Beginning with the XP I became a heavy Windows user until version 7. Those releases were the heyday for Windows IMO. But since 8 and, worse of all, 11 I ditched it altogether and none of the computing devices in the house run Windows. This is all to say that my main gaming rig runs Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with Gnome, heavily tweaked, to look and behave like MacOS and.... Its a dream. Heck, in fact I like it so much that I p…

> This is all to say that my main gaming rig runs Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with Gnome, heavily tweaked, to look and behave like MacOS and.... Its a dream.

Would you mind sharing your setup? I would absolutely love to get something like this going on my Linux boxes.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#613

Post by autoexec »

vetinari wrote: post #595
the_overseer wrote: post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I need a smartphone. What is it with so many antiprogress people on HN? Do you really need cooked food? Like reaaaaly need it? Yes ffs... Windows with ads is a much smaller inconvenience than completely changing my work style to fit with linux lack of support of a million useful things.

No, you don't really need a smartphone. You want one. Slightly different thing. Nuance, you know. Sure, you can have it, nobody is going to tell you that you can't. But be honest to yourself; nobody ever died of hunger for not having one.

I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that many many people have died who wouldn't have if they'd only had a working cell phone on them at the time. A cell phone could very well save a person's life. It's a pretty useful thing. Increasingly, the expectation is that everyone will have one and a growing number of products and services require the use of an app. In fairness, I've personally managed to avoid those so far, but it's already at times required companies to go out of their way to provide me with alternatives and it's not hard to imagine that they will only grow more reluctant to provide those costly accommodations in the future.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to limit their employment options, risk their safety, and increasingly cut themselves off from normal society just to avoid the harms of owning a cell phone, when those harms are impacting everyone at little or no benefit to the public at large, and when the worst offenses could be mitigated through regulations.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#614

Post by websap »

Marsymars wrote: post #398
orev wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This topic is not about ads in app stores, it’s about ads in unavoidable interfaces that you must interact with on a daily basis, like the Start Menu, security icons, explorer windows, etc. the App Store in iOS can easily be moved into a folder and never looked at again unless you want to install a new app. Nobody is saying the App Store ads aren’t annoying, but I am saying that it’s nowhere near the same level of in…

I understand what this topic is about; the App Store is an unavoidable interface that I have to regularly interact with. I would love it if Apple provided an alternate method to install and update apps on iOS that didn’t involve the App Store. The relative intrusiveness of start menu ads is, for me, much lower than the App Store ads, as the start menu ads (and its connectivity to the web in general) can easily be tog…

I think most users of both would disagree with you.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#615

Post by giantrobot »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #584
giantrobot wrote: post #576

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This was in response to another comment up the thread saying that the license is basically free since you can use it without activation with very few limitations (can't change the desktop background and such).

That has no bearing on the fact customers buying PCs paid for their Windows license.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#616

Post by rafark »

bobbylarrybobby wrote: post #603
rafark wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to disagree. There’s nothing like column view for windows. The “address” bar in the windows file manager is very useful, though. I’ll give you that. But other than that, I find Finder better. Finder also has tabs (I don’t know if windows copied this, I haven’t used windows since windows 8).

Finder has a quasi address bar via “go to”, although it's a bit hidden

Yeah, I use it quite a bit. But it’s ugly tbh.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#617

Post by yadingus »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #558
yadingus wrote: post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can't ignore an OS Tbf most of the issues you describe are with Gnome. I've been using linux for 7 years and I touched Gnome once for 5 minutes and hated it. Never had any of the other issues you mention. Screen tearing in X11 is very easy to avoid for example, literally two lines in a config file, much simpler and faster than all the registry key garbage you have to do on windows.

>Never had any of the other issues you mention. That doesn't mean they don't exist for other users. SNAPs are garbage. I need hibernate. Hibernate does not work on Ubuntu. I need fractional scaling (125%) for my eyesight. That does not work well on Ubuntu or even on other distros, while it's absolutely flawless on Windows. I need HW decode for watching youtube videos on my laptop. That doesn't exist by default in any…

> That doesn't mean they don't exist for other users

Right, but it also doesn't mean issues with the OS. They can be issues with the desktop environment.

> I feel like your view on Windows seems outdated and based on FUD you read online not on long term personal experience.

I used windows for a long time, but not in years. So do tell me for example, if I wanted to shrink the task bar to say, 25px height, which is much smaller from what Windows allowed me in the past, how would you do this?

Additionally, many of the guides I'm reading for removing ads and telemetry are much more involved than adding those two lines to the X config. Some of them involve the command prompt, and some are just links to third party proprietary software. I'd rather have screen tearing than telemetry and ads, and if this mythical "average user" feels the opposite way, I'd wager say that's a user failure, not an OS failure.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#618

Post by CatWChainsaw »

debug-desperado wrote: post #170

Microsoft Edge just created a logged-in profile on my machine for the second time. I'm not even sure how - maybe it's because I logged into Bing to play with their chat? I'm on a Windows 10 Local account and this is getting old. EDIT, think I finally found out the option under Profile Preferences: "Automatic sign in on Microsoft Edge If you're not signed in currently on Microsoft Edge, we'll automatically sign you in…

Do you mean that by signing in to the Edge browser, Microsoft turned your local account into a Microsoft Account?

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#619

Post by midoridensha »

flangola7 wrote: post #428
JCWasmx86 wrote: post #68

Earlier 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 terrifying how many people in business clearly have a complete lack of understanding of what consent means. I've heard comments like "behind every no is a yes" made with a straight face, as if it wasn't insanely horrible and gross.

It's terrifying how many people absolutely refuse to leave their abusers, and even defend them. "Maybe he'll change."
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