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Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

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Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#631

Post by midoridensha »

solraph wrote: post #429
snvzz wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question here: Why would someone NOT want to know Linux? When ignoring the short term, what's the advantage, if any, of using a system without mastering it?

Because they have other things they need to do, and mastering it may not provide benefits that repay the investment. I say this as someone who has run Linux on the Desktop for over 20 years. I do not give a crap about knowing the ins and outs of everything on my system. I have zero interest in learning how bluetooth & Wifi & and all of the hundred other subsystems on my computers work. 99% of the time I want to insta…

I've also run Linux on the desktop for over 20 years. Knowing everything in the system is probably nearly impossible unless you're a professional sysadm, like people who specialize in what's called devops now. I agree; I don't want to memorize systemd commands or configure WiFi from the command line; there's convenient GUI tools for things now and it's easy to just work on other things. Even as a developer in a Linux-only environment, I let the devops/infrastructure people deal with most problems if I have them, though of course the corporate computing environment is a lot more complex than my home setup.

I disagree about cars though. Back when I had a car, I did my own work, because it took less time and would be done properly. Unless you have a chauffeur or something (or take Uber I guess, but that costs more money), it takes a lot of time to have someone else service your car: you have to drive it to the shop, then sit there for a while until they can get to it, then sit there while they do the work, then sit around a while longer until they can finally check you out (while also trying to upsell you a bunch of crap), then drive home. Then you find out later they messed something up, got grease on your carpet, etc. Even if they fix that, that's even more time you have to spend. It was a lot easier for me to just do it myself. Someone will probably say something about "loaners" here, but that's usually for larger jobs, not just oil changes.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#632

Post by rthomas6 »

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #597
whoopdedo wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

One thing is clear: MS doesn't really care about customer satisfaction at all. There is no single innovative thing in Windows 11 that would make me switch over. I use Windows 11 on company machines only; I don't understand why anyone would voluntarily put up with this crap.

The next time I build a gaming computer, I'm gonna hold my nose and do it. I know Proton is good, but it is still a compromise for a lot of games.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#633

Post by nullcaution »

Many people here are pointing out "Why would Microsoft do this to their customer base?"

Well it's because they can, and people are not going to do anything about it. Most people don't know about or cant reinstall the OS. So the publics real decision is between an expensive MacBook, or well Windows. To make things worse most people are so used to ads, tracking and other bullshit, this is just par for the course... white noise.

If you really want a change, your going to have to get the major OEMs to start distributing Linux on mass, but you bet that if that ever took off there would be trackers on their distros in a heartbeat.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#635

Post by zeroego »

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…

I'm late in responding to this, but I just use vanilla Gnome and have never had any issues. My work laptop is a P15v Thinkpad. All I do is plug it into my 32in monitor via usb-c and everything works as expected. Maybe my company's IT guys are just really on it? I have no problems screen sharing in google meets, discord, or teams. Battery life I couldn't say, as I'm almost always at my desk with the exception of a couple short trips to the cafe. But on the rare occasion that I am mobile, I don't have any issues with my touchpad or anything else, at least that I've noticed.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#636

Post by donkeybeer »

bigger_inside wrote: post #85
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've never used linux. After a hundred frustrations with my new laptop that runs Win11, I'm now looking to install ubuntu. Windows pushed me there.

Beware of snaps. Ubuntu would have been my recommendation too until recently. Also avoid gnome, I'd advise xfce personally.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#637

Post by donkeybeer »

donkeybeer wrote: post #636
bigger_inside wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never used linux. After a hundred frustrations with my new laptop that runs Win11, I'm now looking to install ubuntu. Windows pushed me there.

Beware of snaps. Ubuntu would have been my recommendation too until recently. Also avoid gnome, I'd advise xfce personally.

I'd really not like spamming this again but I should strongly emphasize, stay away from snap and gnome, you would be completely put off computing if you are escaping modern Windows and come to Ubuntu and then experience this nonsense the first thing. They are the same tarpit of user hostile software requiring you fighting your computer 24x7. Some people might disagree about gnome perhaps, but they have a long and well documented history of nastiness, removing features, rewriting everything, deliberately not solving certain bug/feature requests for several years. And since they are de facto in control of gtk now, its also bleeding there too. There are talks of killing theming in gtk 4/5 for example.

And snaps are basically an all in one packaging solution, the main evil relevant to you are forced updates and officially speaking there is no way around it last I checked, at best you can set a grace period. Also they put files in weird locations so good luck trying to edit their settings, etc.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#638

Post by CRConrad »

autoexec wrote: post #613
vetinari wrote: post #595

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 fa…

vetinari: > > No, you don't really need a smartphone. You want one. Slightly different thing. Nuance, you know.

autoexec: > 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.

Emphases added.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#639

Post by CRConrad »

midoridensha wrote: post #515
marcosdumay wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't come with client consciousness. MS's deal with computer manufacturers makes them pay more if they want to not install Windows on all of the computers they sell. And when some decided to just sell computers, you know, unbundled, the way that maximizes consumer choice, they were framed as criminally enriching from piracy and lots of governments felt into them with all their rage. It's not the client's fault that…

I'm sorry, I don't see the problem here. If you don't like Windows, don't use it; it's really that simple. If you're forced to pay more to get a computer without Windows because of bundling deals, then just buy the one that comes with Windows (because obviously, the cost of the OS is being subsidized, and then some, by all the extra bloatware added on), and then delete it and install the OS of your choice. There's no…

> There's nothing forcing you to use the OS that was installed on your PC; these aren't phones where the OS is largely baked-in and can't be easily replaced or reflashed. It's quite trivial to install a different OS on a PC.

So far.

> People have been doing it for decades now.

Feels like that may be coming to an end.

Re: Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu

#640

Post by CRConrad »

AppleBananaPie wrote: post #461
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".

probably a hot take but microsoft's product and pm culture is garbage leftover from the microsoft's anti customer era and is most entrenched in windows and other old orgs

> leftover from the microsoft's anti customer era

Are you saying they're in some different era now?

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