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Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

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Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don’t give up praying about FOSS to the masses. It was a post like this that convinced me to try Linux Arch. I will never look back. I didn’t boot into my Windows drive for more than a month now. I just keep a bare installation for online games that don’t run on Linux. For now.

It’s unfortunate, but there’s not really a FOSS alternative for a general purpose personal-use OS that comes close to Windows. It completely owns that market. There’s macOS and iOS I guess, but they’re not generally available to install on third party equipment. Linux, sadly, is just not at all a consumer OS and never became one. The security model alone is an unfixable disaster (and many have tried over the years).

> The security model alone is an unfixable disaster (and many have tried over the years)

Surely you are talking about Windows... :-)

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#172
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Mojang The real danger. (almost unironically though) I can switch OS, Office is almost obsolete with google + free stuff, their browser/software is terrible and never used, Github(yikes, well, git works..), LinkedIn(and nothing of value was lost). So we really are at the whim of M$ when it comes to Github and Minecraft. Scary. But hey, I used to be obsessed with Nintendo games, and now people have Zelda clones so I…

Could you name some Zelda clones?

The best ones it feels like an insult to call clones, but Tunic is a very good one that comes to mind.

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even break EULA, just download from Microsoft and install without activating.

That is breaking the EULA: "You are authorized to use this software only if you are properly licensed and the software has been properly activated with a genuine product key or by other authorized method."

Ah, you're right. Wow, that EULA is very different from the reality of how people use it, and MSFT makes no attempt to enforce it.

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox with uBlock Origin and various about:config flags disabling telemetry, autocomplete, etc.

You're putting a lot of faith in uBlock Origin though. You have to grant it full permissions when you install it. Not at all saying that uBlock Origin is doing anything nefarious, but it certainly could .

Well some people are putting a lot of faith in Chrome, which is owned by Google. I don't know which choice is more risky...

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that posts like this should change your beliefs towards who the biggest privacy invader really is

MSFT's main product is software and services. Google's main product is YOU . Without your privacy, they would have nothing to sell to advertisers --- which accounts for about 80 percent of their revenue.

Windows is free. MSFT is literally siphoning data from your personal devices.

You’re speaking on an agenda without accounting for reality

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#176
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On W11 you have to resort to more esoteric tricks, you can't actually complete setup normally without network and a ms account. Maybe with the latest images, but I have an original W11 RTM image that installs just fine without network and a MS account.

Correct: with the latest images, W11 will not under any circumstances allow you to avoid creating an MS account. It will insist you go online and halt the installer until you do. Rufus ( https://rufus.ie/en/ ) offers an option to revert fix this, but you still have to ensure that you keep wifi disconnected and ethernet unplugged during install.

> Correct: with the latest images, W11 will not under any circumstances allow you to avoid creating an MS account. It will insist you go online and halt the installer until you do.

Huh. Aside from the ethics, this creates a chicken-and-egg problem for anyone who needs a PC to set up their home internet.

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox with uBlock Origin and various about:config flags disabling telemetry, autocomplete, etc.

You're putting a lot of faith in uBlock Origin though. You have to grant it full permissions when you install it. Not at all saying that uBlock Origin is doing anything nefarious, but it certainly could .

Yeap, everything can do nefarious things.

But, somehow I trust a random dev that refuses to accept donations, even though my cheap ass would definitely donate to him, more than Microsoft, apple and (insert BigTech here)

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#178

I installed Windows 10 (not even 11!) recently on a random laptop and was appalled by the amount of BS in the initial setup process. Forced me to make a Microsoft online account seemingly with remote access to my PC, tried to sign me up for several different free trials, then tried multiple times to push me to Edge instead of Chrome. The UI has new crap like the Bing search on the taskbar and in the center of the des…

I literally reinstalled win10 yesterday and you’re right on. I couldn’t even install due to “a media driver your computer needs is missing” with no further info and no workaround. This was after mbr2gpt.exe failed and gave no information on why and every online resource was SEO crap without any info on fixing it. I eventually used Ventoy, it works on Linux and solved my problems immediately. It also forces the win in…

> every online resource was SEO crap without any info on fixing it

Man, searching anything related to Microsoft software is an instant trip down scam lane. It's not their fault even. Part of me is glad the majority aren't using Macs and bringing that over here.

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#179

Just imagine if Google was doing something like this; I bet the HN servers would melt down from the outrage! MS often gets a pass in these areas because people think of it as the "underdog", when in reality, MSFT is the biggest software company out there.

Is there a general assumption/consensus that Google doesn’t do stuff like this? My assumption is that any closed-source software can collect any data they want about their users.

“If they can, they will.” The past 20 years has been a steady march towards desensitizing users towards making users give up their privacy.

Re: Edge sends images you view online to Microsoft

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Mojang The real danger. (almost unironically though) I can switch OS, Office is almost obsolete with google + free stuff, their browser/software is terrible and never used, Github(yikes, well, git works..), LinkedIn(and nothing of value was lost). So we really are at the whim of M$ when it comes to Github and Minecraft. Scary. But hey, I used to be obsessed with Nintendo games, and now people have Zelda clones so I…

There are no “Zelda clones” of compatible quality and intrigue.

Exactly. Nintendo spent many years developing a sequel to Breath of the Wild, when they certainly could've gone for a cheap cash grab, and instead released an extremely high quality followup to a beloved game.

Not only that, but they delayed release for a year to fix bugs and polish TotK [1]. They deliberately missed the holiday '22 window for this! No one else seems to care about their games as much as Nintendo in terms of product quality.

[1] https://www.gamingbible.com/news/tears-of-kingdom-delayed-fo...

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