Live data from Hacker News

Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

blogs.windows.com

11–20 of 550 posts

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#12
post #4

Just switch to Linux people!

My first hand experience with Windows vs Linux this month:

A friend of mine recently bought a very expensive laptop to do some gaming. I helped him set it up and god that was a horrible experience. For example, we could not get rid of LinkedIn and other crap Microsoft wanted to force on him. Disabling copilot and removing Office required registry surgery. And the damn fans were always running because of some unknown activity in the background, maybe Microsoft is moving into bitcoin mining business?

He eventually got fed up, installed Ubuntu 26.04 as an experiment and a week later still seems to enjoy the experience. Games run fine on steam and his laptop finally feels like his own.

Most surprisingly, Linux worked fine out of the box. Windows 11 on the other hand needed a bunch of PowerShell and registry hacks to be copy pasted from various sources before it was even remotely usable. It's funny how it felt as if Windows was the OS for nerds with too much free time on their hands while Ubuntu was created for ordinary people. And my god, Ubuntu feels so much more fluid on the same hardware. The difference is *huge*.

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#13
> The theme is simple: fewer disruptions, more clarity, more control. This update moves Windows toward a single monthly restart by consolidating OS, .NET, and driver updates, and gives you more flexibility to time updates around your schedule. We’ve also made changes to the Power menu so you’ll always see the standard Restart and Shut down options without having to install a pending update first. You decide when updates happen, not the other way around.

Finally, like seriously, so many times I have to "shutdown" (aka restart) for an update before going to bed. I don't want to have to babysit my desktop computer when I want to finish up for the night.

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#14
post #10

It fascinates me to speculate about who this is for. At least among people I've talked to, the ones who still want windows (instead of the obvious alternatives) cite wanting things to "just work", often claiming that they "don't want making the computer work to become a second job" or similar. I personally don't think these preferences reflect the reality of how much effort using e.g. a linux distro is in this day an…

Windows insider builds have always been for people who like being on the cutting edge, it's the same as people who run nightlies for Linux.

Some people just enjoy testing and the pain that comes with it.

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#17
post #14
post #10

It fascinates me to speculate about who this is for. At least among people I've talked to, the ones who still want windows (instead of the obvious alternatives) cite wanting things to "just work", often claiming that they "don't want making the computer work to become a second job" or similar. I personally don't think these preferences reflect the reality of how much effort using e.g. a linux distro is in this day an…

Windows insider builds have always been for people who like being on the cutting edge, it's the same as people who run nightlies for Linux. Some people just enjoy testing and the pain that comes with it.

Right, but it's hard not to claim those people would likely get more out of an OS they could customize more, and also that it's considerably more exploitative of those people across the divide of corporate product versus community project

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#18
post #4

Just switch to Linux people!

My first hand experience with Windows vs Linux this month: A friend of mine recently bought a very expensive laptop to do some gaming. I helped him set it up and god that was a horrible experience. For example, we could not get rid of LinkedIn and other crap Microsoft wanted to force on him. Disabling copilot and removing Office required registry surgery. And the damn fans were always running because of some unknown…

Gaming on Linux works pretty good now. Setup is easy thanks to Steam and other launchers (e.g. heroiclauncher).

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#19
post #9

> You want to see what we’re doing, understand our decisions, and see progress through shipping. Second, a shared sense of pride. So basically: - recent changes are all crap - so why did you make them?

[flagged]

More likely: "People needed to get promotion packages, don't you understand?!"

I would guess many of the bad changes are caused by perverse incentives which do not even help shareholder value.

Re: Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

#20
post #17
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows insider builds have always been for people who like being on the cutting edge, it's the same as people who run nightlies for Linux. Some people just enjoy testing and the pain that comes with it.

Right, but it's hard not to claim those people would likely get more out of an OS they could customize more, and also that it's considerably more exploitative of those people across the divide of corporate product versus community project

Sometimes it’s just about using the path of least resistance. I’ve also contributed to Apple Maps’ and Google Maps’ data, even though I’d prefer to exclusively contribute to OSM and other open platforms instead. But, it was just easier to go through a quick form in the (Apple|Google) Maps app, because that’s where I was at that point in time. Maybe the excuse is laziness and/or force of habit?

Edit: I also imagine the reach of the mainstream platforms to be much higher (e.g. Windows vs. Linux or Google Maps user reviews vs. ).

Post reply on HN