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Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March

blogs.windows.com

341–350 of 550 posts

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

#341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Regaining trust is extremely hard after you've crossed an edge. Microsoft needs to learn consent. Everywhere there's a Yes and "Remind me later", there has to be a No. And the No has to work and be remembered forever, not forgotten after the next update. Using Windows has to stop feeling like you're being roofied all the time.

This is how you can tell that they just don't get it. Microsoft, your users include developers and power users. We are not all someone's tech illiterate relative who needs constant reminding to check that backups are on, nor do we want to use OneDrive. If we turn it off, it means off. Updates off = they stay off until turned back on, don't worry, we'll remember. Backup off = it stays off. Edge off = it stays off. Ads…

> Microsoft, your users include developers and power users.

But their customers are enterprises. Until you’re bringing in the money that those enterprise contracts are, you’re a pathetic speck who can and will get what you’re offered and no more.

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

#342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as little OS as possible to let them run just the things on their computer they want to run. The perfect OS/Desktop is one you don't even notice, or know is there; it just works. Macos used to be invisible, but then then some ego-driven developer decided to push Apple Glass on to everyone. HEY LOOK HOW COOL I AM! Although at the rate of LLM improvement, I'm thinking the Next big os, will just be a really good API (…

No, thank you. LLMs are great for fuzzy things. But there are still a lot of things I do on my computer that are just a few mouse clicks or keyboard shortcuts away, achievable in less than 3 seconds. It'd be a disaster if that got removed.

I'm not saying the LLM would run or find apps for you, I was saying the LLM would write the application that you use every day. If you wanted something like Alfred to quickly run applications, you would just tell the LLM to build something like that specific to your use cases and without all the bloat you don't need.

Most application are done after the first or second version, and then companies keep adding features because they need to justify their jobs/product. Wouldn't it be nice to have apps that just do what you need them to do without all the bloat, maybe say, a notepad that doesn't have copilot built into it?

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

#343
Windows 10, especially when they added WSL2 was genuinely great and an awesome platform for development, with essentially native/fast Linux. Since Win11, it has all been downhill (imo), speed dropped massively, even opening task manager now takes seconds, weird slowdowns that only reboot resolves (temporarily). I hope Microsoft starts taking performance seriously and tries to get back to what was lost after Win10, but I have big doubts.

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

#344

I literraly can’t name one feature since Windows 7 what was worth it, even on the contrary: every update made the system worse. I had to restore Notepad, Calculator and Paint from Windows 7. What the hell Microsoft?

On Windows 11, when you reconnect to a monitor or set of monitors that you've connected to before, it will automatically return your open windows to the layout across those monitors that you had when you last disconnected (assuming those windows are still open). This is extremely nice and saves me time on a literally (not figuratively) daily basis, to the point that I generally forget that it hasn't always worked tha…

Yet when I switch between home and work I have to fully restart my laptop about half the time in order for it to even detect the monitors. I also find this feature has an issue with certain programs (Obsidian in particular) where it opens the window almost off screen.

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

#345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If you know better just hack it your way. While this might be technically true, I also think it's a lazy argument that ignores practical reality. It's basically a way to avoid any kind of accountability or self-reflection on the part of developers. "Users aren't happy? If they don't want to make the change themselves, they can fuck off." This is a toxic attitude which I see a lot in discussions of free software. In…

Can you tell me an instance where users got locked into a dying ecosystem in Linux? What I can tell you is that CentOS, which was used extensively in servers, died and you didn't really see much issue, at least not as much as compared to the pain and suffering users are having to go through now that Windows is the dying place. What's lazy is the repetition of this realist fallacy of the technical lockin, when in fact…

There are several software packages that are essentially mandatory if you want to run a modern distro with good desktop hardware support. Some that come to mind are glibc, systemd, and Wayland. These projects have made controversial design decisions which impact the entire ecosystem of Linux software.

I actually did leave Ubuntu because background Snap updates were randomly crashing running applications. Now, I'm fairly happy with Fedora, but it's far from perfect. I reject the idea that if I have technical critiques of these projects, that the fault somehow lies with me if I'm not willing to waste my time jumping distros or rewriting them myself. That attitude is exactly analogous to the user-hostile bullshit coming out of Microsoft.

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

#346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Sure, for many games Riot games / others with kernal level anticheats dont support linux sadly

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

#347
post #343

Windows 10, especially when they added WSL2 was genuinely great and an awesome platform for development, with essentially native/fast Linux. Since Win11, it has all been downhill (imo), speed dropped massively, even opening task manager now takes seconds, weird slowdowns that only reboot resolves (temporarily). I hope Microsoft starts taking performance seriously and tries to get back to what was lost after Win10, bu…

Why would you describe windows 10 as great? Forced updates and the beginning of ads, massive increase in telemetry while basically giving you a mediocre reskin and virtual desktops. Windows 11 sure moved the overton window.

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

#348

What people realy want: as little OS as possible to let them run just the things on their computer they want to run. What Microsoft wants: Windows as their straightjacket into the Microsoft services as that is where the revenue is. Why Windows got this bad: incentives and coercion placed on the teams to show uptake on the services no matter what leading to perversion in tactics and complete alienation of the user bas…

Yup.

I loved working in Windows for a long time. I could get what I wanted done and move on.

Now Windows feels pointed AT ME by someone who wants to decide what I’m going to do….doesn’t care that I want to do other things.

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

#349
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure it did, but that app looks like a Win XP-era app (not even Win7). FilePilot is fast, looks good & feels modern (support a command palette, fuzzy search, etc). The only downside is that it runs on the GPU and so running it inside a VM is a bit of a hassle.

Why the hell would I want a file manager to be run on the GPU. it's supposed to be light on requirements and run on a potato, it's a file manager ffs not a 3rd person shooter.

The reqs are likely a side effect of how the application is built and the fact that its made by a solo dev.

I find it more pleasant to do UI within the context of a video game renderer than to bother with ui libraries and native hooks.

You only have to deal with windows enough to get you a rendering context: then you can do everything in your walled garden.

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

#350

>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. Multiple times I've wanted to shutdown my laptop so I can go home and Windows says no, sit here for 5 minutes. I don't trust sleep mode to not keep running and overheat, so I wait. Macbooks with 1TB drives…

> I don't trust sleep mode to not keep running and overheat, so I wait. People have been expressing their dissatisfaction at Windows Updates strategy for so long - Modern Standby was so badly implemented it basically cooked laptops in bags and while leaving users wondering what was happening. I had to reflow a laptop because of it. > Macbooks with 1TB drives are getting cheaper every day. Also high-speed external sto…

A lot of VSTs really don't work well with Wine. I also really just don't want to fight with wine. I haven't had a good experience with it outside of gaming via Steam.

I hate external drives with a passion. Unless the computer itself is stationary, like a Mac Mini.

My current setup is a 400$ laptop plus a 2 TB I brought for about 100$.

It's not perfect, but it's good enough for me.

If I move on from this, it's straight to a 1TB Macbook. You have a degree of assurance things will work on a Mac.

On Windows and Linux no one knows why your audio isn't working.

With Apple ONE company is responsible.

Most people never install an OS. So unless valve or someone comes out with a $400 Linux book, Linux is going to remain a niche OS.

However, I do believe Linux can grant a lot of "obsolete" Windows laptops a second life. I'd love to donate to a charity that rehabs old Windows laptops with Linux.

For light programming, and email, a 100$ used laptop off eBay is probably enough. At 250$ I've seen a lot of very capable machines.

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