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Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

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11–20 of 58 posts

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#11

Too bad Linux still can't offer a desktop alternative that is widely acceptable. Personally, I am contemplating moving to a server version of Windows on my desktop. This AI nonsense looks like just a privacy invasion scheme.

My biggest issue is gaming, as anytime I try doing anything with Proton I find myself screwing around with it too much which defeats the purpose IMO.

Otherwise I would’ve switched long ago, as at the very least the development environment is much nicer in Linux.

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#12

Too bad Linux still can't offer a desktop alternative that is widely acceptable. Personally, I am contemplating moving to a server version of Windows on my desktop. This AI nonsense looks like just a privacy invasion scheme.

just out of curiosity, what's wrong with the more 'traditional' Linux desktops, such as Plasma or Cinnamon?

Most distros can't even recover from a shutdown while updating (windows handles it since Vista).

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#14
post #7

These fullscreen messages are so confusing to elderly people, most of my support calls from family and friends are related to the weird and unpredictable updates and invasive popups, or the consequences from these. I have slowly been moving them, one by one, over to Fedora. I still get support calls, but not related to the OS, more like, "how do I add an attachment to this email, I forgot."

I can see it now...

"How do I share my screen?"

"Well grandma, the Google Chrome Flatpak you're using defaults to Xorg so it runs in XWayland, which means it can't see the desktop because the rest of your shell is native in Wayland. If you go to chrome://flags and set prefered-ozone-platform to wayland it might work, but some people in this reddit thread also mention you need to install xdg-desktop-portal-gnome so it can call the screensharing API in GNOME. This also might not work in the Flatpak at all and maybe just the RPM."

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#15
post #7

These fullscreen messages are so confusing to elderly people, most of my support calls from family and friends are related to the weird and unpredictable updates and invasive popups, or the consequences from these. I have slowly been moving them, one by one, over to Fedora. I still get support calls, but not related to the OS, more like, "how do I add an attachment to this email, I forgot."

Would've never thought of having a non-tech-understanding person use GNU/Linux before, but nowadays I think Windows has managed to close the gap on its own by becoming horrible. Though there are other options like iPad or Chromebook.

If they're non-tech-understanding enough, it might not matter at all. Someone who's oblivious enough may use the computer as more of an appliance (plus web).

I had my ageing parents set up with a Linux desktop for some years in the past. I just -pre-configured everything they'd likely have needed. Browser, email, instant messaging (as it was at the time), a photos app, possibly something else I'm forgetting.

It's the somewhat tech-savvy (or at least somewhat tech-independent) for whom such a transition might be the most trouble.

(And, of course, those people who use specialized applications or hardware for which support may not be available, or who use workflows that require going somewhat below the "appliance" level and which could require significant relearning.)

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#16
post #14
post #7

These fullscreen messages are so confusing to elderly people, most of my support calls from family and friends are related to the weird and unpredictable updates and invasive popups, or the consequences from these. I have slowly been moving them, one by one, over to Fedora. I still get support calls, but not related to the OS, more like, "how do I add an attachment to this email, I forgot."

I can see it now... "How do I share my screen?" "Well grandma, the Google Chrome Flatpak you're using defaults to Xorg so it runs in XWayland, which means it can't see the desktop because the rest of your shell is native in Wayland. If you go to chrome://flags and set prefered-ozone-platform to wayland it might work, but some people in this reddit thread also mention you need to install xdg-desktop-portal-gnome so it…

I usually use my Linux workstation headlessly at work, but maybe once a year I turn on the screen. It's an entirely different GUI each time. Last time this somehow had to do with the Xorg vs Wayland thing, which also partially broke Chrome Remote Desktop. It's hilarious.

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#17
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would've never thought of having a non-tech-understanding person use GNU/Linux before, but nowadays I think Windows has managed to close the gap on its own by becoming horrible. Though there are other options like iPad or Chromebook.

If they're non-tech-understanding enough, it might not matter at all. Someone who's oblivious enough may use the computer as more of an appliance (plus web). I had my ageing parents set up with a Linux desktop for some years in the past. I just -pre-configured everything they'd likely have needed. Browser, email, instant messaging (as it was at the time), a photos app, possibly something else I'm forgetting. It's the…

I agree that the semi-power-user category is the most problematic, but my grandma wasn't there. More like, so non-tech-savvy that she accidentally clicked buttons or hit shortcuts for power users, messing things up in ways she couldn't fix. Like, she deleted the Safari address bar and installed 10 malicious Chrome extensions. Used her mouse upside-down for a while once.

GNU/Linux actually might've been best because it's harder to do anything in it. Chromebook wasn't an option cause the screens are too small, and idk if Chromeboxes were viable back then (~2015). She used to use Windows, which was an unmitigated disaster with viruses.

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

just out of curiosity, what's wrong with the more 'traditional' Linux desktops, such as Plasma or Cinnamon?

Most distros can't even recover from a shutdown while updating (windows handles it since Vista).

what do you mean?

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

just out of curiosity, what's wrong with the more 'traditional' Linux desktops, such as Plasma or Cinnamon?

Most distros can't even recover from a shutdown while updating (windows handles it since Vista).

That's why using immutable distros is awesome. Worst case scenario, you can boot the previous version.

I've been using Fedora Silverblue for a while and never got a borked upgrade. It's not without its own flaws, but if you can live with mostly flatpak apps, it's a pretty compelling package.

Re: Microsoft's full-screen reminders – upgrade to Windows 11 are back

#20

Too bad Linux still can't offer a desktop alternative that is widely acceptable. Personally, I am contemplating moving to a server version of Windows on my desktop. This AI nonsense looks like just a privacy invasion scheme.

I really like plasma. But above all I love that there is choice. I could never deal with gnome 3. If Linux were to pick that as the one standard desktop I just would leave the platform.
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