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Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

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Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#191

Post by tivert »

theamk wrote: post #176
tivert wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I got a Windows Notification the other day while playing a game telling me about a "Grand prize giveaway" > Nope, not malware. Just Windows. Yeah, I got one the other day promoting some game or game studio. Honestly, there outta be a law. We don't need this kind of "innovation."

The easiest way is to stop using Windows. Either Microsoft sees decrease in users and rolls back ads; or its keeps pushing on and makes things even worse. Either way, you no longer see the ads.

> The easiest way is to stop using Windows. Either Microsoft sees decrease in users and rolls back ads; or its keeps pushing on and makes things even worse. Either way, you no longer see the ads.

That's only easy if I have infinite time to take up a big personal IT migration project, which I don't. I've got other stuff that's much more important. So does everyone else. Which is why market solutions to stuff like this don't work.

The market doesn't solve for best or even good, it solves for "not so crappy you don't buy it."

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#192

Post by xethos »

prepend wrote: post #163

This is much more invasive than Google’s banner on search (and kind of everything they make) pushing to instal Chrome. And way worse than MacOS’ occasional prompt to switch to safari that I think happens once per version upgrade and is just a typical modal prompt. Microsoft acts like their OS is free. I paid $120 for this stuff.

> Microsoft acts like their OS is free

Because it effectively is. Between the discounted OEM pre-installed copy (effectively free to the casual user), the people happy enough with "Please activate Windows" in the corner and most functions working, and the "I found a deal on a legit activation key with a steep discount" crowd, very, very few people paid even a tenth as much as you.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#193

Post by abirch »

theamk wrote: post #176
tivert wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I got a Windows Notification the other day while playing a game telling me about a "Grand prize giveaway" > Nope, not malware. Just Windows. Yeah, I got one the other day promoting some game or game studio. Honestly, there outta be a law. We don't need this kind of "innovation."

The easiest way is to stop using Windows. Either Microsoft sees decrease in users and rolls back ads; or its keeps pushing on and makes things even worse. Either way, you no longer see the ads.

I'm grateful that I don't need any Window Programs though there are issues such as when my kid wants to play Minecraft Education Edition, but it's usually a windows VM for those rare occasions.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#194

Post by CuriouslyC »

tivert wrote: post #188
CuriouslyC wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be that way, but now Linux has really good application compatibility. You can run the majority of apps using wine/proton, and ironically old hardware tends to be better supported in Linux.

> You can run the majority of apps using wine/proton I've heard that, but I'm skeptical. I'm assuming "most apps" don't include MS Office. How much wrestling is involved? Can you just run a Windows installer and have it work? Do updates break things?

Take a look at https://appdb.winehq.org/ for compatibility. Older software (even stuff like MS Office) often works well.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#195

Post by AlexandrB »

nerdjon wrote: post #178
sickofparadox wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leaving a negative review of the product because it doesn't work where you want it to work is absolutely not "toxic fanboy" behavior, its called being an advocate for your own interests. As the person paying up to 70$ for the game, consumers deserve to have their voices heard. Besides, is anyone actually worried about the rampant "toxicity" in the reviews section on a games steam page? Seems a bit pearl clutch-y.

Um... "review bombing" is a thing that is often talked about. So... yes people are worried about it... You knew what the game did and did not support when you bough it. If you choose to do something outside of what it says, it's your problem not theirs.

Personally, I think using aggregate review scores to make decisions is foolish - and this was true even before user scores and review bombing were a thing. To paraphrase George Carlin - the average reviewer is dumb and half of the ones Metacritic is aggregating are even dumber than that. Why do you give equal weight to their opinion?

My approach: Find someone whose opinion/taste I trust. Make decisions based on the full text of their review. Ignore Metacritc/Rotten Tomatoes/Steam User Reviews like the plague.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#196

Post by bastardoperator »

simiones wrote: post #140
giancarlostoro wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to add a new user account on my new Windows 11 system. It came with Windows Home right. So when I went to add one, it told me that feature is disabled because I have poor man's Windows, go to this other program. So I go to program B. Guess what program B told me? It told me I was using poor man's Windows to go back to program A to add a new user. I had to do it via command line. After I was about to remove m…

Unfortunately Linux is still far from ready. It's awesome that it can run Steam games quite seamlessly, and it can even run non-Steam games if you fiddle around a bit and find the magic incantations. But - I tried using it for things like GoG, and quickly found out that there is actually no way of running GOG on Linux, even with Proton/Wine, unless maybe if I go and install a bunch of other 3rd parties. Not to mentio…

It's called heroicgameslauncher, runs on Linux and works with GoG.

https://github.com/Heroic-Games-Launcher/HeroicGamesLauncher

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#197

Post by fouc »

It's not like Google doesn't use all sorts of sneaky tricks to get people to use Chrome anyways.

In gmail I often get a popup telling me the recommended browser is Chrome.

On the iPhone, my gmail and google maps apps pretend to ask for my preference on which browser I want to launch, and then conveniently forget my preference every so often.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#198

Post by snoman »

phendrenad2 wrote: post #111
tivert wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I got a Windows Notification the other day while playing a game telling me about a "Grand prize giveaway" > Nope, not malware. Just Windows. Yeah, I got one the other day promoting some game or game studio. Honestly, there outta be a law. We don't need this kind of "innovation."

No, there shouldn't be a law, unless you intend to outlaw in-app advertising entirely, which will make a lot of people sad that there are no free smartphone games anymore, but okay.

So the only games left would be worth paying for? Sounds good. Let’s get started.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#199

Post by bialpio »

gumballindie wrote: post #124
nerdjon wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with the idea of leaving negative reviews just because a game doesn’t support a specific platform. It’s the same toxic fanboy wars we see if a game doesn’t come out on a specific console or available on a specific store. Doing so costs money for a small portion of the community. Ultimately these studios are businesses and have to make financial choices. I do fully recognize that this is a chicken and the e…

I paid for a product and I expect that product to at least not intentionally restrict use on proton. If you intentionally restrict its use on whatever platform i see fit then you are getting a negative review. The wine folks and valve have put serious effort into patching your product to work on linux, but when you actively undermine their effort and intentionally limit its use - either by banning players on linux or…

Do you agree with this statement? "If you paid for a product with a known platform restriction, don't expect it to Just Work, & don't leave a negative review if it doesn't."

I'm asking because IMO you initially claimed something more broad than your second comment indicates.

Re: Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Win11 to get people to ditch Chrome

#200

Post by jader201 »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #153
mort96 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with PC hardware is that yes, there's more choice, but it's all mostly bad. Nobody other than Apple manages to put a decent and reliable trackpad on their machines for example, and all PC laptops I've used have at times gotten really loud. If you're okay with non-Windows OSes, hardware choice is the main reason to pick Apple machines. Also, Linux is coming along rather well on Apple Silicon machines.

FWIW, I find current gen (starting with 8th) HP EliteBooks decent enough. They work perfectly in Linux (actually better than Windows, since for a while some bits weren't recognized...). They're quiet unless I'm compiling something (if I don't use Windows, which for some reasons gets the fan spinning even when it's supposed to be asleep). The trackpad is good, even though it's worse than my 2013 MBP's. The main issue…

> Even the top-of-the-line display is ridiculously bad.

To me, that’s far from “decent enough”, not even taking into account the other (more minor) differences you name.

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