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My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

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Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#391

Post by out-of-ideas »

llm_trw wrote: post #73
conception wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://privacy.sexy is what you want/need! Works well to disable various telemetry, bloat and other baddies.

Until it doesn't. I shouldn't have to run on a privacy treadmill to stay in the same place.

every software that ever updates has options that are subject to change; a user needs to be proactive in knowing whats running. i do agree we shouldnt need the privacy treadmill, but until we have better consumer laws the treadmill will continue...

as far as powershell scripts; i cant say i am a fan (i do like the potential targeting of offline machines with something like the mentioned website) - but my favorite to date is still: https://github.com/hellzerg/optimizer/

edit: if you end up trying out hellzerg's optimizer: do know that reboot button, once clicked, reboots right meow

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#392

Post by squarefoot »

lozenge wrote: post #213
OptionOfT wrote: post #14

I can't even remove 'Recommended' from the start menu, not even on a Pro for Workstations. Every time I search on the start menu there is a web search, impossible to turn off. How is that acceptable? I install Edge Beta to test something, and the I uninstall it. All of the sudden my search provider in my normal Edge is reset. And the nagging everywhere. No I don't want 'back-up' my files (OneDrive is not backup, it's…

You can use Windows Firewall to block outbound connections from the Start bar. It would be nice if some basic features like calculator would still work, but no luck.

Wait... Windows calculator needs an internet connection to work?

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#393

Post by moffkalast »

nox101 wrote: post #205

Nothing electronic I own feels like mine anymore My Mac, iPhone, and Apple TV are owned by Apple. My Sony TV is owned by Sony and Google. My Windows PC is owned by Microsoft. My Quest 2 is owned by Meta. My Kindle is owned by Amazon. At best, the Mac and PC I could install Linux on to make them mine. The rest, not so much

Your Kindle feels like it's owned by Amazon because you're using their books as a service stuff. Zlibrary, Calibre, 24/7 airplane mode, and it's as yours as a ZX Spectrum my dude.

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#394

Post by okasaki »

hypeatei wrote: post #95
FredPret wrote: post #76

- no more solitaire - cortana - ads… ADS… in the OS - forced updates - windows live accounts (or is it microsoft.com? wait, no, I think it’s office.com?) - two system settings screens - major new versions after “last version of Windows ever: 10”

Oh man, the absolute clusterfuck of settings screens is irritating. OS settings interface isn't a fucking micro service project; it's like technically, yes, they're updating the same things underneath but I don't want to spend mental energy thinking about the best way to update network settings in

Windows settings have always been bad, but the new UI is truly an atrocity.

I think it's intentional because they don't really want users changing stuff, especially the spyware parts.

Android is also truly horrible, with some settings (like privacy settings) redirecting you to a sluggish embedded remote web page.

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#395

Post by sandreas »

lofaszvanitt wrote: post #248
sandreas wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here are some things I found helpful using Windows at work (at home I use Fedora): Debloat / Software Management: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil Command line software management (Scoop): https://pilabor.com/blog/2021/12/automate-windows-app-setup-... Comparison (Scoop/Chocolatey/Win-Get): https://daftdev.blog/2024/04/01/chocolatey-vs-scoop-vs-winge... I would also recommend starship ( https://starship.rs/…

Why do you even need those? Software and hardware should be under the human, helping, not hindering.

Absolutely. In my company I'm forced to use Windows, because we develop Windows software (WPF). I'm not totally happy with Windows (especially 11), but I tend to look for jobs that have nothing to do with what I'm too familiar with to gain new knowledge. However, I'm trying to make the windows experience as good as possible for my personal taste :-) Additionally I hope I can help to migrate to a web based solution in the future.

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#396

Post by out-of-ideas »

Fire-Dragon-DoL wrote: post #236
PhoenixFlame101 wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree with you, the registry is the windows way of hiding away config files. It's either the GUI, or it's the registry. Linux alternatively uses config files directly meant to be altered by the end user. It's less user-friendly, but better than the registry. The real crime is having a registry in the first place instead of a .config directory.

Kinda. I wish they had a standard format for the config file. Instead every file has its own special syntax, sigh

every program has its own unique style of settings; its a little bit of history repeating - see xkcd standards https://xkcd.com/927/

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#397

Post by llm_trw »

out-of-ideas wrote: post #391
llm_trw wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until it doesn't. I shouldn't have to run on a privacy treadmill to stay in the same place.

every software that ever updates has options that are subject to change; a user needs to be proactive in knowing whats running. i do agree we shouldnt need the privacy treadmill, but until we have better consumer laws the treadmill will continue... as far as powershell scripts; i cant say i am a fan (i do like the potential targeting of offline machines with something like the mentioned website) - but my favorite to…

Or you can just use Linux.

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#398

Post by epolanski »

stavros wrote: post #349
epolanski wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use it everyday in place of my MBP. 1) WSL2 is fantastic to work. Having various Linux images on my system is nice, this is huge for me alone 2) plenty of things work just better on windows like Docker 3) stuff like power tools is insanely useful 4) monitor, windows and desktop management is very well done in comparison to the mess of MacOS 5) I don't have all these issues the article describes. An automatic update…

I find it curious that you say things like "Docker runs better on Windows" but also "MacOS is worse than Linux for development". It reads like you think you have two choices Windows or MacOS, and that it's very unfortunate that they're both worse than Linux. Why isn't Linux one of the options? And yes, Docker and most other development works better on Linux than any other OS.

> Why isn't Linux one of the options?

Because WSL 2 satisfies all my Linux needs, and yes, it runs Docker perfectly and Windows is a better desktop OS, with more tools and software.

I used to run mint, ubuntu and some others up to Windows 10 I never considered a productive machine on my desktop but this has changed during the last years and Windows is an incredibly productive machine for software development.

Anyway I'm not trying to sell anybody Windows, was just answering a pointless comment like "I don't understand why would anybody use Windows", and I answered that there's plenty of reasons and tools for me, but I ain't gonna die if you force me on other OSs too.

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#399

Post by sandreas »

namanyayg wrote: post #295
sandreas wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here are some things I found helpful using Windows at work (at home I use Fedora): Debloat / Software Management: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil Command line software management (Scoop): https://pilabor.com/blog/2021/12/automate-windows-app-setup-... Comparison (Scoop/Chocolatey/Win-Get): https://daftdev.blog/2024/04/01/chocolatey-vs-scoop-vs-winge... I would also recommend starship ( https://starship.rs/…

PS sucks so I've always installed git bash and used it instead since I first discovered it ~12y ago Starship seems quite promising, this is the first time I'm seeing it. But I'm a bit confused on how it works, can you go into a bit more details? Can I use starship+ps to get all Unix and git tools or should I stick with my existing workflow with windows git bash?

Besides git bash you could also use wsl, like in:

  wsl ls -lsa
  wsl cat file.txt
Basically, starship is a config generator for your shell. It transforms a cross platform config file (starship.toml) into a platform specific configuration shell script, e.g.:

  starship init zsh
will output something like

  zmodload zsh/parameter  # Needed to access jobstates variable for STARSHIP_JOBS_COUNT

  # Defines a function `__starship_get_time` that sets the time since epoch in millis in STARSHIP_CAPTURED_TIME.
  if [[ $ZSH_VERSION == ([1-4]*) ]]; then
    # ZSH
For PowerShell the output will look accordingly - the config stays the same. I've had a bunch of custom zsh / powershell config dotfiles for years now, starship just eases it out :-)

Re: My Windows Computer Just Doesn't Feel Like Mine Anymore

#400

Post by pndy »

OptionOfT wrote: post #14

I can't even remove 'Recommended' from the start menu, not even on a Pro for Workstations. Every time I search on the start menu there is a web search, impossible to turn off. How is that acceptable? I install Edge Beta to test something, and the I uninstall it. All of the sudden my search provider in my normal Edge is reset. And the nagging everywhere. No I don't want 'back-up' my files (OneDrive is not backup, it's…

> All this fuzzy language

That's not the exclusive problem to Microsoft - it happens all around us within the IT world. The corporations stopped acknowledging the permanent "No" anymore and the actual user choice. It's a plain harassment up until you give up and agree to what you get shoveled with.

Whenever I read comments regarding last two Windows versions and issues people had or have with these, or news about newest Microsoft "ideas" - I ask myself, where the hell are regulators?

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