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Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

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Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#551

Post by timbit42 »

NoImmatureAdHom wrote: post #548
timbit42 wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd recommend skipping Ubuntu and the *ubuntus. Linux Mint and Debian are better. Zorin claims to be Windows-like: https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=zorin

My thought was that Ubuntu &c. are more "just works" than Debian, and that would be better for new users. I mentally classify Mint with the *Ubuntus. Ubuntu by default used to contain more proprietary, closed-source stuff which, sadly, results in more things (peripherals, wifi, graphics, etc.) just working. Is this no longer true?

It is still true but many other distros have them too now. I've found Linux Mint, which was originally based on Ubuntu, to be much nicer and upgrades are easier.

I'm not a fan of Ubuntu creating their SNAP store which seems like a play to get a monopoly on Linux.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#552

Post by ivraatiems »

PraetorianGourd wrote: post #501
ivraatiems wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Microsoft makes Windows, and therefore can force anything Windows tries to open to use that scheme. This means you can never view search results, weather, news, etc. that Windows provides to you integrated into its experience in any browser other than edge.

But they don’t. Microsoft could do this. Apple could do that. Google could do this and that. I don’t give much of a shit what someone could do. Biden could order a nuclear attack on Finland. China could order all references to their president baseball be replaced by the word baseball. Linus could merge in whatever the fuck to the kernel. But if he did, everyone would panic, so let’s wait until they do the thing

What are you talking about? They are literally doing this right now, that's already what it is doing. Everything I described is happening now.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#553

Post by PraetorianGourd »

ivraatiems wrote: post #552
PraetorianGourd wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But they don’t. Microsoft could do this. Apple could do that. Google could do this and that. I don’t give much of a shit what someone could do. Biden could order a nuclear attack on Finland. China could order all references to their president baseball be replaced by the word baseball. Linus could merge in whatever the fuck to the kernel. But if he did, everyone would panic, so let’s wait until they do the thing

What are you talking about? They are literally doing this right now, that's already what it is doing. Everything I described is happening now.

Because it’s hyperbole. Not in the sense of it not being literally true, but hyperbolic in the sense that it is both an avoidable and limited to first party properties. It’s also not abusing existing standards. Instead of redirecting all browser links through Edge, they made a handler that specifies Edge. Firefox decided that it would ignore this design and hijack links that are specified to use Edge.

Let me give you a real example. Microsoft has a link to manage your Microsoft account online. This opens in Edge and thus can auto-login to your account. That is the expected and secure behavior. Firefox shouldn’t be able to hijack that.

Also you can still use any browser to check the weather. Just not via the integrated windows app.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#554

Post by cybernautique »

majkinetor wrote: post #543
cybernautique wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, if you're going to modify Windows, why not just go Linux? Monkeypatching Windows into a good (useable?) OS seems like more effort for less return than just picking up a distro. The only advantage I've heard people claim for Windows is that "it just works." If it can't even meet your workflow, why bother?

I like Windows. Any hardware just works. Many linux distros are nice but none I tried could handle the diversity of devices as Windows. To get some things done you even need to recompile the kernel, something unheard of in Windows land. I customize the heck out of Windows with couple of PowerShell scripts. So to get my own "distribution" I need no more then hour or two wait and almost zero effort starting from defaul…

If it's productive and you like it, then that's great! I stopped using Windows about 7 years ago; I've slowly radicalized myself to the point where I just genuinely hate Windows as a product and often wish toenail cancer upon its engineers.

I'm realizing how detrimental this is to my emotional well-being, but I still genuinely can not imagine what would entice me back to the Microsoft stranglehold. The fact that you even need to run a debloater (that removes most of the user-facing crud), add a package manager, and empathically tell your OS to shut up... I just don't see the point.

It's adversarial.

Why do I want an enemy for an OS? and even if the OS was friendly, Microsoft certainly isn't, and so: why do I want an enemy's snitch for an OS?

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#555

Post by ranguna »

FourthProtocol wrote: post #508
ranguna wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried libre office? And if you really need offline editing, you can still have all the pros of Linux + office if you install a Windows VM escape hatch just for Word.

Yes I've tried Libre. ODT files don't play well with MS Office. Pivot tables in Calc are... frustrating. No OneNote, no Outlook, no Visio. Linux doesn't work on my hardware, and Visual Studio doesn't work on Linux. The distribution fragmentation... I'm expected to install flavour X or Y of Linux not actually knowing before I start that my hardware even supports it? Brain = explode. Joining a community (Linux) that st…

Oh boy, don't know if I read that correctly, but it seemed a bit heavy on emotions from your side. It's just an OS and my comment was just a recommendation. And these are just some observations for my own self interest, please read these in a neutral tone:

> ODT files don't play well with MS Office

Can't you save in docx format from within libre office?

> Linux doesn't work on my hardware, and Visual Studio doesn't work on Linux.

Could you elaborate on these two points?

> The distribution fragmentation...

The downside of a strong open source community is that you are spoiled for choice, yes.

> that stomps all over people that have a dissenting view

Not Linux specific I'd say. There are people like that everywhere.

> why would I do that when native Windows is pain-free and just works?

If Windows works perfectly fine for you, then yes, Linux + VM doesn't make much sense. For the rest of us that are not fans of how Windows runs things, it's usually a last resort option and very few people use it.

> I don't "need" offline editing, I just want it.

Sorry, that's what I meant, more like either/or want/need.

> And yes, probability is low, but impact and exposure are both very VERY high.

Definitely, that's why you'll find lots of people in the Linux community that run their own NAS at home and have lots of fun with it.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#556

Post by majkinetor »

cybernautique wrote: post #554
majkinetor wrote: post #543

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like Windows. Any hardware just works. Many linux distros are nice but none I tried could handle the diversity of devices as Windows. To get some things done you even need to recompile the kernel, something unheard of in Windows land. I customize the heck out of Windows with couple of PowerShell scripts. So to get my own "distribution" I need no more then hour or two wait and almost zero effort starting from defaul…

If it's productive and you like it, then that's great! I stopped using Windows about 7 years ago; I've slowly radicalized myself to the point where I just genuinely hate Windows as a product and often wish toenail cancer upon its engineers. I'm realizing how detrimental this is to my emotional well-being, but I still genuinely can not imagine what would entice me back to the Microsoft stranglehold. The fact that you…

> The fact that you even need to run a debloater (that removes most of the user-facing crud), add a package manager, and empathically tell your OS to shut up... I just don't see the point.

I do this for almost anything. I was doing the same thing when I was actively using Ubuntu, Arch or MacOS as a daily driver. Only I can say what is the environment I work in and its by definition impossible for anybody else to get it right.

> Why do I want an enemy for an OS? and even if the OS was friendly, Microsoft certainly isn't, and so: why do I want an enemy's snitch for an OS?

Why are you skipping relevant bits to confirm your biases ? I was fighting all OSes all the time, I fight Windows only on initialization, and other OSes every freaking week. Why would I want that ?

You don't seem to have healthy thought process around big coorps - I don't work for them, and I don't care about ANY of them. When I switched from Windows to Linux it was because I couldn't see that direction where MS was going was good and OS sucked. I was happy with Linux and learned a lot, but I had frequently to do non-trivial job to get trivial things working (like USB). I returned to Windows few years later when they started their FOSS era, and I am now more than happy.

The truth is, I don't care for ANY OS. I don't care for their desktops, shiny init apps, stupid windows managers, control panels. Fuck all of that. Give me kernel, terminal and browser and let me be, I can take it from there. So basically any OS I use looks the same and uses the same x-platform tools.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#557

Post by [deleted] »

kaba0 wrote: post #167
pjfin123 wrote: post #33

Linux Desktop feeling extra good today, my sound often doesn't work but I don't have to deal with Microsoft nonsense.

Frankly, sound has not been a problem for a long time now I think. Hell, the number of time windows killed the sound driver under usage for whatever reason it deemed useful, I actually would say nowadays Windows has the worst audio stack out of the 3 main OSs.

[deleted]

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#558

Post by FourthProtocol »

ranguna wrote: post #555
FourthProtocol wrote: post #508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I've tried Libre. ODT files don't play well with MS Office. Pivot tables in Calc are... frustrating. No OneNote, no Outlook, no Visio. Linux doesn't work on my hardware, and Visual Studio doesn't work on Linux. The distribution fragmentation... I'm expected to install flavour X or Y of Linux not actually knowing before I start that my hardware even supports it? Brain = explode. Joining a community (Linux) that st…

Oh boy, don't know if I read that correctly, but it seemed a bit heavy on emotions from your side. It's just an OS and my comment was just a recommendation. And these are just some observations for my own self interest, please read these in a neutral tone: > ODT files don't play well with MS Office Can't you save in docx format from within libre office? > Linux doesn't work on my hardware, and Visual Studio doesn't w…

Lol you read that very correctly, but please don't take the emotion either seriously or personally.

All your points are noted. Importing ODT files into Word makes a mess of formatting and layout. I've wasted many hours fixing documents. Linux doesn't like my graphics card, and on my previous hardware setup wouldn't recognise my ELP web cam, my Windows Phone, and for some inexplicable reason, my Ergodox keyboard.

Visual Studio is software for Windows - it won't work on Linux (I see no benefit in virtualising when I have so many other issues with Linux, plus the real or imagined perf impact of virtualisation - at age 50 I'm way past the place where I spend a week on a PC build just to see if I can - I know I can, I no longer want to).

Yes, there are vocal people behind every technology. I guess I'm just tired of hearing "Linux" as the panacea for all things Windows or Microsoft. I know Microsoft's history. Better than many, having used their stuff starting with MS DOS in '84, maybe '85, and having actually worked there.

You wrote - If Windows works perfectly fine for you, then yes, Linux + VM doesn't make much sense. For the rest of us that are not fans of how Windows runs things, it's usually a last resort option and very few people use it.

You're absolutely correct in that statement. My problem with Linux isn't that. My problem is what a5aAqU did in his reply to my first comment. He suggested Linux even though my post made my preference clear. This happens almost every time I mention using and liking Microsoft products and technologies.

It's not something I'd ever consider doing to anyone saying they use/like Linux. I love when people get along, regardless of... well, anything. Diversity is beyond value. It's how we grow.

Apologies again, I did not mean to offend.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#559

Post by RealStickman_ »

GhettoComputers wrote: post #284
RealStickman_ wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's just me, but tweaking Windows extensively always feels like you're fighting against the OS. I don't have these issues with my Linux installs.

You don’t uninstall snap if you use Ubuntu?

I don' use Ubuntu, simple as that.

Re: Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround

#560

Post by ranguna »

FourthProtocol wrote: post #558
ranguna wrote: post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh boy, don't know if I read that correctly, but it seemed a bit heavy on emotions from your side. It's just an OS and my comment was just a recommendation. And these are just some observations for my own self interest, please read these in a neutral tone: > ODT files don't play well with MS Office Can't you save in docx format from within libre office? > Linux doesn't work on my hardware, and Visual Studio doesn't w…

Lol you read that very correctly, but please don't take the emotion either seriously or personally. All your points are noted. Importing ODT files into Word makes a mess of formatting and layout. I've wasted many hours fixing documents. Linux doesn't like my graphics card, and on my previous hardware setup wouldn't recognise my ELP web cam, my Windows Phone, and for some inexplicable reason, my Ergodox keyboard. Visu…

> don't take the emotion either seriously or personally.

> I did not mean to offend.

None taken! Happy that this turned out a healthy discussion.

I was just a bit surprised finding out that there's hardware that doesn't work on Linux. It's been almost the gold standard for hardware support (ignoring nvidia of course). Thanks for enriching my knowledge on that one.

Ah and I seem to have misread "visual studio" as "visual studio code", apologies for that. Yeah most Windows software will always be tricky to get into Linux, that's definitely true.

Your post just made me realise that when I find myself in a OS discussion, instead of starting to list out pros and cons of Linux, I'll just ask if they're happy with their current OS. That should probably clear up a lot of things from the get-go.

Once again, thank you for your post and I hope windows keeps treating you well. If not, you'll always know where to find Linux.

Have an awesome day!

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