It’s like the Microsoft anti-trust trial in 2001 never happened.
Using W11 today, that’s my first thought too…It’s just ad after ad for Microsoft services. You will fucking install O365 or Microsoft will kill a kitten.
Must buy OneDrive or X doesn’t work anymore
Need to buy a subscription for fcking MS Solitaire or you get inundated with ads
X is trash anyway
Weyland’s taking forever, though.
Wayland’s been pretty nice the 3-4 years I’ve been using sway
Can’t you install Windows 7 games package ? I did it with win 10 and I got all the solitaire, free cell, minesweeper, etc… without ads
It is not an official Microsoft package but you can find it easily on Internet.
I don’t see any of this. It’s probably because I ran https://christitus.com/windows-tool/ right after install.
I think it disables all the annoying parts of windows and you just get left with a stable OS.
A lot if things have changed since 2001. For example, the legal definition of “trust” when concerning giant corporations.
Tbf I think it would be hard to win an antitrust case when they have like 1% browser share with edge
Mobile stole so many users from MS In the last 10 years that there is nothing the government could do about this.
Got this via Mastodon which will not let me search for the source.
If you’re in the US, when you set up Windows for the first time, select English (Europe) or English (World), not English (US). That will stop it installing all the bloatware that USians are not protected from but everyone else is.
It’s definitely a US thing, I’m on English (Singapore) and have not seen an ad, ever. I was perplexed by all the complaints of ads in the start menu and wherever, until someone pointed to me that it was a US thing.
You must switch back to English (US) after installation if you want access to Microsoft Store (and even if you don’t, you probably should because most apps are now there).
I’ve seen a few tools to suppress most telemetry such as ChrisTitusTech’s winutil or O&O ShutUp, maybe you could give that a try. Microsoft is really pushing hard Bing & Edge…
Also, as a Linux user, I must obliged to the rules and say there’s alternatives out there if you want to try something new. :-) !linux@lemmy.ml
What exactly are you getting from the Microsoft app store out of curiosity?
Windows Terminal + WSL, everything related to Xbox if you’re using Gamepass or “Play anywhere” titles (Xbox/PC cross-buy).
Most basics apps are from the Microsoft app store too; calculator, calendar, paint, etc.
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve used Windows, but you’d be surprise how much apps are now updated through that app store.
If your device use Windows in S mode, all your apps must come from the store & you must use Edge.
Windows ‘S’hit mode
Ah okay, I didn’t know people used it that way and I don’t do XBox game pass or anything like that. It makes sense. My only real experience with windows store apps has been my work computer trying to install a “personal use” version of Microsoft teams from there and apparently I had to get the professional version through M365 downloads.
Wsl
We leave in Japan, and my wife had that popup once already (using Brave on Win10 - surface laptop)
Would this work after you’ve already setup Windows?
From what I’ve seen online, it must be done during installation. So short answer, no.
As others have said, you could also backup your data and do a fresh installation (from a boot media, not from Windows itself just to be extra safe).
ThioJoe also has a video talking about this English (Europe/World) thing and also provide a Powershell script to delete Windows bloatware. This option could be interesting if you don’t want to reset your whole installation.
I doubt it. Don’t know if a fresh install would, or if you can get it fresh enough to work.
Throw all your important stuff onto a drive thay doesn’t contain the OS. Then remove the drive and wipe the computer. You can set it up again and choose the non-bloatware options.
Use Firefox and uBlock origin
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Most obvious comment ever. I wish this were the answer to everything, but its not,
For example, how do I have the best experience gaming… Switch to Lin… Oh ಠ_ಠ
I literally haven’t had a problem gaming on Linux since I switched over two years ago
Lutris and Proton babyyy.
Thanks for this comment. I’m planning on making the switch soon, just need to find a low-fuss distro that I like.
I’ve been using Nobara for about a year, maybe more and it really is no fuss. Comes with most things you need ready out of the box, or easily added with the post install tool. Only thing I added was Heroic Games Launcher. I set up a just in case Windows partition, but haven’t booted it since making the switch.
Great choice, Nobara is built on Fedora and Fedora is one of the most stable distros ever.
Tbh, I installed Mint on my gaming pc and all the games I‘m currently playing (mostly cities skylines and mechabellum) and everything worked out of the box. Mechabellum performes a bit worse than on Win11 but it‘s good enough to enjoy the game.
Do you mod cities skylines? If so, did you mods and save files transfer over from Windows?
Both are handled through steam (cloud and workshop subscriptions) so both saves and mods were automatically synced after installation.
That being said, you have to manually enable the mods within CS, but you have to do that under windows as well after a fresh installation.
However, I‘m missing some buildings (the european looking schools), but I didn‘t bother yet to find out what happened to them.
I wish gaming on linux was bad. That’d have saved me countless hours :')
Getting there
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Downvoting because “tard”
Personally I’m downvoting because of the unnecessary violence
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Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Linus Torvolds?
Akshually Linus Torvalds is a prophet, Richard Stallman is our lord
That’s GNU/Richard Stallman to you!
I’ve taken to calling him GNU + Richard Stallman
I’d like to interject for a moment,
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You can’t
Laughs in Linux.
I only opened this thread to see if the first comment was by a Linux neckbeard
Lol
I like how anyone who mentions Linux is now a neckbeard. If you even dare to complain about how shit MS has become (they’ve always been shit, but it’s more obvious now) then you’re somehow a neckbeard. You didn’t say the solution wasn’t valid, just attacked them because there isn’t another solution. Put up with MS’s shut, Apple’s shit, or find a Linux distro that suits you. Your choice.
No one has a problem with complaints about Windows, it’s the “just install Linux lol” mentality that invites mockery.
What’s the other option?
How does Microsoft’s boot taste?
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Ofc you are neckbeards. You try to act like not being able to uninstall a few MB of preinstalled software makes windows shit. I disabled it, don’t use it and never even notice it’s there and I’m not missing the space on my 1TB ssd.
I want to play games, write documents and browse the internet on my pc. I see no reason to learn how to use commands to use a way less intuitive and less pretty os, just to have a bit more administrative freedom, for which i have no use.
Good on you if that’s important to you, but most people would be inconvenieced for literally no upside, by using a linux distribution.
You can choose whatever you want for whatever reason you want, but don’t spread misconceptions on the internet. With Proton, if you install a newb distro there is literally no reason to touch the commandline at all for what you want to do.
The fuck is a distro? Linux bros can’t say a single sentence about how “easy” Linux is without using some terminology that proves it would actually take quite a bit of research for someone unfamiliar to make the switch. People don’t want to do that. They want an OS that works without having to take a mini CS course.
You really don’t seem to understand how big the gap is. The things you think are easy or intuitive are far from it. Most people can’t even figure out how to download something from GitHub, and you think Linux is right for them?
People don’t want windows either, they just use it because it came preinstalled.
Yes there are people who will never install any alternative OS for themselves but there are plenty of people who would if they knew about other viable options.
I’m willing to bet most Linux users used to be windows users at some point. So its not futile to evangelise.
Also pick a noob distribution/flavour such as pop_os and the installation is no different than installing windows. Download your browser, steam and office tools and just use it.
You can do all that with Linux and there are plenty of distros where you minimally need to use the terminal or don’t at all. Linux has distros for people who want windows without Microsoft. You only need the terminal if you’re a power user.(Android is Linux, but you never hear anyone complain about having to use the terminal or anything. Linux is the most used OS in the world, you just don’t realize it because it can be anything.)
It’s funny that people can have opinions without any actual knowledge. It’s a weird thing. How does that even happen? We can feel very strongly about things, and often so strongly that we ignore all countering information just so we can maintain our beliefs, as if it’ll hurt us to change them. Humans are weird.
Don’t use chrome
Edge/Windows is literally the technological equivalent of an obsessive ex-girlfriend.
With a crazy disposition to boot.
Makes me quite disposed to dual-boot
Why does it seem like any issue with Windows is met by “INSTALL LINUX!!!”. If the check engine light on my car comes on I am not going to buy a truck.
Yeah you could probably just install Linux on your car and bypass that light instead of buying a truck.
Why spend a lot of time installing and configuring and learning a bunch of stuff when I just want the error code cleared?
Because in this case, the error is “we’ve detected you’re not drinking Ford branded tea, click here to subscribe to our tea service!” along with many other codes that aren’t that hard to individually clear but gives a clear indication of how MS sees its userbase.
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But if your car has flat tires every 3000 miles, the engine explodes occasionally for no reason, the dash display keeps telling you about accessories you don’t want instead of your speed, and the factory door locks are coat hangers twisted into an O ring, then shopping around seems like a good idea.
To be fair, the chance of that not being the default response on Lemmy was pretty slim.
While I wouldn’t comment something like that myself, as I think it’s not productive, it’s quite strange as a Linux user to see these posts like “The makers of the OS I use on the computer I paid money for and now own are trying to screw me over in a new way today. How can I fix it?”
own
I think the real problem is that OP doesn’t own Windows, “the software is licensed, not sold.”
Because we’re nerds.
LMR should have been more helpful in this thread, but, more people installing Linux will solve more issues with Windows beyond a pop-up. Maybe Microsoft will actually improve their OS instead of putting FUCKING ADVERTISEMENTS IN WINDOWS 11
What about “INSTALL A DIFFERENT OS!!!”? Is that better? There are reasonably two others to choose from, and one of those doesn’t require the purchase of expensive equipment and arguably a path into an even more controlled ecosystem.
And your analogy is way off. This isn’t a malfunction of Windows that a technician is going to fix, never to be seen again. This is more like a rep from the car manufacturer meeting you at your car every morning to ask if you want to install their factory upgrade. You tell them that you never want to see them again, so next week they start sending a different representative. You have no other options.
Well, except getting a free car that doesn’t send a rep.
Yeah but the free car requires an hour of troubleshooting every time you get in
Microsoft Reward points
What the fuck is this?
You “earn” points by searching and doing daily stuff which you can redeem for gift cards/rewards.
So they literally have to pay people to use bing?
Yeah. It’s been that way for at least a decade. My dad used to use bing for reward points and was scoring an Xbox controller every 3 months or so.
No way ? that’s a good ratio. I might just try automating Bing searches.
Unfortunately a lot of people have thought the same thing, and I believe they’ve cut down on that. Wouldn’t hurt taking a brief look into it, though. However, the rewards points aren’t as valuable as they used to be, I’m pretty sure.
pathetic
Taking a page out of Brave Browser’s book. So brave.
Bing rewards has been around for 6 years longer than the brave browser has existed (2010 vs 2016)
start using linux lmao
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I hear your annoyance, and I get it, because the “real” question is “How do I stop this from ever happening again on Windows?”
But the bottom line is, no matter what workaround or registry fix is found, nothing stops MS from making changes and popping this crap up yet again in some other obnoxious and shitty way.
If you run Windows, you have to accept some level of this bullshittery.
I’m right though.
No amount of registry editing and weird app installing will permanently remove the obnoxious ads from Windows. And Linux is the only OS that can feel like Windows. (Zorin, Mint, any old KDE distro etc)
And honestly? Linux isn’t that hard anymore. Like, installing stuff can be done through graphical app stores that are easier than using Windows. Gaming on Linux works out of the box and has done for 5 years now.
This post is more like an apple user asking why their phone screen can’t be replaced without buying a new device, or a ford f150 owner asking how to get more than 5mpg in fuel economy: you tell them to (consider) a different choice of product
Clicking “Play” in Steam or Epic launcher is hacking the Pentagon for you?
Devil’s Advocate: I have been unable to play the sims ever since EA moved it to the EA games launcher. Origin was poorly written, but the new launcher barely works on windows, let alone on Wine.
Check protondb. It sometimes has workarounds for launcher issues.
Thanks, ill look into that
There’s been multiple times that I had an issue with a game launcher on windows bugging out and not being able to play my game, but then seeing it work just fine under linux with proton. There’s still some issues the devs need to work out, but we’re getting to the point that linux is more reliable
Honestly I do agree with Linux being more reliable overall. That being said, I do think the biggest benefit Linux has given me is reinforcing a habit of backing up all my stuff constantly, since I never know when I’m going to try something stupid on an impulse.
Haha, true! I’ve learned the hard way to try the really whacky shit in a virtual machine first, they’re quite handy for that. After lots of trial and error though, and learning what will break things and what won’t, I’ve been on the same install for several years now actually. But yes, back ups are still smart lol
I’d like to mention Windows 10 LTSC here. It’s an official Windows 10 Edition from Microsoft, designed for enterprise and embedded usage. Therefore it has no bloatware, no annoying feature updates, no ads and only the absolute minimum of telemetry. If you don’t like Windows but somehow have to use it, this might be the right choice for you.
Out of curiosity, except obviously people who don’t use Windows, who would it be the wrong choice for?
If you use modern hardware it doesn’t behave quite well and gets worse battery life. If you use any tools from Microsoft (WSL, Office, Windows Terminal, etc) most of those are incompatible or a pain to install. If you use anything from the Microsoft Store, including Game Pass, since it just doesn’t include the Microsoft Store.
Ooof.
Well, interesting to know. Thanks!
That’s somewhat wrong. I had no problem installing WSL, Office or Windows Terminal, and they all work fine. The only thing that’s actually a problem is the missing Microsoft Store, but since I’m not using it anyway it doesn’t bother me.
Doesn’t the Enterprise version require a bulk license agreement?
How about you galaxy brain “just switch to linux” people actually give some helpful advice? Clearly there’s a registry edit that can be made for Windows users that would take all of 5 seconds to complete, rather than an entire week formatting, installing, reconfiguring an entirely new OS that also requires a degree of command line knowledge.
I use Windows for gaming but if we need an in-depth technical solution every time Microsoft comes up with some new annoying BS, maybe Linux users have a point to suggest something else. It’s not like the Registry is exactly intuitive to the average user.
How about you galaxy brain “just switch to linux” people actually give some helpful advice?
Ok: https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
Spend a “week” installing mosquito net >> spend 5 sec for each mosquito
I don’t want to force anyone to use Linux, but everyone have the choice, to have a better experience.
No, it doesn’t takes a week to install nor endless time of os configurations nor galaxy brain, in 2023.
And most games work, and most programs work, and for the rare ones that don’t you can use a Windows VM as long as you have just enough attention span to sit through a youtube tutorial
I like Linux and used it as my only OS for a decade but I play games and have to use MS Office. But thanks
Proton for gaming on Linux has come a long way. You still cannot get to 100% parity with all games and programs, and if you absolutely need something that isn’t supported on Linux, you are out of luck, but chances are that most people would actually be able to use everything they need. I understand there’s also the learning curve and not everyone has time or inclination, but for those that do, in 2023 it’s absolutely worth a try.
I don’t think the Fanatec drivers and or driving profile software would work, so I haven’t even bothered.
Games themselves would mostly work, given my experience with the steam deck. But I have a lot of gog games and I know that’s a hassle on it
Microsoft will never stop developing new ways to be anticompetitive leeches on society. You learn how to use one debloating tool, they’ll take the developer of that debloating tool to court and have it pulled from circulation. You learn what registry key to edit, they’ll change it. You get used to a menu, they’ll remove it.
You have a choice: 1, You can continue that arms race with a monstrous evil megacorp, which you will continue to lose, or 2, you can switch to a platform that doesn’t treat you this way in the first place.
Linux Mint among many others has a feature complete GUI which will provide anything the average user needs, including a graphical app “store” for installing software. The desktop paradigm is quite similar to Windows, it will be mostly familiar. The CLI is frankly easier to deal with than Windows’ endless and redundant series of settings menus and applications. When someone asks for help on a text-based forum like StackOverflow or Reddit or Lemmy, it’s easier to tell them “Open a terminal and copy-paste
lshw -f” than it is to tell them “Open the Start menu and click Programs > Administration >Regedit then look for a thing that says win11embraceextendextinguish and toggle that from 1 to 0, and do this after every update because it automatically changes it back.”Linux does not require a week to install. Windows does. My father bought a new Dell about the time I built my little Ryzen box I’m typing this on. It took him over a week to wipe the factory Win 10 Dell Bloatware Edition image for vanilla Win 10, fuck around with drivers, then manually go to individual software websites, download installers, run them, haul out CDs and DVDs and install software (including Office 2010, the damned old chad) one at a time, then restore a backup of his files…He was actively engaged with this task for over a week. I had it done in about three hours, most of which I actually spent trimming my hedges while waiting for files to download or transfer from an external HDD. It was a 100% GUI process; I didn’t open a terminal throughout.
Sure, Linux is different than Windows and this will take some learning. Just like Windows does every time they come out with a new version and you have to learn where they arbitrarily rearranged basic functions to this time. When I switched to Linux a decade ago, it was a similar process in going from Win 98 to Win XP, or XP to 7. Except after awhile the basic reorientation finished, and I started learning new things.
People who spend half their free time troubleshooting a simple driver install on their OS need to feel like it’s worth it, hence they justify it by their sense of superiority. Sunk cost.
“Driver install” is mainly a windows thing. Linux ships with drivers that just work out of the box for nearly everything, with the only notable exception being Nvidia‘s proprietary drivers. However, every distro streamlines the installation process for that since it’s so common (And Nvidia is slowly moving towards open source anyways)
The first time you connect a printer to your linux machine and you find that it just fucking works is when you will see the light.
One way would be to switch your default search engine to Bing in Chrome.
I bet that doesn’t stop it lol
Are you actually bots? I can’t believe you would suggest either chrome or bing if privacy is a concern to you. It’s firefox and duckduckgo all day, every day…
I mean, if I was a bot, I’d probably be more productive.
I think you might have meant to ask if I was a shill. But in any case, OP specifically asked a question in relation to using Chrome and related to being pressured to use Bing. While my suggestion was pretty tongue-in-cheek, it was still on topic. You saying “Use Firefox instead” is kind of a poor answer that might appeal to your bias, but isn’t really on topic for this question. I would guess that OP is aware of other browser options.
And another is to just use Microsoft Edge already. Jesus Christ, Edge is an ACTUALLY GOOD WEB BROWSER. It’s based on Chromium, so there’s no usable difference, plus you can access https://passwords.google.com in Edge with no issue.
No, thank you.
Exactly. Just bend over and grab your ankles, they’re going in dry.
Right? They’re the same browser just reporting everything you do to different people.
Have you tried binging it?
