Why are the percentages in decimals, like this - “0.64%”?
And why does the total add up to 1.02%?
I don’t even know why people use Windows 10 (or 11) other than momentum.
I haven’t used Windows for years, but my daughter’s new online school required either a Windows 10/11 computer or a Mac and we can’t afford even a new decent Windows notebook, let alone a Mac, so we ended up getting a refurbished Thinkpad running Windows 10 from NewEgg.
Windows 10. Is. Annoying. As. Fuck.
We are constantly getting interrupted by unnecessary popups (or were until I took the time to disable everything I could think of, which was a pain in the ass).
After running updates, it made me go through a bunch of screens turning down paying for things. Twice. And those popups still asked me about paying for things. Motherfucker, I already paid $300 for the computer, I’m not paying you shit.
And wow is stuff counterintuitive in how to do it compared to either any Linux GUI I’ve tried or Mac OS. Just trying to figure out how to get to a File menu is baffling half the time.
I don’t blame anyone for using XP over that shit. Let alone Linux or even a Mac.
Just wait until they start putting ads in the file menu and make you sit through a 30 second commercial every time you want to open an application unless you join windows premium + subscription only 15$ a month
For me I use Win11 for one reason: Auto HDR. Fixes every issue I have with HDR in other OSes cause it just works.
I can see that, but is it really worth running it as an OS other than for that specific use? Because if not, you can just run it in an emulator or on a partition when you need that.
Well I play a lot of HDR games and watch a lot of HDR movies, so for me the use isn’t exactly “specific”. I’m using HDR all the time.
But to be honest, I’d love nothing more than to switch to Linux fulltime. The game support is finally good enough for me, but I need my HDR. Emulation isn’t an option cause HDR doesn’t work that way, and I already dual boot Mint and Win11. But right now my usage is about 90% Windows and 10% *Nix. Can’t wait for the day when I can finally switch those percentages around.
Newest versions of windows 11 make it incredibly hard to find the screen that shows all your network adapters. It is now easier to use device manager to disable and reenable an adapter.
How do I know? Because all the shit tier screens and tools that offer to help you with a network issue didn’t work. ONLY reenabling the NIC did.
Had to do it on my whole network
Did you use cmd with elevated admin privileges? Try right click cmd and run as admin if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Windoze stopped running cmd with elevated privileges sometime around Win7. From a security perspective it makes a lot of sense to do that as default, even though it can be a bit of a pain for home users that expect to have admin for everything they do.
Kind of feel like Windows 11 is trying to appeal most to people who only use Windows for stuff like Outlook and Excel.
If your job requires any niche or specialized software. Or if you need your Windows system for managing networks and stuff like that, you’re probably better off sticking with older windows or jumping to Linux.
Obviously it’s not as easy as just switching to Linux, especially for larger organizations etc. But it gets easier with every new version of Ubuntu, Fedora etc.
Learn the ways of the run prompt: ncpa.cpl launches you right to the classic network adapter control panel screen. I have to get in there so often that I’ve taught myself plenty of those little shortcuts because MS can’t leave shit where it was.
…And it all has to be there for legacy compatibility, because some Fortune 500 company somewhere has some rickety piece of shit in-house “enterprise” software that relies on some obscure aspect or another of a past Windows version.
I am sort of partial to those rickity old systems that force them to keep legacy software compatibility.
I can still load up and use a program that was written 20 years ago for windows XP.
It also gives third parties like classic shell or startallback the ability to restore all the functionality that the newest start menu disaster tries to push.
IT person here: this is absolutely correct. I know of two buildings in a ridiculously expensive zip code known for international trade that their entire HVAC system is run by a grey case XP box that MUST always have internet connection.
It was considered a cost saving method at the time as opposed to real building services control panels and the company that wrote and sold the software to the local companies went out of business in 2001. There are more businesses in this position just these are the only two I’ve personally been called to service.
In both cases neither machine had been allowed to reboot for more than a decade because of the legitimate fear that the hard drive bearings would fail if they were allowed to spin down.
And neither were interested in replacing it
Why don’t you just use control panel?
I never use the windows settings menu unless I absolutely have to because, like you insinuated, it’s really not that great.
Control panel on the other hand is still there and will get you exactly where you need much quicker.
It’s definitely looking like a possibility. I do my work on Linux machines but only use win for games. If I can play my main community games it might be time to make the switch for good
You can also just search “network” and the screen they want is either the first or second result. I rarely ever go into any kinds of settings menus anymore, i just search on the start menu.
Why are the settings for a single device spread across multiple sections of the OS though?
After XP, Windows focused on adding crap to their aid that use unnecessary resources for crap things. I remember the Aqua look on Vista that sucked the life out of computers. Let’s not talk about Windows Me. Then 8 was a weird interface that no one liked and also not compatible with older machines. So XP is the most stable Windows os that can run on older devices.
XP still had the designed-by-engineers vibe. Since then, Microsoft got completely taken over by dipshits with marketing MBAs.
They now code Windows to impress executives and shareholders with how much they can harvest data and manipulate customers into using their stupid Store and so on. They stopped caring about the experiences of power users, or even casual users.
They don’t want the OS to work for us. They want us to work for them.
Very well said.
Do you have any suggestions for people wanting to go back to an XP feeling?
A particular distro of Linux, etc.?
I have a lot of respect for Linux and use it here and there, but I am by no means an expert on it. The best thing I’ve done with it so far is running a Pi Hole at home.
Unfortunately, my job involves using MS Windows. A lot. After I retire…soonish…I hope to take some time and learn Linux better.
For my day-to-day Windows misery, I find that ShutUp10 does a great job of toggling off the bullshit you don’t want running. And it’s easy to toggle things back on if you ever need to. It’s a free program you can download and run. I send them a little money every year out of gratitude, but donations are completely optional.
Some FUD mongers will tell you that ShutUp10 ‘breaks’ Windows. That’s simply not true. It puts all the Windows settings you can change yourself in one easy-to-find place. Things that are normally scattered all over the UX and the registry.
While you could mess some things up using it if you’re not careful, it’s very good about color coding and letting you know which toggles are best to turn off, which ones are a little questionable, and which ones you should leave turned on (unless you know what you’re doing and can take the risk). I have used it for years now, on multiple PCs, with zero problems. It doesn’t make Windows 10/11 GOOD but it makes them less horrible.
I second the recommendation of giving Linux Mint a shot. I didn’t use XP extensively but Mint is low hassle and gets out of your way.
I’m not sure it has quite the same feel, but closest I can think of that is also approachable coming from Windows. Obviously a lot of other distros also satisfy the “built by engineers” vibe.
Mint is the usual recommendation for transitioning from windows to Linux.
Though enshittification was coined, I think, with online services in mind, this is a perfect example of the process as it applies to an OS.
WinME was that OS I ripped off a brand new laptop and replaced with 98SE so it would function correctly. When it crashes and hangs right out of the box…
To be fair, vista and 7 had a lot of QOL improvements too.
I dont see the point of 10+ though, they pretty much just added fluff.
I’ve been looking for advice. I’ve been wondering if it was worthwhile to upgrade from 10 to 11. I heard 11 had ads and even more bloatware, a disgusting UI, and just general worse. But i was wondering if those are fixed/avoidable. I was thinking of upgrading before it gets too late, or idk…
Windows 11 is miserable. You are now required to add Microsoft accounts at the OS level. Tons of bloatware, embedded ads in start menu, heavy user tracking. Shitty AI implementation pushed on all apps including notepad. And all of the windows 10+ elements are built in the windows 8 base image so all of the settings are nested on top of the new settings UI, on top of control panel.
local accounts still work, even on home edition
ads in the start menu work the same way as they do in windows 10 (pinned tiles that download actual apps from the store, you just need to unpin 'em)
I still don’t have any of the ai stuff, and pretty sure they should be controllable with a simple group policy
Local accounts only work with a really convoluted method during install, involving physically disconnecting your Ethernet cable and running a command in the OOBE.
i think it’s better.
the only downside is minor visual bugs with the taskbar, and the edge causing issues if uninstalled (may cause update loop or permanently break all pdf files unless you set another handler and previewer beforehand)
explorer got little bit slow ever since the tabs got added but it’s definitely not unusable, and I’d rather take 1 second hit to the loading time than an explorer without tabs
It’s totally fine to upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, it’s basically the same thing. Overall it’s better in some regards (like better HDR support, direct storage is coming and so on) and a bit worse in others (I do hate the new right click menu). No ads though and barely any difference to Windows 10 as far as I noticed in over a year of using it.
Windows 10 already had all that stuff, telemetry, a link to Candy Crush in the start menu, it’s the same shit. Windows 11 didn’t get worse in that regard at all.
So just do a fresh installation of Windows 11 (don’t upgrade Windows versions, it’s a mess in the background) and have fun.
No, they’re not going to be fixed or fully avoidable and you want to stay on Windows 10 or just go to Linux.
Windows 10 is genuinely better in every single way and it is incredibly sad.
And also, there is no “too late” as you can always upgrade whenever you want.
Thank you. Just the news of windows 8 being unsupported got me thinking.
And i’ve never touched linux. I might have to take the plunge and learn once win 10 becomes obsolete and unsupported.
There is a company called 0patch that makes microcode patches for legacy Win systems.
I pay about $30 a year for microcode patching on my WIn7 partition and have had zero problems despite it being always internet connected.
Plan on doing the same once win10 goes end of life for my everyday driver.
Full disclosure: Not paid for this, they are a legit digital wonder.
Linux is not much different depending on what you do, all I recommend is stay away from distrobutions that use snap packages and the like. Linux Mint is a common recommendation.
I just built a desktop for Windows 11, unfortunately I need a Windows desktop in the house even though Debian is my main OS. Last desktop was 13 years old and just wasn’t working for my needs anymore. Default 11 install is horribly bloated but I actually like the desktop environment now. Here’s some stuff I did:
Customized USB image to bypass Microsoft account with easily found steps if you Google. Used Chris Titus Tech’s tool to remove a bunch of shit, install apps, disable telemetry, configure windows update to security only. Used “Reclaim windows” script from github and customized for my purposes. After that I confirmed if all the shit was gone and did a remove-appxpackage for anything left, like widgets etc.
So I have a bare bones install, no Microsoft account, no Microsoft store, no “apps,” no default associations to builtin tools, and a bunch of common foss utilities and all my favorite windows-dependent apps working. Can’t believe it took the amount of effort it did but I like it now, given what my expectations were it definitely exceeded them.
Yeah pretty much, most linux distros are at a usable state by default and you spend productive effort learning how to manage it, it’s probably easier than Windows at the end of the day especially for general use. I’m a heavy user of Ableton Live with plugins and using Windows is the only way to run it on your own hardware. Also becomes my gaming machine, but everything else is Debian.
Not from what I can tell. While upgrading will not detrimental from what I’ve heard (since you can upgrade a local account), there’s a lot which I personally don’t like about with Windows 11 which will make me want to not upgrade. If you have no intention of moving away from the Windows, it may be best to upgrade while MS is offering it.
Otherwise, if you are willing to take the plunge Linux is the better option if you are looking for an OS which has no ads, no adware bloat, and a UI to your liking. Mint or Zorin are a Good Windows like starting point if you are looking to get started.
Ive used MS my whole life. So im just stubborn to move to linux. But really i think just have to put in the effort and i’ll be happier in the long run.
They way I see it is this. I look at my computer as a tool and ask is it working for me right now? What software do I need for it to work? Is that software Windows only, if so can I move to an alternative software that cross platform?
Your computer is a tool that lets you do things. If some software, even the OS is holding you back take a look at what is holding you, and see if its worth the negative of staying to keep that software.
For me that answer was Yes Windows is holding me back, but for years I was shackled by Professional Software, games and Legacy apps which kept me to the platform.
Steam with proton fixed the games issue
Swapping myself to different cross platform software helped with my Professional software.
Legacy was managed with a cheap $20 thrift store laptop with Windows xp installed.
Imam now free to move away from windows, I chose Linux since I idealize a “do it all” pc, but Mac OS is also a viable alternative.
Win11’s telemetry load is significantly higher than already outrageous win10’s to the point I feel it is a legitimate security risk.
Things like passing off your wifi passwords in plaintext to MS servers is really only the tip of the iceberg.
When w10 goes End of Life, I’ll be buying 3rd party microcode patching from 0patch.
Screw w11 with every fiber of my being.
