Last week, I turned on my PC, installed a Windows update, and rebooted to find Microsoft Edge automatically open with the Chrome tabs I was working on before the update. I don’t use Microsoft Edge regularly, and I have Google Chrome set as my default browser. Bleary-eyed at 9AM, it took me a moment to realize that Microsoft Edge had simply taken over where I’d left off in Chrome. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
And do this every time the system gets a major update because it puts all the crapware right back 🫣
Alternatively, buy or 🏴☠️KMSpico🏴☠️ yourself a pro license, and use group policy so it’s one and done. Microsoft has built in tools for almost all of this that don’t get rolled over by updates.
Getting tired of people claiming that it’s impossible to decrap Windows.
Obtuse? Sure! Features that shouldn’t be hidden behind an upgraded license? Hell fucking yes!
Impossible? Fuck no, hell no.
Learning basic Windows admin stuff, especially just the debloating/configuration things, is comparable in difficulty to switching to Linux.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Linux and less reliance on Microsoft is awesome, but 90% of complaints about Windows come from people who don’t know how to configure it, how to use the tools Microsoft offers to decrap it, and how to make it work for them. They’ll hit similar problems with most Linux distros as soon as you go deeper than basic “office suite and web browser” usage.
you should use MAS instead of Pico
https://massgrave.dev
also, gpos are just templates for the registry, you can just look them up and apply manually (ehich is actually faster than finding anything in the official gpo editor), unless you’re a sysadmin and managing a whole fleet of machines (this is what gpo editor was actually made for) there’s no real need for it.
Most GPOs just set registry settings. So theoretically you don’t even need pro, just to set the right registry values and write-protect them
I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just saying I shouldn’t have to decrap a piece of software I actually paid for. Over and over. Also, whenever they introduce some new crap it usually comes with new GPOs that also have to be enabled to remove it again. It’s like whack-a-mole.
Obtuse? Sure! Features that shouldn’t be hidden behind an upgraded license? Hell fucking yes!
This is what I was saying really. This crap should never have been there in the first place as it’s consumer-hostile.
Impossible? Fuck no, hell no.
I never said this :) I said it was annoying having to do it every time. Yeah I have pro. And I know what GPOs are. But really, you can’t expect an average consumer to do this. Also, it’s less work to just change things back manually every time than to figure all the GPOs needed. It’s really just super annoying that it happens in the first place. I expect software I buy to be made to help me, not work against me.
And I never mentioned Linux in my post even though I use it myself. I know this is not a suitable alternative for the majority.
I’ve been a lifelong windows user (well and DOS and whatever cartridge I used with the C64/C128) but I think it’s just time to uninstall the OS instead.
Just want to mention Floorp, based on FF but with loads of additional options & appearance settings, also lightning-fast.
Just want to mention Librewolf which is also FF based and has no telemetry out of the box, as well or ublock origin installed by default.
this is borked in win11, and got borked in win10 a month ago.
my secondary win10 machine that had been edge-free for at least 4 years, just got edge back and since it was also disabled by policy, throws an error on every boot, since apparently that piece of crap tries to autostart for whatever reason (even if autostart option is disabled, it just starts in background, does something and closes a few minutes later)
This behaviour is why I roll my eyes when the edge fanbois are all like “iTs AlL cHrOmE aNyWaY”.
Fuck any company that uses their power to try trick people into using their software, yes including google.
Firefox still needs to be compatible with the “living standard” as implemented in Chromium, it’s how the modern web works 🤷
It’s crazy to me that Microsoft isn’t getting any legal pressure for doing this
And again, install Linux and be done with this shit. Fuck Windows, fuck everything about Microsoft, don’t use their crap
Having switched Linux for over two decades now, I find the current state of Windows to be extremely weird. Why do people tolerate such abuse? Is it that the gradual degradation conditioned people to accept it? Sort of like the proverbial frog in the boiling water?
People stick to what they are used to, and don’t notice the enshittification. Windows users will happily tell you that Windows “just works”, and that Linux is “too hard”, because that’s what they heard for years and never bothered trying for themselves.
Now, Linux overwhelmingly “just works”, and using Windows is a constant fight with the OS. Instead of the problem Linux used to have where everything assumed you understood Unix already and new how to make good user decisions, Windows assumes you’re a brainless moron and makes decisions for you without bothering to ask you or even tell you.
Even the fact that you have to install Linux scares people, because people are used to Windows coming on their computer, and in many cases don’t even realize that Windows and the computer they are running it on are totally different things.
I first tried Linux around two decades ago, and it felt clunky to me - so I didn’t stick with it. I tried again around one decade ago; and it was a lot better, but I still didn’t quite have enough reason to keep using it yet. … But now, finally, I tried again several months ago - and I’m definitely sticking with it. I’m currently using Mint.
There are still some thing that I think are worse in Mint compared to Windows. But there is a lot of stuff that’s much better. It’s more than enough that I don’t expect to ever switch back to Windows again. The main thing is avoiding all the anti-features of Windows, such as the constant nagging to switch to Edge or activate their search bar; and the ads & other cruft in the start menu; and the constant little popups and ‘reminders’ about new stuff; and the lack of control in when updates are installed; and the ubiquitous harvesting of personal information, including ‘telemetry’ of which apps you run and when.
For me, one of the last straws was when I clicked on a help link from Windows settings, and it automatically opened in Edge, and Edge then automatically imported my browsing history and bookmarks from Firefox and automatically uploaded it to my Microsoft account. I was horrified that it would do something like that without any interaction whatsoever. I didn’t even think Edge had access to my Microsoft account until then, because I deliberately avoid using one to sign in, or for any other reason - the only reason it exists is because I used OneNote. I wanted the account to be isolated to just the app I used it for; not to automatically be grabbed by the whole OS and then used to collect my browsing history.
So yeah. I’d spent years of maintaining an ever-growing list of little system tweaks that I used to keep as junk off Windows as possible. But I’ve had enough. It’s too much. It’s not even close to being worth it. Linux has some minor problems, and some things take a bit of getting use to. But at least it isn’t systematically hostile.
I made that jump two decades ago. My last straw was the fact that Windows was making numerous connections online without my permission or even knowledge. One thing I can tell you though - Microsoft makes sure that you don’t regret the decision to switch. I know that some problems in Linux can be frustrating - especially driver-related issues. But you eventually learn to solve them - a solution if often just a web search away. But the freedom you get in exchange is priceless. So, hang in there and your persistence will be rewarded.
Personally I still use Windows for gaming and some other programs that work better under Windows. I’ve tried to switch, but it was just a bit too unstable to depend on for me. For me none of this shit has happened tho. No forced Cortana, no sudden Candy Crush install, no Edge fucking with my browsing. I’d rather switch to Linux full time instead of dual booting, because M$ is still pulling all these moves on others, but sometimes convenience does win.
installed a Windows update, (…) and I have Google Chrome set as my default browser
It’s subtle but if you look closely and read between the lines you can see what the real issue is.
I’m slowly just migrating away from windows as much as I can because Microsoft is being so pushy with this nonsense. Like, they keep trying to get me to log in to a Microsoft account that doesn’t exist, they keep changing settings and asking for more permissions, they keep reinstalling stuff I’ve ripped out purposefully, and from the way they’re talking it seems like it’s just going to get worse. Stuff like putting cloud run python functions in to Excel just sounds like they’re testing tech to push more and more functions off the device and in to their centralized processing centers.
I’d consider apple but I don’t have “spend 3x as much money on the same hardware” money TBH, and really I don’t have any guarantees they won’t do the same thing Microsoft is doing.
I’ve got an older laptop that I’m slowly rebuilding my work flow in mint Linux and once I’ve got that working I’ll set it up on my main computer and be done with windows for the foreseeable future.
If you’re looking for respect as a customer, there are better reasons to avoid Apple than “spend 3x as much money on the same hardware”. They might be better on privacy and user experience fronts. But they are extremely abusive on “squeeze the consumer”, " squeeze the developer" and “give no crap about environment” fronts. While the world’s richest company demanding 30% cut of developers’ revenue citing operations cost is greed on a supreme scale, the worst is how they package their products - unserviceable, irreparable, no spare parts available, spare parts not swappable, vendor locked-in and needing extremely costly accessories. They justify all of this in the name of privacy and miniaturization - which is technically an utter hogwash. And then there is the army of annoying Apple fanbois who go around repeating these lies.
they keep reinstalling stuff I’ve ripped out purposefully
You’ll find every OS does that, it’s called “installing dependencies”. Even on Gentoo, there is only so far that you can go removing stuff before it turns out they either get reinstalled anyway, or everything comes tumbling down.
putting cloud run python functions in to Excel
People seem to like their cloud run functions in Google Sheets, Jupyter books, Mathematica notebooks, and similar. Can’t blame MS for trying to catch up.
Edge, unlike Internet Explorer, is not a system level dependency. There is a separately installed web view that handles that now, likely due to EU consumer protections.
Python2 might be required by something. Is Edge required? And Xbox? A folder for 3D models even if I never did 3D stuff and most likely never will on that PC? If yes, why? I can’t think of anything I or lots of other people need that wouldn’t work without these and lots of other things
Edge is, somewhat ironically, required by the “Internet Explorer compatibility” feature. Xbox and the 3D folder, get installed as part of a “user experience” pack. Not sure if Edge also gets pulled as a requirement to populate the “default app” fields. Interestingly, if you never open the Xbox app, it will never fully install, even if the package gets updated.
ye but at least on linux the dependencies arent bundled with useless applications that u dont want, and u can mostly trust em cuz open source X3
If no one is actually auditing that code, or somehow confirming that the binaries shipped by your package manager match what the code compiles to, then you’re still playing a trust game.
Trusting in open source software devs rather than a capitalist corporation definitely makes sense, but it isn’t some panacea for “safe, nonspying software”.
Also, dependencies on linux absolutely include programs I don’t want. They just tend to be less obtrusive terminal programs and libraries rather than full blown UI based shit. Less visible, but far easier to sneak under the radar.
