Technology

I don't hate Windows, but it seems like every day Microsoft gives me reasons to be thankful I'm a Mac user.

Either go all in with Microsoft's crap, pay for Microsoft 365, and enjoy the ride — or learn Linux. It's easy, you can run it off a portable SSD. You don't have to trash your Windows installation. You can do it virtually risk free. I recommend Ubuntu for new users, but Linux Mint is another good choice and it resembles Windows more, so it will be more familiar to you. Linux has never been better. It's not just a free alternative to Windows; it is very much its own thing. Or, if you aren't a gamer, and you need new hardware anyway... I'd grab a Mac mini. They're $500 and they do everything you need. Gaming not so much (though we did just get Cyberpunk this year).

They never learn. This is what happens when clueless MBAs make your strategic decisions.

Microsoft wants you to install Linux

“CORTANA, OPEN XHAMSTER.COM”

loudly said george in the public school’s computer lab.

let’s rewrite the entire operating system around AI

This should be the headline.

Then everyone can make up their minds about whether or not to stay with Microsoft or finally move on.

Just doing everything they can to drive people away from Windows.

And I'll just install Linux and not do that

As usual, MS doing some dumb shit that literally no one asked for.

I like my PC being my PC. The more it does things I don't ask of it or tell it to do, the more I will seek alternatives.

One of the most frustrating parts of MS products these days is that you're just along for the ride. And unlike Apple which is just the same, MS has far less intuitive behaviour or method. I would say their products are for beginners or those not tech literate, but the failure rate and amount of complex troubleshooting required for MS products and environments are easily the most challenging and frequent. It does not help that Windows Update constantly introduces new issues to the OS and other software while undoing any previous workarounds.

That company doesn't get to touch my stuff anymore. It's like trusting your car to a four year old.

Not a week goes by without a headline reminding me what a good decision it was to jump ship to Linux.

I don't get it. Can I tell it to move a file from one folder to the other? Can I ask it to give me a diff of two folders? Or tell me if files are missing from one folder? Can it keep a sync between folders? Last time I checked, it only answered a bunch of simple questions.

What can this thing do that they keep trying to push it so bad?

I'll be honest, my biggest problem with something like this is that ai sophisticated enough to do anything useful cannot be run locally. That means every single time the clanker is asked to do something you are uploading significant amounts of personal information in an unencrypted form to some datacenter somewhere, for whoever to just do whatever they want with it.

"Meet the computer that spies on you in totally new and innovative ways"

I mean the whole "AI" trend would be just "whatever" to me if they didn't force it onto people that hard (and if it didn't fuck over the environment).

Luckily I installed [REDACTED] on my rig years ago!

Please stop! I can only love my Linux machines so much!

Is this enshittification final boss yet?

How can a company grow so out of touch with its customers?

Fuck this then. I guess I'm going for linux

Microsoft:

Your computer?

No.

Our computer.

That you pay for the hardware for, that you pay regular rent to use in any way, that we use for anything we want, at any time, that must be always online to function.

Innovation.

EDIT:

I've said it before, Windows is going to end up as a Corpo ONLY OS, for orgs and people who cannot escape their vendor lock-in trap.

No sane, moderately knowledgeable/informed person would willingly choose to start with a home or business setup oriented around Windows, unless there truly is something that only works on Windows that they for some reason need and cannot use an alternative.

Their entire business model is complex, opaque cost shifting and 'gradual' enshittification within their rent-based ecosystem lock-in.

GTFO as soon as you can, as a person or business or whatever, this will only keep getting worse.

The hell with that, fuck you MS.

Can it be disabled?

Nah I'm good I don't dig talking to inanimate objects.