Now all Windows 11 users are getting adverts to 'make the Start menu great again' Microsoft has made good on its promise, or threat, to put advertisements inside the Windows 11 Start menu with its latest update. The 2024-04 Cumulative Update Preview, aka KB5036980, is now being rolled out to all Windows 11 users, and with it comes Start menu ads. As it's only a "preview" at the moment, users can choose …
These ad slingers do seem to be getting rather desperate.
Hey Ad Slinger... Let it be known that "I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM AN AD SHOVED INTO MY FACE"
I know that I'm not alone in that.
"I HATE ALL ADS". That comes from working for Yellow Pages before they became irrelevant.
So MS go FSCK yourself and be quick about it.
That's not necessarily possible for everyone. However, it is advisable for everyone to install Windows 11 with the network disabled so that no account with Microsoft, from which they assume they have all kinds of rights, is required. I personally found this guide extremely helpful. That, and Shutup Windows!, make the OS almost bearable again.
Almost, but NOT quite an improvement over Win 10. unless you like ever more invasive updates to the billowing Edge, useless help and "troubleshoot" and an OS that seems to have been designed by several committees checking in with one another via sign-language through one-way glass.
Always remember the single-paragraph, fundamental truth of the advertising industry: advertisements shoved into faces – "exposure" – exist only for there to be a concepts of "ad exposure" to sell to gullible advertisers. Hit rates or conversions to actual transactions are intensely and extremely irrelevant.
Advertising has nothing to do with actually selling a product or service. That was once called a "hit rate" or something but everyone realised pretty quickly that advertising hit rates were always and always would be ridiculously low – well below any kind of noise floor. Advertising is all about selling ad space or potential "exposures".
That's why algorithmic feeds and content farms exist. They aren't there because they provide utility. They're there because they represent potential exposures to sell to fools. "Engagement" metrics exist to make those seem valuable – the more time wasted, the more potential "exposures" there are to sell.
Advertising is the antitheses of a "collective action" problem and that's why ad-blocking went ignored for so long. Ad-blocking represented "collective action" in opposition to advertising by the wrong group of people – the users – and those in power didn't care about that because the only action that would threaten them would be if the idiots paying for the ad space acted against it – which they did not. Google, Microsoft et al can still sell their "exposures" to fools even if the users who might actually click the fool's ads block them. Again, the hit rates and conversion stats were so low and meaningless, the effects of ad-blockers were immeasurable. (YouTube being the one exception to this, admittedly. I honestly don't even...)
There is a whole industry around 'social media metrics / KPIs', with a large number of organisations monitoring this and regarding it as a 'success' if an Arsebook campaign has had more than X number of likes, etc.
I have not yet seen any evidence that this translates to any tangible measure of success in most cases.
I wouldn’t mind the advertising on Youtube but for the fact that I’ve watched things where the advert is many times longer than the actual video content. Across YouTube on every (unlinked) device 95% of the time I get the same two advertisers, namely:
Grammerly
&
This revolutionary heater [other products that follow the same format also pop up occasionally], is slashing heating bills across Great Britain. It was developed by two cleaners at a fake dog poo company in Shenzen China, one of whom was fired for using the wrong end of the brush to sweep with and has reduced the heating bills of thousands of customers. It is totally not the same as you can buy at Robert Dyas and elsewhere for far less even though it looks and works the same way.
I couldn’t use Grammarly even if I wanted to because if I use PII in the document or email I’m writing and it’s transmitted to their servers then GDPR issues crop up.
The second one should be obvious and to quote Montgomery Scott “Ye cannae change the laws of physics”.
That’s it those two advertisers and they wonder why people skip/block the adverts
I just won’t open the start menu if this becomes a thing and will add shortcuts of everything from the start menu onto my desktop.
I can deal with, if not am actively engaged by some ads. For example, if I'm watching a youtube show about tabletop wargaming, then that show being sponsored by suppliers doing stuff specifically FOR tabletop wargaming is not only OK but also may genuinely highlight things of interest.
What is dumb is spamming endless ads for TUI Holidays. Sure, I watch content about theme parks and rollercoasters; but the link is tenuous at best; what with the majority of parks I want to visit not even remotely on the radar of your average European tour operator. For that, I make use of a small specialist agent - who shall we say, has found it somewhat educational the list of places we've gone to!
But putting crap on the start menu. For the love of god, no. Windows is already a crapfest of bloat and vulnerability. Do people not remember the security shitshow that was Active Desktop?
I also cite the case of Facebook "knowing" that I am interested in cycling. Spamming me with endless adverts for £200 luminous racing spandex is not going to get them a sale. Not all cyclists want or need to dress up for a lycra rave party. Yes, yes, I get it, if you are doing reasonable distances there's a place for it, and I do have some in the drawer. But it doesn't need to come out for rolling a mile down the road for a beer or over to the office.
Microsoft can go swivel on that score. If there is one thing that gets my goat ( there are actually quite a few things, I'm getting to that age!!), is folk pushing ads to tell how great stuff you don't want is! Get the message guys if I want something I'll go research it and then choose the app I want, no amount of advertising is going to make me go to Windows store and download apps I don't need. Even if I did I'probably download it from the publisher website so I have a copy of the installation files and certainly not via the store!
Running Win 10 Enterprise and it will be back to Linux before I install Win 11
A great many things in the Microsoft store no longer or never did have an option to be installed from anywhere except the Microsoft Store. (And of course the Apple App Store is almost the exclusive place to get applications on a Mac, which Microsoft wants to happen for Windows, and Apple is doing everything they can to ensure it remains that way on iOS.)
The problem is really that nothing they recommend ever actually has anything to do with what I'd want to install on my computer. I only install things when I find I have a need, then locate an application that fulfills that need. I don't just see random games and utilities in ads and decide to install them even though I've never had any need or desire for that type of thing in the past. And almost everything on the MS Store is "spur of the moment" stuff, not things you actually seek out (unless MS has paid the developer of something popular and desirable to switch over to it being a Store app only).
And my policy is that if something is only available via the MS store, I won't be installing it. It shows that the developer doesn't really know what they're doing and as such the quality will be poor. Hell, I'd have to make a Microsoft account just to download something, so that's not going to happen - it would involve finding a disposable email address which even at 3 extra clicks is too much effort.
(Note I am in no way implying that software being available in other formats will always be good!)
They are doing their best to get apps that people "need" to be Store-only. WhatsApp is, for better or worse, very popular, and the de facto communication method in some countries, and it's only available in the Store now. You personally may not want WhatsApp, but there are plenty of people who do actually need it in order to communicate with others. Most of them just use it on mobile, of course, but some do need it on desktop. The web app is the only alternative there, and it has major limitations that make it unusable for many people. (I use an "app" that just acts as a wrapper for the web app so it functions like a desktop app.) The poor quality is somewhat accurate though, as the Store version is nowhere near as good as the native desktop app was, in stability or functionality. Coding for the store is meant to be like super fast and easy, which tends to mean using fewer people, with less experience and capability, churning out the code as quick as they can, as well as making it difficult for the good coders to actually do what they would like to do.
WhatsApp is a great example of why I've never used the MS store to install anything, and never will. Principally, because it is (or certainly WAS, last time I tried to install it on a PC), a single-device per user application. That is, if I want to see messages on my desktop PC (which I mostly don't), I can no longer see them on my phone, and vice-versa.
I use it all the time on my phone, pretty much as a default messaging app, and not at all on my desktop PC or any of my laptops, or other devices. Putting it in the MS Store will have zero impact.
That's why I see the MS Store as the PlaySkool version of coding. They push to code things in the "easy" languages that don't provide the same capabilities as what was used for native apps, and they're hiring cheaper, less-experienced developers to make these products, and making them churn the products out faster. And they don't even attempt to give them feature-parity with the native apps before making the Store version the only version.
WhatsApp has never been single device per user, as far as I know (I've only been using it for two years), except maybe when it first came out and only worked on a phone. Your phone is always the primary device. Your phone is where all the messages are permanently stored. If you lose your phone (or at least your phone number) your account is lost. All other devices are secondary and temporary. Other devices can link to your account, but your phone must authorize it. Those other devices only store the data temporarily, and your phone can disconnect them from the account. For a long time, WA required that your phone be actively connected to the Internet in order for one of the linked devices to be able to be used, but now the phone can be offline and the messages are stored on the servers and synced to the phone when it comes back online, however the servers don't keep permanent copies, and those cached messages can't be seen by other linked devices until they're synced to the phone.
But of course, none of that has ever had anything to do with the MS Store itself. WhatsApp's PC desktop app still had a native Windows version until mid to late last year, though there was a Store version for a long time before that. Then they suddenly and with short notice eliminated the native app, even though the Store version didn't have the same features and functionality still. But even if it was somehow single-device single-user at some point, that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that it was a Store app.
In fairness, there are a few advantages to the store when managing machines in bulk. Store apps are much easier to manage in Intune than MSI installers, and the store generally handles updating reasonably competently whereas the built-in update routines in individual programs can be hit and miss on this.
Because of the very many problems with the Mac app store (or should that be App Store) the better apps for MacOS largely went back to having their own distribution systems. A little more work for them but far less hassle when things go wrong with the store, which they frequently do.
"If you want to turn this off, go to Settings > Personalization > Start. Turn off the toggle for Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more."
Commit that to muscle memory: I'll bet subsequent updates will turn it back on for you and you'll need to repeat this process regularly. Welcome to the brave new world.
I prefer O&O's Shutup10 (also works for 11, but they've kept the name the same) to keep me up-to-date on Microsoft's shenanigans of resetting settings' choices and when adding and splitting settings from time to time. Oh, and all the bullshit in Edge too.
https://www.oo-software.com/shutup10
I usually run it on the middle setting (yellow) and haven't found it to break anything I've noticed.
The next version will be hidden behind another menu, which has light grey letters on the white background (unless dark mode is turned on, in which case it is dark grey letters on a black background), and once you find that, there will be a warning "beware of panther" when you try to turn it off.
At least they allow them to be disabled, for now, but of course they lump the ads together with whatever other things they might have put into the "recommendations" section which COULD conceivable be other types of things that some people would have wanted to see, like Tips. So it's a requirement that if you want the useful functions, you also have to let them show you ads. Calling them "recommended apps" doesn't change the fact that they're ads and not an operating system feature.
There's lots of space in the file explorer, the user's desktop and the task bar to add additional advertising venues! You could combine it with the requirement to type in an affirmative message on the login screen outlining your favorite brands. I think Microsoft is leaving money on the table here and has plenty of room for further innovation
> There's lots of space in the file explorer, the user's desktop and the task bar to add additional advertising venues!
"We can sell 80 percent of the screen WITHOUT inducing seizures!" - Ready Player One
"We can use another 10% of the screen to sell our new Seizure-Be-Gone app, in the Windows Store now!" - Microsoft
"There's lots of space..." -- Maybe THAT'S the real reason behind the UI changes that occur every few months that add a little more empty space between elements within apps, both on the desktop and mobile. We'll eventually have ads being squeezed into the white space between file names in Explorer, just as soon as they've increased it just enough to make them legible.
Have you got the magic combination that will allow me to install Outlook for a domain that isn't hosted by Azure? Microsoft "helpfully" removed the option to configure the server manually in Office 2019 and then backdated the change to older installers. As a result, even in a VPN, Windows will try and log you into Azure / Entra and if you don't have an account there, you're going nowhere: get the hint punk and move to W365.
I don't really mind because I only want the client to be able to experience user pain, but it is a further example of just how much they think they can get away with.
Ads bother me if they pop-up, block pages, interfere with my browsing experience, etc., but what really burns me is forcing me to watch an ad on a platform that I have paid for. If MS can't make enough money without ads in the OS, then charge a bit more for the product. Otherwise, show me ads but give me Windows products for free.
This is the same beef that I have long held with cable companies showing me ads in the same fashion as free1 OTA television.
1In CA there are no TV licencing fees, you just need an antenna.
If Micros~1 think that I am going to install Windows 11 on my only PC that needs it (my gaming PC), they can eat my shorts!
Why the holy crap would I want to install an operating system which has become a surveillance and advertising platform, instead of an operating system?
Maybe when they kill Windows 10 for real, I will finally be forced into migrating to a fully Linux based gaming machine and kick out all the games which won't play nicely with Linux. I have a feeling that when that happens, it will be a pleasure and will leave me basking in the warm glow which comes from finally banishing anything developed in Redmond from my home.
I exclusively use Linux Mint now, have done for over a decade. For gaming I've got a PS5. On the plus side the controller is much more ergonomic than trying to use a keyboard for gaming. Don't know if you can get game controllers for a Windows PC? Not something I've ever looked into.
I've been using Debian for 20 years. For gaming: apt install steam. Select the setting to run all non-native games in Proton, find that 90% of them run flawlessly, successfully refund any that don't.
Even "windows-only" VR games work fine in Proton. Usually the only barrier is 3rd party DRM / evil anti-cheat rootkits, which I wouldn't want on any platform
Yes, you can get game controllers for Windows and Linux. I have a steam controller, but don't use it much. I prefer a keyboard and mouse personally
> Don't know if you can get game controllers for a Windows PC?
You can, including the controllers from different generations of Xbox and PlayStation - though sometimes a dedicated wireless dongle or cable is required, sometimes they work out of the box with Bluetooth or USB.
You may have seen footage of military drone or industrial equipment operators using Xbox 360 controllers, presumably because they were made in their millions and are a known quantity. Just as you can go round to your mate's house to play Playstation and know the controller will feel the same as yours at home.
That said, for playing console style games I'd rather use a console. PCs lend themselves to mouse and keyboard games (shooters or strategy) or to racing or flight simulators with steering wheels or button encrusted joysticks.
>Why the holy crap would I want to install an operating system which has become a surveillance and advertising platform
"Become"?
Much of this stuff is in Windows 10 too, hence the reluctance many of us felt to move off Windows 7.
Sadly, on the basis that we the users aren't the customers - we're increasingly, the product - Windows 11 has taken the concept and turned it up to, well, 11.
"Much of this stuff is in Windows 10 too, hence the reluctance many of us felt to move off Windows 7."
Yeah, during the post-build setup of our enterprise image, we get various notifications, mostly pointless since they relate to the stuff I'm busy setting up, but the most notable, largest and colourful is the "notification" suggesting Edge be installed. Ironically, once I've set up Company Portal on the laptop, Edge does get installed anyway as one of the corporate delivered apps so ad that I see every fscking time I build a new laptop is wasted on me since I personally will never install Edge anyway :-)
"that that I'm going to install Windows 11on my only PC that needs it (my gaming PC), they can eat my shorts!"
"I have a feeling that when that happens, it will be a pleasure"
It is. The current Mesa Gallium 3D stack is excellent, and wine/dxvk/vkd3d (or Steam's Proton) have excellent compatibility. Gallium was developed within the last 5 years or so, and wine/Proton has gotten massive improvements over about the last 5 years too, I've used Linux since like 1994 and it's really the last 4-5 years where this stuff has gone from "Will Wine run this?", then if you get the game to appear to be loading, it's then "Will my GPU actually support this? And if it does start up, will it have epic graphical glitches making it unplayable?" (Not the hardware, the Mesa drivers. If you had Nvidia this was not an issue, they always have shipped nice Linux drivers. But especially Intel GPUs; with AMD/ATI some models were well supported and some weren't. ) Now, wine/proton have excellent compatibility, Nvidia driver continues to be excellent if you have team green, and Mesa Gallium AMD and Intel drivers support everything up to the limits of the hardware, with driver support going back almost 20 years. I don't run Windows so I can't verify this, but people report it's totally typical to get 110-125% the FPS (you know, for games that aren't just locked to 60) in Linux compared to Windows on the same hardware... like some games don't but many do.
I've got an 11th gen Intel notebook (1115G4 with "Intel Xe" graphics), and that runs everything up through DX12 games. Even CP2077 2.0 ran on it (although frame rate was poor -- in that test in the bar, it's like 20FPS with 1.6 and dropped to about 12FPS with 2.0. But this is a 2C4T CPU, and the "half size" 48EU GPU, it has roughly 2/3rds the performance of the Steam Deck GPU.) Most games are fine on medium to high settings.
I had one with Ryzen 3450U (Picasso GPU), no surprise the support for that is great since it's nearly the same model used in the Steam Deck. That ran literally eveything I threw at it, I think if I still had it it'd even run CP2077 2.0 fine. I suppose if I still had it, whatever tweaks people used on a Steam Deck for heavier games, it'd be the same tweaks on there.
My desktop's using Nvidia drivers (Coffee Lake with GTX1650) so I can't credit the graphics support to Mesa on this one, but literally everything runs on there. 4GB VRAM is really not enough for TLOUI, that gets like 40FPS on low but gets little janks and drops to like 20FPS if you turn around; the graphics menu reveals why, it claims it's using 6 out of 12GB VRAM (I don't know where it's getting the 12GB figure from, but clearly trying to use 6GB of textures on a 4GB card is going to slow things down.) Almost everything else I can just run on high.
On the mega-potato end of things; my friend (who passed last year) was gaming on a Sandy Bridge. Not a Sandy Bridge with some older GPU in it, the integrated GPU. Even that worked! It doesn't support Vulkan, but the older wined3d (using OpenGL) supported DX11 FL10.1 on it, so all these Unity games that now need DX11 FL10.0 minimum still ran on it! It probably ran about 80% of the games I threw at it (like 100% of the old DX9-era ones), and about 80% of those at a playable frame rate.
I didn't try to run any games on this thing, but I resurrected a Core 2 Duo, and not only is the GPU "still supported", this 18 year old GPU (GM965) is the oldest one supported by Crocus! A GPU this old, and it's not like "Oh, this old driver that supports it hasn't been removed yet", it's supported by a fully modern driver written within the last 5 years. Amazing! (That said, I haven't thrown any old DX9 games on there; I threw Steam on and do Steam Remote Play with it. The CPU/GPU performance is terrible but the actual screen, keyboard, etc. are super-nice, the CPU usage is brutal but it keeps up decoding H.264/H.265, the remote play is nice and smooth.)
>Why the holy crap would I want to install an operating system which has become a surveillance and advertising platform, instead of an operating system?
A surprising number of people -- including many who should know better -- think that an operating system is a package like Windows. Microsoft does work hard to maintain the illusion, often by tying things together that don't need to be joined (introducing plenty of instability and weakness in the process) but when push comes to shove the 'start menu' isn't anything to do with an OS, its just a graphical shell for launching programs. If the system was structured properly you'd be able to launch other front ends, just like you can (or at least "used to be able to") in Linux.
I'm still waiting to hear what's so new and improved about Win11 but all I hear about is start menus and other graphical irrelevancies. Personally,, I'd like the filesystem to be given a makeover (its structured to be particularly difficult to find anything, stuff's all over the place, and what's with the drive letters?) and a decent user model (its either non-existent or overbearing) for example. Its shouldn't take ten minutes to boot unless you're running on a high performance system with a super fast solid state disk (and while its about it it needs to learn how to use disks properly, not reserve cylinders and hammer them to destruction). Its a miserable bit of code....
The other thing they're trying to push at us, apart from unwanted adverts, is unwanted "AI" "copilot" bollocks. No, thank you, I don't want something sending constant telemetry of what I'm doing off to "the cloud" so a data centre somewhere can run a LLM to either tell me what I already know, or, tell me something I didn't already know, because it's wrong. IMHO, "AI" of this sort is the new "3D TV" or "metaverse" - i.e. something useless that suckers will buy and then never use, that the coke-fiends in the marketing department think will drum up loads of business because they are so deeply engaged in magical thinking.
I had got windows 11 running mostly OK on my main desktop, with a local account, via windows update. I had most things turned off with shut up 10 installed and had got it looking almost like windows 10. However a couple of applications had become very flaky, but I persevered, reasoning that I would eventually have to use it permanently and had begun looking for alternatives.
Now that M$ intend to infest the OS with ads I have restored windows 10, from my latest disc image, happy in the knowledge that everything is working as it should for now. I will run it until October 2025 when I will then decide which OS to use, unless M$ do the decent thing and extend it. I wont hold my breath.
Instead of ads they should fix the Kb5034441 screwup.
I did try Linux Mint which installed easily and I quite liked it, but had a problem finding programs to replace the windows ones.
I did try Linux Mint which installed easily and I quite liked it, but had a problem finding programs to replace the windows ones.
If they are not seriously graphics-intensive like games, then run a VM of Win10 or whatever for those and use your chosen host OS for the rest. If they can work without internet connection all the better as you can disable networking (or local firewall etc) on the VM to reduce security risks and rely on file system sharing for the VM to have documents available on the host to the VM.
One was an old accounts program - Quicken 2002 that just about installs in Windows, the other was a 32bit game also old that works in compatability mode for windows 95. I tried installing Quicken with Wine, but although it appeared to install the program would not work. So I am still looking for replacements for that and also something for Outlook that is not Thunderbird.
"curated developers" probably meaning "developers who've signed up to give us a cut of their sales money in exchange for shoving adverts for their product in people's faces". This is obviously another step in the journey to making the Windows desktop identical to the many websites that are unreadable due to the amount of animated ads that move about to grab your attention if you don't block them. Eventually you'll have to struggle to squint at a tiny portion of your spreadsheet amongst all the flashing ads for crypto, dating and gambling that are constantly moving about your screen. The logic of trying to monetise every last possible cent out of you by flinging ads everywhere makes that inevitable.
Its not the ads themselves that so concern me.... but the way they are presented and what they are for.
eg I'm using the works computer to design fixturing, programs and the general wizardry that turns some crazed designer's fevered imagination into bits of metal.
an ad or 2 going "Use super whizzo tooling" or "solve your staffing problem by hiring from "we dont supply morons" agency" might be a bit intrusive , but sort of tolerable , however knowing mickeysoft it will be some stupid game with the sound volume set at 11 and unskippable (see casual games on the default startbar for examples of this).
Why cant m$ concentrate on supplying a secure stable OS along with office and be satisfied with the huge income stream from this..
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I have already ditched Microsoft completely, and switched to Linux, even for gaming (on Steam). If game makers don't support Linux, that's their loss, not mine. I used to even use the Microsoft Launcher on my Android phone - that has gone the way of Windows, in the Trash Can. This from a Windows user from Windows 3.0 to Windows 10. It all just makes sad reading. Is the Microsoft C-suite really this desperate to be like Apple? Obviously, yes!
Reading this sort of news these days just makes me feel sorry for those who NEED to use the pseudo-OS that is Windows.
Thank you for being a penguin who acknowledges that some people require software that is only available on Windows and doesn't play nice under Wine or a VM.
A lot of CAD is only on Windows, and whilst some folk have successfully moved to OS-agnostic browser solutions (OnShape seems to be well regarded), that route isn't suitable for all users in all situations.
>A lot of CAD is only on Windows,
I can understand that, given some graphics drivers for high-end boards are somewhat fiddly to install on Linux (here's looking at you AMD) and may require a complete rebuild (--> icon) to get rid of if the install didn't go well. Fix that problem and we may see more take-up on some approved combinations of distros and graphics drivers. Of course Sun/Solaris was the original CAD platform after the proprietaries had all had their day. SGI may well have had a following too, but guessing that was because there was only one graphics card that was available.
>Thank you for being a penguin who acknowledges that some people require software that is only available on Windows and doesn't play nice under Wine or a VM.<
I try to be even-handed about stuff. Lets face it, an OS is just a tool to achieve an aim (control the hardware and initiate the software). Unfortunately, Microsoft wants Windows to be an end in itself. I genuinely feel sad watching this crap appear.
One would understand if consumer-Windows went the way of the ad-ridden hell; but when you fork out good money for workplace-Windows (I know there is no difference), then getting shoved all the ad-trash into ones face until the candy crushes - that's an insult.
When the plumber visits, to fix something from the water installation; he does try to sell me live insurance or a new TV. Because, that would be dodgy as hell.
Fuck off
Fuck off and keep fucking off until you reach escape velocity.
Don't stop fucking off for a single moment. Keep fucking off past Mars, the gas giants, then Neptune, Uranus and Pluto.
Stay with the fucking off theme as you leave, first the solar system, then the galactic arm
Fuck off right out of the whole galaxy, then the local cluster.
Keep on going, on and on until you reach the edge of the universe.
Then fuck off right out of our universe and take your tawdry, ad infested start menu with you.
AND DON'T COME BACK
Capiche?
Yours, with an almost indescribable amount of molten lava prejudice, laced with the contents of my septic tank.
From Stardock: "Remove the Ads from Your Start Menu with Start11"
*sigh* Once our remodelling is done, I need to get serious about fully shifting to Linux - it's the games that are the issue and I just haven't had the time to seriously look into it. :'(
Many posters have said it's doable and works, but for which games and are they the same ones I play?
I think most people's thinking is that we shouldn't *need* "Steam Proton and other tools".
Indeed, we really shoudn't need to know what Operating System the box is using unless we're a nerd fiddling about inside it.
*Everything* should "just work".
It's been bloody decades, it's well past time those guys got their acts together.
I've been using Start 11 almost since Windows 11 hit and thus avoided most of the enshittification* they've pulled on it except when I see it on other people's computers.
Choose which type of start menu you like, your colors, how expanded it is (tiles? compact list? icons? very customizable!). No ads. Customize your taskbar too, get rid of Windows's crappy search. Return the start icon to the lower left even if you're using centered icons! It just works and doesn't get in my way, which is all I ever wanted from the start menu.
https://www.stardock.com/products/start11/ . If you want OSS alternatives, people recommend OpenShell and ExplorerPatcher, but they weren't quite as nice to me. YMMV!
(* I know, some of you really hate the term 'enshittification' but it really is the best way to describe what they've done to it)
You forgot the intermediate stage, "a GPO that is actually only recognized & honoured on the unobtainum LTSC or Enterprise versions of Windows".
Yes, I'm still salty about Microsoft "accidentally" breaking the GPO that disabled that &@#$%! "Web Search" in the Start Menu, forcing me to furkle deep within the Registry to turn the smegging thing off. If I type "notepad" in the Start Menu, why the blithering flip would I want half-a-dozen instant Bing search results telling me what Notepad is, what a notepad is, trying to sell me Office 365, or pointing me towards someone's blog wherein they prove that Notepad Is A Mind-Control Tool Of The Lizard Neocon Illuminati???
Rant over. As you were.
I've messed with Linux in the past and it's worked but I've always just fallen back onto Windows as it just works.
This is probably going to be the push I need to move for good to Linux desktop. My only issue is iTunes and there appears to be solutions for that these days.
Now that there is a red flag.. carried by a horde of people in red hats..
How about, instead of trying to re-engineer some mystical past when things definitely werent as fucked up as they are now, you STOP DOING THE SHIT THATS MAKING THINGS WORSE!! (Bombastic Bob we miss you..)
Microsoft has history of driving version uptake using the lie that the new one wont be as bad as the current one. It would take a special kind of person to continue to believe them.
about to buy my first win 11 refurb machine. I need to learn it before it's forced on the business
I am not looking forward to it, ads in the start menu as well - just no. As for the so called marketing CEO ripping off a really bad slogan from a showman, surely they need to do better.
Come on Microsoft, do better!
And yes, I will still be connecting it to my Linux machine via either RDP or VNC.
Yeah, can see that one coming a mile off!
We have a few machines which only have local accounts (for good reasons - they are used for specific purposes where we don't want them tied to cloudy or network accounts). It's becoming more and more hassle to set up local accounts (deeply buried in obscure menus, etc), and even when it's done there are repeated nags - e.g. when logging in it will periodically give a full screen reminder to 'complete setup of your computer' or summat like that, i.e. sign in with a Microsoft account. This nag-screen can be turned off currently, but for how long? There's also an obtrusive reminder at the top of the settings app, which has a piss-off icon (cross, top right) at the moment, but again, for how long?
To me, this is the annoying thing that shows the weather, and news feeds on the start menu
I'd already set to hidden various widgets related to this - then I spotted location requests being asked for by this - hence , uninstalled it as follows
Ran powershel as admin, then this, then rebootet
winget uninstall "windows web experience pack"
Have to see how the locaiton requests are going tomorrow
"Microsoft said it wanted Beta Channel users to 'let us know what you think' about the Start menu ads, and vocal netizens at least sounded off against the idea. It seems Microsoft has decided the feedback indicated it should just go ahead with the plans anyways,"
No company *ever* listens to user feedback, as Microsoft, Adobe and Google prove.
You say you want evidence? Behold the Ribbon! Ok, maybe some people like it, but there are plenty who don't; and it could easily have been made optional.
Likewise, there was an updated version of Google Maps some years ago (I'm thinking 15). There was a comment page set up to see how people liked it. I never saw a single post in favor of the change, and there were pages and pages and pages of comments. I take that back, there was a single post in favor--but it ended in /s.
Adobe? Adobe Acrobat is the only product I've ever used whose UI is worse than Microsoft's.
Companies where there is meaningful competition in the particular field sometimes do - e.g. if a supermarket is getting regular complaints about something it's doing which its competitiors aren't, it's likely to change its approach to keep customers.
The problem with big tech is that each major part of it tends of have one or two dominant players, so they can (and do) carry on in whatever way suits them.
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