Windows 11 is getting out of hand with its push for advertisments, frankly - remember the recent full-screen pop-up to persuade users to install Edge or other Microsoft services? Then another advertisment was placed in the Start menu, and now Microsoft has finally worn my temper thin - with a new Game Pass ad coming to the Settings app.
This will likely arrive in the July update for Windows 11, or at least it’s almost certain to do so. It was present in the latest preview update Microsoft just released for the OS (and quickly paused due to a bug, but that’s another story). It’s also worth noting that the ad has been present in earlier test versions of Windows 11.
I wholeheartedly believe that all forma of unsolicited or public advertising should be completely banned. Nothing good comes from it, it is only a nuisance to everyone.
People are abusing Google's ad distro platform to get malware onto people's machines. I see Microsoft signed up for the same firestorm of possibilities.
Microsoft went too far in 2001 when they included a new online activation feature in Windows XP which spearheaded the future of drm and enshitification. They've been one-upping themselves ever since. All the most recent stuff is just more icing on the shit cake.
The thing that irks me the most is that those things work. They'll see a little complain from the most vocal ones, and that's it. The revenue will increase, their shareholders will be pleased, the OS will be worse, and we'll have no viable alternative.
Unless governments start to regulate the hell out of tech companies, it's only downhill from there.
Edit: about Linux, it's not viable if you're outside IT or rely on commercial software. That's a debate for another post.
What's next Microsoft? Replace the windows os loading windows page with a 30s ad? Or have defender uninstall apps if a competitor pays enough? Maybe capture a screenshot of my screen every 3 seconds for AI analysis?
Hopefully they'll end up with an incredible amount of user telemetry telling them that they've created the least adopted version of Windows in the history of the company.
That's what Windows 11 deserves, they need a punch in the face from users.
Tbh me switching to Debian (using the KDE desktop experience) is feeling better and better, my PC runs over 3x faster, I have way more control over my own device, and everything works better than ever!
I've never actually seen an ad in Windows... Like, literally ever. The worst I've seen is Windows trying to trick me into making edge my default browser.
If I believed all the articles on Lemmy, every part of the OS now has embedded ads, and the OS itself is recording everything I ever do against my will and without my knowledge.
Should I point out the irony of this complaint being posted on a site with ads every other sentence and doesn't even show what the windows ads looks like?
It's a valid complaint and all I just laughed as I scrolled past all the blank "ad here" blocks to read the article.
Guys, I'll switch in a heartbeat to a Linux OS if any one you can recommend a stable OS that works on a Surface Go 2. It should support its touchscreen, of course, and a Surface Pen. Plus, a FOSS alternative to Journal would be stellar
I know that this expression desensitises people to something serious, but it describes Microsoft - the "it"/corporation - perfectly: rapist mentality. It shows how eager Microsoft is to disregard consent, users saying "no, I don't want it", and to force itself over the users as long as it gets some benefit out of it.
Including new obnoxious advertisement slots into an already released product - one that you paid for - is only a result of that mentality.
I've managed to de-google completely and mostly de-microsoft, but I use cloud streaming (shadow) for gaming and anything else that's more than my shitty laptop can't handle and there's no way to use Linux on the cloud part. Only thing I can't do anything about yet, and doubt that'll change anytime soon or at all.
So, does PiHole work against this threat? I don’t believe I’ve seen an ad on Windows 11 yet on my desktop, but it’s firmly behind a PiHole and never leaves the house (because desktop)… so either I’m lucky, missing something, or it’s working.
I mean, I basically just boot it up to game and backup CDs to FLAC and such, so maybe I’m just missing things.
And Yes, as someone who has used linux since 1995, I know I can probably do those things in Linux at this point, but I couldn’t when I set it up and since it’s working I’ve got other things higher on my list to do.
First of all, I already have Game Pass, so you don't get any new sales.
Second, if I open the settings app in Windows 11, it just straight up crashes. (Can access the other tabs, e.g. through desktop customisation. But if I go to the front page, it crashes.)
It was broken by the update that supposedly added some other ads. But I've not seen them! I had to disable the "recommendations" in start menu because it made the start menu not work at all (due to the aforementioned crash, same deal).
This actually really sucks, though. Windows Store apps do not update themselves, Xbox services stopped working (due to being unable to update WS games), and I don't know if Windows Update works or not. I guess I need to reinstall when I get arsed to.
You guys complain but you never actually switch to Linux. :)
If you truly cared about being a technological slave, you would learn Linux tomorrow. But just like someone stuck in a abusive relationship, you hang around despite the horrible treatment because you are afraid to leave what's comfortable.