Hi :-)
We installed an update while you were asleep. Do you want to upgrade to Windows 11? How about sign in to your Microsoft account? Oh, I see, well we turned all of the ads and tracking back on so have fun finding the settings page to turn them off again!
Fuckers installed co-pilot on mine when I was away and now my laptop has "no available device" for audio out. Like there's no option in settings for the speakers. Can't even plug in an audio cord. Nothing. They broke my shit and installed AI
I still technically dual boot with Windows, but I didnt boot it for months now,
The biggest stumbling block I had was gaming, but frankly it kinda is smooth sailing on Linux nowadays, I even got Escape from Tarkov to run on my machine, which wasnt really guaranteed, and I don't have any problem using Steam (or GOG through Lutris)
I will probably just completely get rid of Windows in the future
Linux has been my main computer for 20+ years now. I do have to work with Windows desktops, windows servers, windows Azure services even, and I remote into them or deploy to them. But I don't understand this big Windows 11 is SOOO bad. They are ALL bad. Windows 2000 was the last decent windows as far as I am concerned. WinXP pushed me to Linux full time. 10 is shit, 11 is shit. So it goes.
Your headline is about co-pilot. Do what you have had to do with ALL windows versions when there is something you do not want: never use a "home edition", prefer an enterprise version, and then set a group policy.
Not because FOSS is glorious and the most communist your computer can be without violating the DMCA. Though it is also that, and you can seed generously from a machine running Linux.
Not because Linux is much better lately. It is BTW.
Not because using a system that is designed intelligently and respects you as a fucking adult and might not always be easy to use, but won't generally fight you, so solving problems feels collaborative rather than like youre a persecuted victim about to have everything you just learned and built crushed with the next patch feels really good and generally is an improving cool experience. Though, I mean, that should be enough on its own, right?
But because capitalism is in late stage decline and everything it touches is going to turn to shit and exploit you and surveil you and coerce you and infantipize the fuck out of you and you'll have to get on your knees and crush yourself in terrible ways to check your fucking email or you'll have to fight it tooth and nail every god damn inch fighting a different system each time you want to check your fucking email or see a naked picture of a hot person-even one they took for and sent to you directly.
https://atlasos.net/ windows mod that does a clean modified install to cut out most of the malware, uses half the ram and up to 10% less idle cpu of bloated default windows, uses official win10 or win11 iso files, still need a product key
https://wubuntu.org/ ubuntu that has a cloned windows ui to help ease transition (if switching is an option)
my partner @Anvil_Lavigne@hexbear.net was last on windows 10, we finally got them a new laptop and they were so against windows 11 we installed linux and they’re taking to it so so well
like usually when i help someone install linux i am literally running tech support for 6 months
I'm sure there is a way to completely disable it with apps like Winaero Tweaker. Luckily, I don't have a CPU with "AI", so I don't have to be annoyed by Copilot.
My laptop is already on linux but my desktop is still windows because of inertia.
Fortunately, windows update has been defeated by having no room on C:\ because everything puts shit in appdata no matter what drive I tell it to install to
Linux is of course the based solution but I feel you. Windows has gotten so fucking bad since 10, to the point where I feel like 10 was the first windows version I've personally used that has gotten WORSE during its life cycle.
95 and XP had popular service pack updates that improved things immeasurably.
Vista had a bunch of updates and service pack shit that largely solved a load of people's complaints with it by the end.
7 was goated with the sauce the whole time.
8 had 8.1 which was basically Win 10 lite. Not as good as 7 for most people but the .1 upgrade was the biggest improvement for a Windows version imo.
Now Windows 10 has just gotten shittier and shittier; It peaked around 2021. Even before I got onto Linux (and became biased) they were stuffing adware and toolbar shit into the desktop almost every update, and even with Win11 in full swing they've tried shoehorning AI crap into 10 anyway. What could've been another Windows 7 ended up being about as bad to use as 8.1.
You can do Windows, sometimes you've gotta do Windows, but I highly recommend learning Linux. Just get a dual boot or a different drive running linux and set up something that works for what you need. If you're just doing general office work and some gaming Linux will do what you need. If you want to play a few specific games that don't work or need Adobe or Solidworks for work you'll need windows. It can be virtualized though!
Ugh. I mostly main linux but on this gaming laptop it came with win 11 and I had to jump through hoops to downgrade it to win 10. This is the last time I windows.
I just thought I might want to run games natively. I don't.
I saw you said something bout Google Drive. You can sync google drive and one drive and all that shit on linux. Just need to find an application you like that provides that functionality and then do, you know, the thing. Eg. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Insync <- haven't used it but allegedly you can sync to the google and microsoft cloud storage shits using this tool, letting you basically mount them to your local filesystem.
Not saying you should use arch linux, their wiki is just usually very comprehensive as far as finding out how people solve various problems. A solution described on there can usually be applied to some other distro, with adjustments for that other distro's particular quirks and configuration.
Alternatively, and I hate to suggest this, but buying a second hand macbook will get you out of the microsoft ecosystem while being accessible enough that you don't need to learn and get used to a bunch of new things before you can confidently get back on with using the machine productively.
Comrade, Were preparing to deploy W11 at work and I'm not excited by the prospect of attempting to gut all the bullshit found inside that monstrous turd of an operating system.
Last time I tried Linux there was no native Google Drive application and none of the third party ones worked properly to sync my files. Has that changes at all. Don't tell me to stop using Google Drivem I'm locked in for work