The worst part is that its not a bad response. Linux mint is such a good alternative.

It's not such a joke for about 70 percent of the people who use a computer. All most people do is use the internet, write a document or two and check their email (most of the time using a web based service).

All of which can be done by any OS.

The only reason anyone would want Microsoft is if they specifically ran a program that required Windows .... most will say that MS Word runs better on Windows which is true but most people I know write or view the most basic documents that any word processing software is more than adequate.

And even if MS word is required by your school or work ... get them to pay for the OS and the word processing software.

Otherwise, the majority of the people I know with a computer only use it as a glorified tablet to access the internet and browse social media .... all of which can be done with the most basic Linux distro that won't hassle you with annoying popups asking you to do things you shouldn't even be thinking about.

What sort of CAD work to you do? What are you using for CAD?

Hi, what do you use for spreadsheets? I've tried librecalc but so far its a major hassle - the cells are way too small on my 1440p monitor and I cant figure out how to fix it.

Cool info. If you were going for a copypasta type thing you nailed it.

TL;DR: Linux is just the engine, GNU/Linux is the whole car.

Go play with your HURD Stallman

As if that stops Windows from spamming you with popups that you should be using Edge with Bing instead.

Then Microsoft will either tell you to use Edge and Bing (or else!), or just set this automatically.

I had this issue on the windows box at work. For some time, whenever I opened Firefox, it told me that it was not set as the default browser. I fixed this, only to get the same message again the next day.

which planet was this on?

..???

gaming on linux has gotten MUCH, MUCH better over the past handful of years. I’ve been on linux exclusively for 6 years and in that time ive gone from using Lutris for everything and only installing the few verified titles through fairly complex wineconfigs other people made, to a brief check of protondb before installing whatever i want from Steam and having it work out of the box. basically the only things that don’t work anymore are competitive anticheat softwares, like Valorant’s.

Switching to Apple looks to be expensive. OP may not be able to use their existing machine and would have to spend a few thousand to buy a Mac. All that just to avoid an annoying pop-up?

If you're going to the trouble of learning a new OS, IMO you might as well just go straight for Linux. Gaming is a lot better on Linux than on OSX as well.

Linux has come a long way with gaming fortunately. I daily drive fedora and use Proton-GE/Wine-GE and can play most games with the exception of some problem ones (Assetto Corsa & Rust, I'm looking at you).

Only time I ever fool with W11 these days is when I use Studio One for music or play on of the (very few) problem games some friends want me to join them on. I'd recommend checking out the Nobara distro for games.

Not surprising OSX is a better Windows in some ways. Switched to iPhone last summer for my daily driver and don't regret it. Best mobile experience I've had since my custom ROMs days on Android. Even started out setting up app folders to copy my Nova Launcher setup. That said, I'll be excited when more privacy respecting options come around to the mobile market for my next phone.

Must buy OneDrive or X doesn't work anymore

Need to buy a subscription for fcking MS Solitaire or you get inundated with ads

I don't see any of this. It's probably because I ran https://christitus.com/windows-tool/ right after install.

I think it disables all the annoying parts of windows and you just get left with a stable OS.

What exactly are you getting from the Microsoft app store out of curiosity?

From what I've seen online, it must be done during installation. So short answer, no.

As others have said, you could also backup your data and do a fresh installation (from a boot media, not from Windows itself just to be extra safe).

ThioJoe also has a video talking about this English (Europe/World) thing and also provide a Powershell script to delete Windows bloatware. This option could be interesting if you don't want to reset your whole installation.

Throw all your important stuff onto a drive thay doesn't contain the OS. Then remove the drive and wipe the computer. You can set it up again and choose the non-bloatware options.

I doubt it. Don't know if a fresh install would, or if you can get it fresh enough to work.

For example, how do I have the best experience gaming.... Switch to Lin........ Oh ಠ_ಠ

That's GNU/Richard Stallman to you!

I like how anyone who mentions Linux is now a neckbeard. If you even dare to complain about how shit MS has become (they've always been shit, but it's more obvious now) then you're somehow a neckbeard. You didn't say the solution wasn't valid, just attacked them because there isn't another solution. Put up with MS's shut, Apple's shit, or find a Linux distro that suits you. Your choice.

I only enjoy Microsoft cucks

Why spend a lot of time installing and configuring and learning a bunch of stuff when I just want the error code cleared?

It this case, also more environmental friendly, repairable and improves self-determination, independence and the local economy.

Better is debatable. For the average dev, Linux is an obvious improvement for most development tasks. For the casual user? Not even Ubuntu is 100% out of the box yet. I'm currently working through the migration to Ubuntu as my main OS and there have been things where I 100% had to open up a terminal for (or something similarly manual or confusing), which is typically not an option for non-developers or the technologically disinclined. Most Linux diehards seem to forget that not everyone is technologically literate, especially when they push the latest fork of a fork of a branch of arch with barely any UI or support for familiar applications.

Switching to Linux isn't free. There are significant time, opportunity and switching costs involved.

My car serves my needs more than a truck does. Not only is it easier for a wheelchair user to get in, I can load/unload easier and it's more comfortable for me to drive.

own

I think the real problem is that OP doesn't own Windows, "the software is licensed, not sold."

The thing I am now curious about is if this is, quite predictably, Lemmy's existing culture, OR if they were having a perfectly good time in their clubhouse until all the most insufferable Redditors came charging in here.

Geeks. Nerds would troubleshoot the problem or at least evaluate the situation a bit.

Yeah but the free car requires an hour of troubleshooting every time you get in

Makes me quite disposed to dual-boot

So they literally have to pay people to use bing?

I hear your annoyance, and I get it, because the "real" question is "How do I stop this from ever happening again on Windows?"

But the bottom line is, no matter what workaround or registry fix is found, nothing stops MS from making changes and popping this crap up yet again in some other obnoxious and shitty way.

If you run Windows, you have to accept some level of this bullshittery.

I'm right though.

No amount of registry editing and weird app installing will permanently remove the obnoxious ads from Windows. And Linux is the only OS that can feel like Windows. (Zorin, Mint, any old KDE distro etc)

And honestly? Linux isn't that hard anymore. Like, installing stuff can be done through graphical app stores that are easier than using Windows. Gaming on Linux works out of the box and has done for 5 years now.

This post is more like an apple user asking why their phone screen can't be replaced without buying a new device, or a ford f150 owner asking how to get more than 5mpg in fuel economy: you tell them to (consider) a different choice of product

Clicking "Play" in Steam or Epic launcher is hacking the Pentagon for you?

If you use modern hardware it doesn't behave quite well and gets worse battery life. If you use any tools from Microsoft (WSL, Office, Windows Terminal, etc) most of those are incompatible or a pain to install. If you use anything from the Microsoft Store, including Game Pass, since it just doesn't include the Microsoft Store.

I mean, if I was a bot, I'd probably be more productive.

I think you might have meant to ask if I was a shill. But in any case, OP specifically asked a question in relation to using Chrome and related to being pressured to use Bing. While my suggestion was pretty tongue-in-cheek, it was still on topic. You saying "Use Firefox instead" is kind of a poor answer that might appeal to your bias, but isn't really on topic for this question. I would guess that OP is aware of other browser options.

No, thank you.

Right? They're the same browser just reporting everything you do to different people.

Exactly. Just bend over and grab your ankles, they're going in dry.

Simp

AMD actually, newer 7900 xtx I think. It wasn't a problem with the Linux desktop environment, but games crashing. At the time I didn't have much time or patience to get it set up :/

Win 11 just isn't going to happen though, too many good options now. If something doesn't work by then 🤷‍♂️, guess it isn't that important.

I haven't used the one you mentioned, so I can't tell. But I had used one called Windows10 Debloater which worked well for my use case, but is no longer maintained.

Now that is a crazy story and can understand being really annoyed if that happened! I definitely have had my share of wtf moments on Windows as well so I get it.

You may like it or not, but it's a very valid answer for OP's question

Well the different car is free though?

Have you ever tried GNU? It's very different than just switching a car

Bing is better for images and videos I feel, and the search quality is better unless you are looking for a very specific term.

I'm switching from Google now because the results have become unusably bad. They should've waited until bard was at least mildly useful.

Blacklisting sites from Google isn't enough to keep it usable anymore.

Why are you using the search engine still instead of Bing AI directly?

Waterfox is no longer owned by System1, and there's no evidence System1 ever added analytics to Waterfox.

1. I don't care that much about privacy anyway. I don't really get why privacy geeks talk about Google collecting your searches while willingly keeping Mozilla telemetry (which is something W disables by default) on. What's the difference? I get why Google shouldn't be collecting external data but I have no issue at all with giving them the data I actually input. Plus Firefox has a lot more deals with bad privacy groups like Google, Fakespot, and Pocket.
2. You can't make the assumption that they got worse on privacy just because they got bought. They're open-source, show me the code.
3. Waterfox is said to be slightly faster. They also seem to have a lot more focus for development.
4. Waterfox disables some of the Mozilla BS, like Pocket and that weird redesign of tabs to floating, by default.

People can't just enjoy a thing without being a shill or an employee now?

I've had this turned off for quite some time (maybe 2 years) and haven't had it turn itself back on. Using Firefox.

That definitely happens with the Windows 11 update screen my wife keeps getting on her laptop. When the device boots, it appears to have already started the installation, but it's just a fullscreen advertisement to install Windows 11.

doesn't everyone?

Endeavouros is pretty new user friendly and from what I've seen they've got a bunch of distro cheat sheets for new users, be it to the distro, arch based distro's or linux altogether. Out of all the arch based communities I've seen, most of which just respond with "RTFM", the endeavouros community has been very supportive of new users trying to learn on their OS.

I think most people recommend arch as an 'initial distro' because after the annoying learning curve involved in the initial few weeks, you can basically use any distro with ease