Sorry to be that guy: Install Linux?
But seriously: l’d like to know as well.
I hate this response but it was my first thought this time.
The worst part is that its not a bad response. Linux mint is such a good alternative.
I ditched Windows for a Linux Mint just over a month ago. Best decision.
I ditched Linux Mint for TempleOS. The holiest decision I’ve ever made.
I use Hannah Montana OS myself
Well that was an entertaining read.
The eternal circle jerk
I ditched Ubuntu for Mint a few months ago. Also a good decision.
Came here to make this (half)joke.
Sadly, it’s not just a joke, it’s also the only way to actually do this.
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.
There is virtually no difference between running Word 2007 on modern Windows or under Wine, and I don’t need to use 365 (which is pushy about features in the Home tab and had a terrible redesign). I might pirate Office 2013 at some point if its compatibility rating increases. Still, I prefer LibreOffice unless I need to share the document.
I recently moved to Linux mint after years of thinking it would be hard or wouldn’t offer the tools I needed. I’ve been extremely pleasantly surprised! I’ve moved over fully, working in CAD, spreadsheets, all the normal stuff without any hassle. And none of these pop ups anymore.
What sort of CAD work to you do? What are you using for CAD?
Residential metal work. Kind of complex things. Dining from AutoCAD and inventor. Still learning it but now using bricscad. Freecad seems ok but like it’s cobbled together by a bunch of volunteers 🤣😜
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.
You just need to zoom in. To make sure it applies to everything, completely close librecalc, open a new spreadsheet, zoom in using the slider on the bottom right, or ctrl+scroll up, until the cells are a good size for you, then close it and that should set the value as the default for all your sheets :)
I don’t even need this information, but I wanted to say thank you for the great and detailed response!
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
Thanks, now I don’t need to say it myself.
I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux!
But seriously: another comment here points out some tool
Cool info. If you were going for a copypasta type thing you nailed it.
I’ve noticed that over the top satire tends to be taken entirely at face value on lemmy. Doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop posting it, but I have noticed it. Also, demographics run much younger than most seem to believe.
I’ve noticed this too, and I imagine it must be a side effect of Lemmy’s largest value prop having an outsized appeal to autistic people.
Most likely. I see many satirical or ironic jokes go over many heads here.
I’ve noticed that over the top satire tends to be taken entirely at face value on lemmy
And sometimes it’s taken as both, to be laughed at, and commented on.
See, that makes perfect sense to me. Satire is meant to be taken as a talking point in the overwhelming majority of cases. I’m happy when the message I put out is extrapolated on, but upset when the conversation immediately dies at “no, that’s a silly interpretation.”
That’s because leftists have no sense of humor.
Don’t be so naive, you’re allowed to stay after all.
This copypasta has done so much more to inform people about GNU than any somewhat reasonable piece of writing could ever have done.
it’s so sad that people aren’t recognizing this
man, so many old school internet references will go unnoticed on lemmy :(
holds up spork
Spork is the guy from Star Trek, right?
“Use the force Spork” ~ Gandalf
You know I thought it was copypasta but thought maybe it was rude to say it (if it wasn’t). I must be delirious after making my 2am chili. I need to take a refreshing shower with icesoap.
I knew it!
TL;DR: Linux is just the engine, GNU/Linux is the whole car.
Go play with your HURD Stallman
Or simply use Firefox?
As if that stops Windows from spamming you with popups that you should be using Edge with Bing instead.
The pop up specifically mentions chrome, it’s not asking to switch browser but just the search engine. It’s anecdotal but I only use Firefox and have never gotten this pop up.
I also have never
Same
I use Firefox on windows 11. I never get pop ups.
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.
Are you sure it’s not just your IT locking in the default browser? I for sure never had this problem before.
Nope. At least not on purpose. And for some reason, it only happened on my PC.
I’d say it might be a borked install, then. I’ve had some windows installation that doesn’t lock in settings properly, which is fixed after a reinstall. The reinstall is mostly because I’m too lazy to troubleshoot the actual reason.
Last distro I installed for personal use was Ubuntu and it was lousy with these types of popups (note: this was about 10 years ago)
Edit: It’s really bizarre to me that nobody remembers how intrusive and persistent Ubuntu One was (decom’d 2014), though in fairness it’s not precisely what OP is experiencing with regards to Bing/Chrome
which planet was this on?
…???
Side note as an ex-Windows user (from Windows 3.1 - W10) - Go with OSX and all the Windows-ification plugins you can find.
Apple out windows Windows.
If I didn’t game so much, I’d go to all Linux and OSX devices.
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.
Gaming in Linux is fine but it would be a crime to not mention, getting mods to work on Linux is still shit
That’s a really big deal breaker. For me atleast.
Can you specify which games? I’ve modded plenty and it all still works as expected honestly
Oh my god, any game that either relies on nexus or a mod launcher, take your pick, I mean sure, it’s doable, usually if you have a windows pc to install the actual mods on and copy the file directory over, but that’s a slim chance that it’ll work, if you’re having no problems missing you’re probably playing Skyrim
But the thing is, mod launchers have been working fine for me through wine. Though most games these days have integrated steam workshop support anyway.
Mods that are installed by moving files (which covers most games) work fine most of the time; you’ll probably need .dll overrides.
Mods that need certain libraries can be a hassle, or mixed bag (eg. RSMods for Rocksmith 2014 (CDLCs work fine though), RDR2 Mods based on ScriptHook.NET).
Mods that require a launcher are hard or impossible (pretty much anything on the Frostbite Engine. I think this is your best bet with it. Don’t know if OpenIV currently works on Linux or if you need a VM with shared folders to use it).
If a game doesn’t support Linux I refund it. Haven’t had to refund in a good long while.
No game is good enough to make me install Windows again.
This comment is honestly incredibly thought provoking. When you really think about it and the whole of games that just work on Linux now thanks to proton, there really isn’t a game outside of games with proprietary anti cheat that don’t work, and even then, some do like Apex. There really isn’t anything out there keeping me on Windows.
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That’s kind of the unfortunate thing about VR. The most attainable HMDs are provided by shitty companies like Samsung and Meta who have no incentive to support anything other than Windows. Besides that, high fidelity VR is prohibitively expensive.
There were rumours some time ago of Valve working on a standalone, semi modular VR system. I hope it comes to market, as I’d imagine it’d have the potential to be much more affordable (at some level) than the index.
That’s interesting, I have a Samsung Odyssey plus, but I’ve honestly never used it outside of half life alyx. That was when I was still dual booting with Windows 10, now that I’ve beaten alyx and realistically there’s not a ton of replay value, I don’t really have a need for VR.
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Sadly Clip Studio just doesn’t work on WINE at all so I have to dual boot exclusively for that little shit required in my classes.
But Mac pretty much requires specific, ultra-expensive, not very repairable or upgradable devices.
Yeah but it’s a trade off; if you want to tinker go Linux, if you want an OS that works really well with the hardware it was designed for go Mac. Not sure why anyone would use windows honestly.
Those that a) use whatever comes preinstalled on the computer (and Windows is on the affordable ones); b) need software that’s not available on Linux. But yea, I would say that most people I know wouldn’t even notice a switch to Linux. There are distros that “just work”.
My MacBook Air and Mac Mini may not be internally upgradeable, but they didn’t cost any more than comparable Windows machines.
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?
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.
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.
It’s like the Microsoft anti-trust trial in 2001 never happened.
Using W11 today, that’s my first thought too…It’s just ad after ad for Microsoft services. You will fucking install O365 or Microsoft will kill a kitten.
Must buy OneDrive or X doesn’t work anymore
Need to buy a subscription for fcking MS Solitaire or you get inundated with ads
X is trash anyway
I swear I now can’t tell whether people mean twitter or an arbitrary variable when they say X now…
Weyland’s taking forever, though.
Wayland’s been pretty nice the 3-4 years I’ve been using sway
Can’t you install Windows 7 games package ? I did it with win 10 and I got all the solitaire, free cell, minesweeper, etc… without ads
It is not an official Microsoft package but you can find it easily on Internet.
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.
A lot if things have changed since 2001. For example, the legal definition of “trust” when concerning giant corporations.
Tbf I think it would be hard to win an antitrust case when they have like 1% browser share with edge
Mobile stole so many users from MS In the last 10 years that there is nothing the government could do about this.
Got this via Mastodon which will not let me search for the source.
If you’re in the US, when you set up Windows for the first time, select English (Europe) or English (World), not English (US). That will stop it installing all the bloatware that USians are not protected from but everyone else is.
It’s definitely a US thing, I’m on English (Singapore) and have not seen an ad, ever. I was perplexed by all the complaints of ads in the start menu and wherever, until someone pointed to me that it was a US thing.
You must switch back to English (US) after installation if you want access to Microsoft Store (and even if you don’t, you probably should because most apps are now there).
I’ve seen a few tools to suppress most telemetry such as ChrisTitusTech’s winutil or O&O ShutUp, maybe you could give that a try. Microsoft is really pushing hard Bing & Edge…
Also, as a Linux user, I must obliged to the rules and say there’s alternatives out there if you want to try something new. :-) [email protected]
What exactly are you getting from the Microsoft app store out of curiosity?
Windows Terminal + WSL, everything related to Xbox if you’re using Gamepass or “Play anywhere” titles (Xbox/PC cross-buy).
Most basics apps are from the Microsoft app store too; calculator, calendar, paint, etc.
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve used Windows, but you’d be surprise how much apps are now updated through that app store.
If your device use Windows in S mode, all your apps must come from the store & you must use Edge.
Windows ‘S’hit mode
Ah okay, I didn’t know people used it that way and I don’t do XBox game pass or anything like that. It makes sense. My only real experience with windows store apps has been my work computer trying to install a “personal use” version of Microsoft teams from there and apparently I had to get the professional version through M365 downloads.
Wsl
We leave in Japan, and my wife had that popup once already (using Brave on Win10 - surface laptop)
Would this work after you’ve already setup Windows?
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.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/mZm6mY3I7J4?feature=shared
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
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.
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Install Gentoo
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Most obvious comment ever. I wish this were the answer to everything, but its not,
For example, how do I have the best experience gaming… Switch to Lin… Oh ಠ_ಠ
Linux has been a great gaming experience for me. Optimizations and what not make my games run faster than they ever did on windows. Also not being able to play rainbow six siege is a plus in my book
Have you heard of the Steam Deck?
I literally haven’t had a problem gaming on Linux since I switched over two years ago
Lutris and Proton babyyy.
Thanks for this comment. I’m planning on making the switch soon, just need to find a low-fuss distro that I like.
I’ve been using Nobara for about a year, maybe more and it really is no fuss. Comes with most things you need ready out of the box, or easily added with the post install tool. Only thing I added was Heroic Games Launcher. I set up a just in case Windows partition, but haven’t booted it since making the switch.
Great choice, Nobara is built on Fedora and Fedora is one of the most stable distros ever.
Tbh, I installed Mint on my gaming pc and all the games I‘m currently playing (mostly cities skylines and mechabellum) and everything worked out of the box. Mechabellum performes a bit worse than on Win11 but it‘s good enough to enjoy the game.
Do you mod cities skylines? If so, did you mods and save files transfer over from Windows?
Both are handled through steam (cloud and workshop subscriptions) so both saves and mods were automatically synced after installation.
That being said, you have to manually enable the mods within CS, but you have to do that under windows as well after a fresh installation.
However, I‘m missing some buildings (the european looking schools), but I didn‘t bother yet to find out what happened to them.
I wish gaming on linux was bad. That’d have saved me countless hours :')
Getting there
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Downvoting because “tard”
Personally I’m downvoting because of the unnecessary violence
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Use Firefox and uBlock origin
Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Linus Torvolds?
Akshually Linus Torvalds is a prophet, Richard Stallman is our lord
That’s GNU/Richard Stallman to you!
You can’t
Laughs in Linux.
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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.
No one has a problem with complaints about Windows, it’s the “just install Linux lol” mentality that invites mockery.
What’s the other option?
How does Microsoft’s boot taste?
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You can choose whatever you want for whatever reason you want, but don’t spread misconceptions on the internet. With Proton, if you install a newb distro there is literally no reason to touch the commandline at all for what you want to do.
The fuck is a distro? Linux bros can’t say a single sentence about how “easy” Linux is without using some terminology that proves it would actually take quite a bit of research for someone unfamiliar to make the switch. People don’t want to do that. They want an OS that works without having to take a mini CS course.
You really don’t seem to understand how big the gap is. The things you think are easy or intuitive are far from it. Most people can’t even figure out how to download something from GitHub, and you think Linux is right for them?
People don’t want windows either, they just use it because it came preinstalled.
Yes there are people who will never install any alternative OS for themselves but there are plenty of people who would if they knew about other viable options.
I’m willing to bet most Linux users used to be windows users at some point. So its not futile to evangelise.
Also pick a noob distribution/flavour such as pop_os and the installation is no different than installing windows. Download your browser, steam and office tools and just use it.
You can do all that with Linux and there are plenty of distros where you minimally need to use the terminal or don’t at all. Linux has distros for people who want windows without Microsoft. You only need the terminal if you’re a power user.(Android is Linux, but you never hear anyone complain about having to use the terminal or anything. Linux is the most used OS in the world, you just don’t realize it because it can be anything.)
It’s funny that people can have opinions without any actual knowledge. It’s a weird thing. How does that even happen? We can feel very strongly about things, and often so strongly that we ignore all countering information just so we can maintain our beliefs, as if it’ll hurt us to change them. Humans are weird.
I only enjoy Microsoft cucks
Why does it seem like any issue with Windows is met by “INSTALL LINUX!!!”. If the check engine light on my car comes on I am not going to buy a truck.
Don’t use chrome
Edge/Windows is literally the technological equivalent of an obsessive ex-girlfriend.
Relevant blog post …from 2016!
With a crazy disposition to boot.
Makes me quite disposed to dual-boot
That’s not as bad. Imagine if it was the equivalent of an obsessive ex-boyfriend.
Microsoft Reward points
What the fuck is this?
You “earn” points by searching and doing daily stuff which you can redeem for gift cards/rewards.
So they literally have to pay people to use bing?
Yeah. It’s been that way for at least a decade. My dad used to use bing for reward points and was scoring an Xbox controller every 3 months or so.
No way ? that’s a good ratio. I might just try automating Bing searches.
Unfortunately a lot of people have thought the same thing, and I believe they’ve cut down on that. Wouldn’t hurt taking a brief look into it, though. However, the rewards points aren’t as valuable as they used to be, I’m pretty sure.
pathetic
Taking a page out of Brave Browser’s book. So brave.
Bing rewards has been around for 6 years longer than the brave browser has existed (2010 vs 2016)
start using linux lmao
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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?
Devil’s Advocate: I have been unable to play the sims ever since EA moved it to the EA games launcher. Origin was poorly written, but the new launcher barely works on windows, let alone on Wine.
Check protondb. It sometimes has workarounds for launcher issues.
Thanks, ill look into that
There’s been multiple times that I had an issue with a game launcher on windows bugging out and not being able to play my game, but then seeing it work just fine under linux with proton. There’s still some issues the devs need to work out, but we’re getting to the point that linux is more reliable
Honestly I do agree with Linux being more reliable overall. That being said, I do think the biggest benefit Linux has given me is reinforcing a habit of backing up all my stuff constantly, since I never know when I’m going to try something stupid on an impulse.
Haha, true! I’ve learned the hard way to try the really whacky shit in a virtual machine first, they’re quite handy for that. After lots of trial and error though, and learning what will break things and what won’t, I’ve been on the same install for several years now actually. But yes, back ups are still smart lol
Use software like shutupwin10 or various other open source debloat scripts to remove a shit-ton of annoying features in windows. Or, as lemmy galaxy-brains would have it, JuSt uSe LiNuX
I’d like to mention Windows 10 LTSC here. It’s an official Windows 10 Edition from Microsoft, designed for enterprise and embedded usage. Therefore it has no bloatware, no annoying feature updates, no ads and only the absolute minimum of telemetry. If you don’t like Windows but somehow have to use it, this might be the right choice for you.
Out of curiosity, except obviously people who don’t use Windows, who would it be the wrong choice for?
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.
Ooof.
Well, interesting to know. Thanks!
That’s somewhat wrong. I had no problem installing WSL, Office or Windows Terminal, and they all work fine. The only thing that’s actually a problem is the missing Microsoft Store, but since I’m not using it anyway it doesn’t bother me.
Doesn’t the Enterprise version require a bulk license agreement?
One way would be to switch your default search engine to Bing in Chrome.
I bet that doesn’t stop it lol
Are you actually bots? I can’t believe you would suggest either chrome or bing if privacy is a concern to you. It’s firefox and duckduckgo all day, every day…
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.
And another is to just use Microsoft Edge already. Jesus Christ, Edge is an ACTUALLY GOOD WEB BROWSER. It’s based on Chromium, so there’s no usable difference, plus you can access https://passwords.google.com in Edge with no issue.
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
