I will even uninstall Windows
So I could have a usable machine at work? Good. I am forced to upgrade from win7 to win11 in the lab, and current win11 crap did not appeal to me at all. And it has WSL, so at least it can actually be used for work.
Oh look, with the threat of a big enough fine, you can uninstall those things.
Or at least hide the front ends for them.
Imagine living somewhere where those in charge have even there smallest bit of spine.
mmm, that was nice. can i have another?
Linux gives all global users more control: Uninstall Windows, say goodbye to Microsoft
I would love to, but we stiill use Windows specific software (and sometimes even Dos specific software!) but we already do that through a VM. The other issue is the extensions we have for Microsoft Office just won’t work on the Linux alternatives and even then Libreoffice isn’t good enough for half the staff in my accounting firm because it lacks certain features for now.
Most companies who work in browser based software + email can easily switch to Linux and they would barely notice it.
I would love to, but we stiill use Windows specific software
If I had 1 cent every time I read that… and I pulled those cents together… and then paid software developers to build that missing software for other OSes like Linux… then we’d gradually see less of those comments.
It’s as if the isolation was the business model, proprietary software insuring that alternatives do not exist because users do not bother to get together and unstuck themselves from glowingly dangerous (security wise but probably even financially dependencies.
Hopefully initiatives like NLNet are precisely trying to alleviate such challenges. Until them compatibility layers like Proton are showing the way with arguably some of the most complex and demanding in terms of performance software, namely games.
If I had 1 cent every time I read that… and I pulled those cents together… and then paid software developers to build that missing software for other OSes like Linux… then we’d gradually see less of those comments.
There is a version of the software that works in the browser, but it’s not really that great. That’s what you get when you legally need to use specific software (even the Dutch tax office still use the same old version we use). There are other alternatives, but it’s a massive investment of time to test and switch to that. Something we are forced to do in the near future, but it’s gonna take a lot of time inclusing a lot of time of people with hourly rates of over the 200 EUR excluding VAT. I estimate it will cost us maybe 50% of our yearly revenue to fully switch an organisation to Linux and we will loose a lot of people working here where there are a lot of issues with finding new people for accounting firms.
I have been trying to install Microsoft Office in Linux mint on my personal PC cause I have more issues with LibreOffice when using MSOffice files (and the people receiving the files will be using MSOffice as well) than I have with games. I tried it using Bottles (Wine) with multiple different installers, but no luck so far.
Not sure what NLNet is going to do about software lol, I believe you mean something different. NLNet is an instance that is there for people living with lymphedema and/or lipedema and their loved ones.
Not sure what NLNet is going to do about software lol, I believe you mean something different.
That NLNet https://nlnet.nl/ funding FLOSS project.
There are also BlueHats in France showing how administration is using AND consequently funding FLOSS https://code.gouv.fr/en/bluehats/ by paying for sysadmin, feature dev, maintenance, etc.
I’d love to at work, but I’m using some win-only software with a f-ed up licence manager that I cannot stuff into a VM.
Now switch package managers and run all your drives on different obscure file systems! Make every login cycle through plasma gnome an unhinged custom DE and raw terminal where a camera with sign language recognition is the only valid input!
Create a script to revert to systemd every third startup!
Edit: I read further down…Arch is a bit of a motherfucker. Sorry.
Which distro hurt you?
Arch, obviously, but it was all arranged before hand. After care was lacking. Forgot to load that though, so it’s kind of my fault.
Sounds like half of the process your average Windows debloater goes through every time they update?
On like 8, maybe, sure.
You’re doing something wrong, maybe ask someone knowledgeable for help with your system. It doesn’t happen to other people.
doesn’t happen to other people
Because they’re fucking cowards.
Yeah, you need to be really brave to setup your system incorrectly.
‘incorrectly’
That word absolutely reeks of being no fun.
What, may i ask, is the correct way to configure and use my computer?
how do i europe
Huh, well ill continue living without all that shit on Linux Mint.
Mint… more than just a delicious herb!
For those curious, if you can get a European Windows product key, you can install the “N” version of Windows. Be warned, it only works with certain product keys…
The standard Windows installer should give the option of “Windows 10” or “Windows 10 N” (or similar). The N version is basically bloatware free out of the box…
The regular version has a bunch of promos pre-installed, like candy crush, and other things that most people couldn’t give a shit about…
Recently I’ve been playing a “fun” game with my work laptop where I’ll remove copilot, and a few days later it will appear again. Weeee. In that case, it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a policy in place to enable copilot on my works systems… I’m sure someone who works here, probably higher up the food chain than me, wants it enabled, and the ham fisted policy maker can’t create a policy just for those who want it, so everyone gets it because the bosses son Shane decided that he wants to see how much of his work can get done by AI so he can do even less while on the clock.
N editions should exclude just certain media features. I remember it trying in Win 7 days and never touched it again, never saw a point. Some additional info. Important bit is to not use Home edition, use Pro, Education or Enterprise instead.
As for Copilot, is there anything under these registry keys?
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot
Companies absolutely HATE copilot. I remember they didn’t even like Siri enabled on the Mac’s where I used to work. No way in hell copilot is getting a pass.
Don’t underestimate management desire to be absolutely indistinguishable from their competition.
They read the Harvard Business Review, learn new terms they don’t understanding, make a PowerPoint out of it and voila, they are “innovative” like everyone else.
If HBR put “AI” on its cover you can be damn sure all those innovators are going to put AI wherever they can.
I work for a fairly large company, and we’re hearing about “AI” constantly. CoPilot is available and its use encouraged. Also, in the cybersecurity space, AI is fucking everywhere. Vendors won’t shut up about their “AI Enabled” products. And the new hotness is “Agentic AI”, which is basically automation, but we’re going to let AI hallucinations fire off the automated process which could bring production systems down.
Good times are surely coming. /sHeh, it’s a small business and bossman isn’t exactly anti-AI.
Make it world wide!
The best control: uninstall Windows.
Europeans have the Freedom to Uninstall SPYWARE? LoL COMMIES here in America we have TRUE FREEDOM of being FORCE FED SPYWARE with NO Other options!
the other option is a faster, more privacy focused, free, open source operating system.
I made the switch a little over a year ago, I know not everybody can/wants to - but major distros are honestly polished enough these days that I haven’t looked back, I should have switched to Linux years ago.
Not everyone will agree, but I think Ubuntu + installing apps through Flatpak is a winning option.
To get pedantic for a second. The title of this post is “Microsoft gives…” as if this was an altruistic act that Microsoft decided to do for some people, when the article states they did it to comply with a law.
A much better title would have been “EU Forces Microsoft to Give Users More Control:” It returns the credit to the people who deserve the credit and clarifies that it wasn’t something Microsoft did willingly.
Not pedantic. The specificity, imo, is extremely important here, and the poor phrasing really bothered me, too.
In other words: Users of proprietary OS like Windows have so little control over their own devices that it’s newsworthy when the vendor allows you to uninstall 2-3 bundled things out of many more. But only in some countries! It’s pathetic.
Tbh everything listed is how 10 LTSC came by default for all users.
10 ltsc?
Windows 10 long term servicing channel. It’s intended for things like electronic signs but works great if you just want un bloated windows. It comes with most of the random bullshit not installed and has a longer period of security updates.
In addition to what Hangon said, some copies of LTSC 10 still have support until 2027 unlike other Windows 10 versions.
If you wanted to try it out on a spare device without buying then ye’d be digging yerself a massgrave wink.
Removed by mod
Removed by mod
Perhaps sometime in the future, more people will try Linux and see how good it is. My recommendation based on my own experience:
Want stable, just working. Robust workhorse: Try Debian
Want newest, nicest, good for gaming (need a tiny bit of tinkering if you run Nvidia): Try Fedora
Want easy to install, but a bit older and slower, but requires no tinkering: Try PopOS
Don’t like settings, tweaks and fuzz: choose Gnome desktop 😊
I know its not everybody’s cup of tea, but plain standard Ubuntu these days has a lot of polish and interoperability. The addition of gnome tweaks, extensions, and flatpak have left me not wanting much extra customisation.
This is after being on a dozen other distros and finding ironically they can be less customisable unless I want to spend an entire in terminal.
I’m sad to say I had to drop Linux for a while because I run Nvidia. I heard that AMD is fine, and that Nvidia is baaaadically fine with a few issues still so I gave it a shot. But games just genuinely run noticeably worse with an Nvidia card. Games would lose 20-30 frames. Maybe not a big deal with my setup if I was using a 60hz monitor since most were still above 60, but I’m using 144hz.
It sucks too because it’s not fedora or Linux as a whole’s fault. It’s Nvidia’s.
Thought about keeping it but already had a few things I needed to dual boot windows for. If I still need windows for gaming, basically that leaves idly browsing the web as fedora’s main use. And I think that’s a bit overkill.
Looking forward to eventually getting an AMD card (Legit if you’re reading this and thinking about upgrading or building a new PC and think there even a small chance you’d go with Linux in the future, go AMD) or even just a whole new build. That way I can just delegate my current machine for those few tasks I need windows for, and have a main machine for general use.
The relatively bad linux experience, plus all the news about nvidia being the scum of the earth, is what made me go with a solid AMD card instead.
Same for me, sorta. I have to dualboot Windows and Linux because I just can’t seem to fix the jankiness of my gaming experience on the latter. I wanna make a full AMD build but I not really a good idea to splurge in this economy.
My gaming rig was the first thing to go full Linux because I was sick of dealing with windows for a HTPC and wanted bazzite for the steam gaming mode. Not had any issues yet.
I did wait till I got a an AMD card though. But my GF uses a 3050 for bazzite desktop and she’s had no issues yet either. She had lots of issues with the 1050Ti she had before then though.
My whole system is AMD so switching to Linux was a breeze. A few days ago I installed Fedora KDE Plasma because I genuinely enjoyed the look and feel of Windows, but I wanted it without the Microsoft part. And I have to say, no regrets. I’m getting everything done without the BS, and all my games work just fine. It did need some very weird tinkering to set it up properly, and I made ChatGPT work overtime to feed me answers. Nobody would have to put in the amount of effort I did though, and if it wasn’t for my niche problems, everything would have been handled without a hitch. The terminal still scares me but I’ve learned several tricks.
Xubuntu is stable, lightweight, easy to install, and requires no tinkering. No idea about gaming, but I’d choose it over Debian and PopOS at any given time.
Microsoft is grudgingly forced to give…*
