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Windows IT

Windows 11 is a 'Minefield of Micro-aggressions in the Shipping Lane of Progress' (theregister.com) 148

Posted by msmash from the not-mincing-words dept.
Windows 11 has become indistinguishable from malware because of the way Microsoft has inserted intrusive advertising, AI monitoring features, and constant distractions designed to drive user engagement and monetization to the operating system, argues veteran writer and developer Rupert Goodwins of The Register.

Goodwins contends that Microsoft has transformed Windows 11 into "an ADHD horror show, full of distractions, promotions and snares" where AI features "constantly video what you're doing and send it back to Mother." He applies the term malware to describe software that intervenes in work to advertise and monitors user data, concluding that "for Windows it isn't a class of third-party nasties, it's an edition name."

Windows 11 is a 'Minefield of Micro-aggressions in the Shipping Lane of Progress' More | Reply

Windows 11 is a 'Minefield of Micro-aggressions in the Shipping Lane of Progress'

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  • Teams was the canary in a coalmine (Score:3)

    by VampireByte ( 447578 ) on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:14PM (#65550208) Homepage

    When I had to use Microsoft Teams at a couple of workplaces, I couldn't help but think "if this is where Microsoft is heading, then I need to de-Microsoft my life before Windows 11 becomes unavoidable."

    • When I had to use Microsoft Teams at a couple of workplaces, I couldn't help but think "if this is where Microsoft is heading, then I need to de-Microsoft my life before Windows 11 becomes unavoidable."

      Yes, Teams is big, huge even, but the setup my corporate overlords is using is very useable, increases my productivity, and is ad-free.

      I'm not doubting your bad experience, I'm just saying to the people who read your (and my) message, "your milage may vary."

  • I'm not "upgrading" to windows 11 (Score:3)

    by paul_engr ( 6280294 ) on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:15PM (#65550212)
    I am locked in hard to windows and use tens of thousands of dollars worth of specialty software to do my job and for which I have no non-windows option. I will not be upgrading to windows 11, full stop.

    • Just curious, what kind of job is that?

      • I'm in the same boat. I run a CNC machining business making medical device parts. All professional grade CADCAM software is Windows based. (No, Freecad is not professional grade).

        • You lock that shit down and isolate it from the network like everything used to be before it became "smart." Problem is, everybody is mandating internet access to do anything with almost no good reason except that it's a great way to secure licenses or supposedly help with security updates... If I wasn't online, I'd not need security updates but if we didn't Agile develop buggy software that needs constant patching... Realistically, you have to lock down everything but a few domains and isolate the machi

        • No, Freecad is not professional grade

          Depends on what you mean by "professional grade". It does sound like it does not do what you want, but I'm not using it for a hobby, which means it is professional. Does what I need to and it's a plus point that it runs on Linux which, so I don't need two machines or need to dual boot just to use CAD, which would be annoying. And to be sure I've lost patience with Windows.

          I do know other people in somewhat esoteric (professional) areas who like freecad for it's python sc

          • I'm doing FEA that Solidworks is barely able to do; Freecad's FEA falls down if you have more than a simple bracket. I'm also using Mastercam for 5 axis CNC programming. And I need to keep my files local for NDA reasons.

            • Well that would do it. I'm not doing any FEA. I've not really done much overall, only ones I used were external packages anyway. I can well believe FreeCAD. The main simulator I used was a fluid for one donkeys years ago almost in another life. I used it's inbuilt modeller.

              That's got to be a pain, that NDA. Funny thing is IME companies who have contacts like that are usually addicted to teams which somehow gets a free pass from all the rules

    • Better stock up on contemporary replacement parts. I'm locked in since all professional grade CADCAM software is Windows based. My computer died and I had to replace it, and the Microcenter tech told me the CPU I picked required Win 11. I did manage to clean it up, remove some cruft, and make it look more like Win 7.
    • Are you running a Pro or Enterprise version of Windows? If so, this article does not apply to you. If not, why in God's name aren't you?

    • I am locked in hard to windows and use tens of thousands of dollars worth of specialty software to do my job and for which I have no non-windows option. I will not be upgrading to windows 11, full stop.

      You will be. As soon as the speciality software tells you to.

  • They've likely realized that suckers are much more profitable and that the worse they make the OS the higher percentage of suckers they get. Anyone remaining on Windows by now is either forced by corporate or educationally subnormal.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by TWX ( 665546 )

      No. They realized they had untapped resources for profit available to them and chose to exploit those because simply selling someone a license for the software is a one-time transaction. They can make more money licensing over time, and even more money as an ad company.

      • They know they are frightening educated / intelligent people off. They already make an enterprise edition so they could just make it easy to switch off all the spyware and run as normal, possibly with a small charge. Instead they decided that if you aren't willing to be and pay to be enterprise and you aren't a sucker who lacks understanding of the value of privacy then they don't want you.

    • Was there some reason you felt the need to insult everyone who uses Windows in violation of your personal preference?

      • Firstly, not everyone, because I've made it clear I understand that there are those that have good reasons like being forced by corporate. Secondly I am accepting comments like "I've got software I can't move" and I guess people know that Microsoft will eventually force them off Window 10, so that's an okay excuse. Getting a little bit of a raise never hurts though.

        However, having said that, the people that end up using the spyware edition just because they like it deserve a certain level of contempt. Nobod

  • Lol (Score:2)

    by jrnvk ( 4197967 )

    True. A bit snarky but true.

  • Windows is not a professional operating system (Score:5, Informative)

    by Murdoch5 ( 1563847 ) on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:29PM (#65550254) Homepage
    Windows is a bleeping mess, if we ignore the grotesque violation of digital liberties, being in some regards a digital Epstein's island, after all Bill and Jeffery were good friends, what are we left with? Windows is basically the childhood predator, driving around in the white van, offering puppies, and candy, with the added benefit that the government is providing the van, and every street has special lanes, so people can access the van without delay.

    Should we discuss the insane latency issues? How about the advance of unwanted, unneeded, and unrequested software. I've never seen Microsoft push Office harder than it has in the last couple of years, to the point, they're breaking Office installs, and then turning around and blaming the user.

    Should we discuss the online account nonsense, that causes real fallout? Since the user is now tied to an account, having them access a different account, which they need to do because of terrible licensing, causes a problem. What's the solution? Oh, just enrol in more software, with equally bad licensing and fees, to get around a problem they caused. Again, want to go to support? They'll blame you.

    Let's discuss how every bleeping area is trying to sell you, upsell you, or advertise something. Why? Want to change your browser, nope, Microsoft wants you using Edge, and they're not subtle about it, they will force change the browser. Want to use OneDrive, they weren't asking because, they need files for AI, and they can't risk getting a "no", so they take them. Do you want to boot the computer, but did an update the night before (without asking), better hope none of the Secure Boot settings changed because, and this is spectacular, you might be missing a bootloader, or it suspended to a state it can't wake up from.

    Windows is not usable in any professional setting where you need reliability, stability, security, or usability. It's adware, wrapped in shareware, that operates as malware, without ever getting you a usable operating system.

    • I recently got a MiniPC with a 8C16T Zen3 processor (5825U) and pretty low-end graphics (8 cores, max 2 GHz) and it came with Windows 11 and the fucking mouse pointer lagged, and not just a little but a whole lot. Slapped Devuan onto it (aside from resizing the Windows partition just in case I decided to care about it, mostly by hitting enter in the installer, after choosing to use the contiguous free space) and everything works great. All hardware was identified, all firmware was loaded automatically, everything works flawlessly.

      P.S. Making Windows work without an account is still pretty easy, although it's a "secret" how to do it. (You can just google it ofc, but it's not available as an option until after you do the thing.) TL;DR: Hit Shift-F10 and then type OOBE\BYPASSNRO and it will reboot and then you can bypass that. I see there's also reports that "start ms-cxh:localonly" will work, but I did not try that.

    • Define "professional". People who make loads of money with windows very much get a system that doesn't do anything what you say (except for the security fuckups). If it is then those "professionals" need to fire their system administrators who are obviously not setting up windows correctly in a professional environment.

      Now Windows Home edition, sure. But even there that "upsell" you speak of is nothing more than a single popup twice a year when a feature release comes out. In a world of constant advertiseme

      • The problem with absolute statements is they are disproven by evidence. The world is run on Windows, professionally. It literally makes the world go around and contributes a shitton to the GDP of nations the world over.

        The problem with statements is they are disproven by "literally".

      • I don't think you've used Windows 11 lately, it's a shit show, and Microsoft doesn't even hide that fact. I would say professional means being reliable, stable, and accessible, everything Windows 11 isn't.

        Everything I mentioned is a fact of running it, if I install Office 365 Business on Windows 11, why are their download buttons for Office 365 in the Start Menu still? You'd think those would go away, but they don't. However, the bigger issue, if you click them, they will down a different version of

  • Self-inflicted pain? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by NewtonsLaw ( 409638 ) on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:33PM (#65550266)

    I have several computers in my office but the only one running windows is the one I use for video editing. Everything else runs Linux and has done for over 15 years.

    The only reason my video editing rig still runs Windows is because it's just easier than battling a bunch of limitations tied to using Davinci Resolve under Linux. If BlackMagic Design could provide identical capabilities on Linux that Windows machine would be reformatted in the blink of an eye.

    To be honest, I hate having to fire up the Windows machine because I'm constantly interrupted by all manner of ridiculous things I don't want or need and I'm constantly nagged to upgrade. If I step away for more than a few minutes I can sometimes come back to find that Windows has decided to download updates or do something else without being asked to do so. With Linux I am in *full* control of my computers -- with Windows, not so much.

    Right now I'm considering altering my video editing workflow so that I can finally get rid of the evil that is Windows. Hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later.

    Those who still use Windows for stuff like websurfing, word processing, spreadsheets and other day-to-day tasks are suffering a self-inflicted pain. Freedom and relief is just a download away. Do it!

  • What, in 2025, is the relative value proposition of Windows over, say, Linux? There used to be gaming, but I'm told every game is now on Steam, and Steam supposedly runs on Linux. It is just Office? Is it just that you can't buy a laptop without Windows installed on it?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Rinnon ( 1474161 )

      The value proposition of Windows is that you don't have to consider a value proposition. It's just the default. Most people don't care enough about their computing experience to change the default (not least of all because for most people their cellphone, not their desktop, is their primary device). You can make all the arguments in the world about why Linux is superior and fail to convince someone it is worth the time and effort to change. This is doubly so when talking to someone who has never installed t

      • The problem is that Linux isn't 'superior.' Does it do some things better? Sure. Maybe a lot of things.

        The vast majority of computer users simply *don't care.* Nor do they need to.

        Windows works well enough, it does anything almost anybody wants 'a computer' to do, and you don't need to put too much thought into it.

    • Steam is mostly just a store and launcher. They've made good progress on Proton and enabling Linux compatibility for Windows games, but if the game developer doesn't put any work in it's not always a good experience. They're not doing this to be an OS developer, but to just expand their market share.

  • Micro-aggression? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by whitroth ( 9367 ) <whitroth AT 5-cent DOT us> on Monday July 28, 2025 @12:34PM (#65550274) Homepage

    Oh, come on, 20+ years ago, Windows was already indistinguishable from a virus.

    • Not true: viruses didn't crash nearly as much.

      • Thirty years ago, the joke was that Gates was bragging that cars in the future would be run by Windows. Ford's CEO quipped "who would buy a car that crashes three times a day?"

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by waspleg ( 316038 )

      This is mostly true, but they've also made it worse. Additionally, every time you think they can't possibly make it worse they find a way.

  • I can only speak to my experience with W11 Pro, so maybe "Home" is worse. but other than MS occasionally changing my preferred search engine in Edge back to Bing (which is truly obnoxious), I don't see any of the nonsense he's complaining about. I see no evidence MS is "videoing" anything I do. I assume they send back a fair amount of telemetry just like every other non-linux OS and most programs do. It also never advertises to me and rarely engages in unwanted interaction, despite the fact that I use MS O
    • I also run Pro and see nothing described. Maybe this guy should just stop complaining about being on the ad-supported-free-tier and spend the $99 already.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by myrdos2 ( 989497 )

      I have Pro and I got pop-up ads on my desktop about "Upgrade to premium edition Some-A-Word-I-Forget", that turned out to be a Microsoft video game. (That I have never played) Plus things that are borderline-ads in my start menu, and my task bar, and my lock screen. "Do you like this image? Click here to find out more!" I can remove most of it, but it's annoying and makes the whole desktop feel like exploitative trashware. Plus Microsoft is making it harder and harder to opt-out of OneDrive sending them all

    • I get Microsoft games ads at work, I didn't think this is a good thing

  • I've been using this for years to "tame" the amount of nonsense that Windows spews forth and/or collects about me.
    I'm sure there are other more invasive or useful apps which do similar things, but I've had consistently good results.
    https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10/ [oo-software.com]

  • Someone will do a study on productivity hits and business will move to Linux or demand removal of said features, home users went know the difference

  • ...just a rant, devoid of specific details
    What exactly is the problem?

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