this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Maybe for now, but as soon as more people switch to Windows 11 or Microsoft apps that constantly show you ads and are basically spam / adware themselves, Linux will get more appealing.

Microsoft is unfortunately learning from social media companies. Not only do you PAY for the product, you are also the product, and get your personal info stolen and get served ads even while you pay.

It's getting to the point where I'm seriously eyeballing Mint again, or Kubuntu. And I'm the kind of person that's generally too lazy to even dual boot anymore.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry for the uncalled advice, but you might want to avoid Ubuntu. Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) is being rather obnoxious pushing for a technology called "snaps" that has a bunch of issues, among them performance.

Mint is fine. In fact I'm distro-hopping from Ubuntu to Mint again.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I don't Mint the uncalled, ty.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Never seen an ad on my 5 windows 11 computers including 🤔

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I kind of like Windows 11, but even the Pro version is riddled with ads. The search banner in the taskbar has them regularly, there's a large number of falsely installed Microsoft Store apps in the Start menu (which get downloaded when you click them, like Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, Instagram, I think also TikTok and I'm certainly forgetting some), the whole "news" menu on the left side of the screen is just that too. The Windows 10 default Mail app (which I think is close to be the perfect email app on Windows) is also being retired in favor of Outlook, the free version of which has an ad displayed either as a banner at the bottom of your mails list, or as an unread email at the top of it. This prompted me to enjoy the Thunderbird update, which isn't as good but has no ads. And that's not even counting Edge, the shortcut of which gets added back to the desktop on a regular basis, which redirects all HTML help pages and searches to itself instead of using the default browser.

You might not have seen any ads on your W11 computer, but it's probably either because you have a system-wide adblocker, installed scripts to remove some of the most invasive bloat, or simply hand pick and manage carefully all apps and and settings on your systems (that's what I do, but when I do I make it so I won't see it again). Or you don't notice them as ads, which is sadly very possible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's probably just that I take five minutes to clean up the mess after install and it's not an issue ever again...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The thing is, why would you want any of that crap to begin with? Like sure you can disable it, but wouldn't it be nicer if... You know.. it wasn't there in the first place?
Like if you had the option, wouldn't you want to ditch Windows for something a little less anti-consumer?
Hypothetically, let's say there was an OS that meet all your needs, wasn't riddled with ads and trackers, and tries to empower you as a user; wouldn't you choose that OS?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are you using home or enterprise?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

A mix as there's home builds with enterprise and laptops with the "original install" (i.e. reinstalled windows using the built in tool)...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

You mus have a nice install. I see them when I press the windows button. I see them when I press a random combination and this wierd left side window pops up and task bar shows you not only weather but also shares.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Just do it. I used Windows mainly out of apathy for years. But once I made the switch, I never looked back. Mint is easy to use and doesn't get in the way. And there's zero shitfuckery going on.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Might sound stupid, but I want to be apathetic about my OS. I mainly game and I have been using Windows since I was 8. I know it in and out and if I am not forced to (or if ads really get that crazy), I am not gonna switch. It's just nothing I am remotely passionate about.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

How big on gaming are you?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

So far, I find Mint massively less frustrating to use than Windows. It feels faster, too.

Windows is so full of bullshittery, it's not even funny.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Exactly! This sentiment is why I ditched Windows in the first place. That and the combination of unnecessary annoyances that slow my workflow in which the majority of Windows users seem to be desensitized too.
Linux already works for my use case, so why would I want to voluntarily deal Microsoft's anti-consumer practices? I don't.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Linux seriously needs to figure out laptop battery life. Not much chance of going mainstream when installing it means a 50% drop in your battery life. Until then, I'll use Linux on my desktop and just disable all the adware spam shit in Windows on my laptop.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

That's the job of the manufacturer. Check out system76, framework and tuxedo laptops

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I have not had this issue with three or four laptops running Linux over the years. Power management turned off somehow maybe?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I installed Linux on my old main laptop and battery life went up by like 2 hours lol. You might want to look into battery life solutions like tlp.