Good thing whenever I set up Windows, Notepad is one of the things I nuke, using Geany to replace it.
This is a bad sign if MS gets emboldened and starts paywalling basic OS functionality at some point in the future, though.
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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They could've added this to wordpad if they didn't kill it.
So, let me ask you a question: How long do you think Microsoft will wait before they start charging for essential services? Would you be willing to pay for something like Notepad? Or, for example, pay to connect to the internet through their wireless interface? This seems like just the beginning, with more features eventually locked behind paywalls. They're testing the waters to see how much they can charge. Think about it—Microsoft gave you the house, but now they want to charge you for the doors. Meanwhile, Google is watching, waiting to see what they can charge for. And like you said, Mac will surely follow suit. I was simply listing operating systems across different ecosystems, because Windows hasn’t successfully broken out of the Personal Computer space.
I'm not even willing to use Windows for free. I have it installed w/o a license, and I haven't booted into it in... 2 years? 3? I honestly don't remember, but I haven't used Windows in any meaningful sense for >10 years, other than to test Windows-specific things.
Reject this nonsense. There are alternatives that could probably work for you, depending on your requirements.
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(2 replies)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple does something like this too at some point in the future
Sounds like everyone is going to have to upgrade to Notepad++, but honestly, why are people even using Windows anymore? Who even uses Notepad? I want to see those numbers—like, what... 5,000 active users of Notepad, and they're probably just grandparents whose grandkids couldn't be bothered to install anything else.
Seriously though, Android, macOS, Steam OS, Android TV, Chrome OS, Debian, heck, Ubuntu, Linux Mint—so why are people making excuses to use Windows, other than because it's on a work computer? Microsoft is lost in the sauce, like, "Hey guys, let's make the operating system free and have people pay for Notepad." You know what that sounds like? A car manufacturer giving away cars and charging to use the radio. When Windows became free, the quality became identical to the price.
I use Notepad on my work computer daily. I never save any documents, but it is handy for a quick copy/paste of info I need for a short period of time. We aren't allowed to install anything on the computers, so it's what is available.
I could live without it, but I do find it marginally useful, basically as digital "scrap paper".
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(9 replies)
isn't the paywall for notepad buying windows and a computer?
Notepad has long been a testbed for new technology in Windows. This isn't just a sign of enshittification, it's a warning that they want to do more.
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(1 replies)
Ragebait. Notepad is still free. If you want to use Rewrite, then you pay for that.
Freemium dark patterns are also enshittification. It's slight clickbait/ragebait, but not far off.
I can understand separating a new paid-only feature, especially if you don't much need that part. The new features are reportedly accessible from the GUI of Notepad so I wouldn't blame anyone else who thought "NOTEPAD" asked them to sign up and pay a subscription to use "NOTEPAD" features.
I used to rage when reading bad changes to Windows, even after I'd stopped using it. Now I just feel bad that my friends are still in that a bad relationship with their computer.