Microsoft stoops to new low with ads in Windows 11, as PC Manager tool suggests your system needs ‘repairing’ if you don’t use Bing

[M76]

Not true, unless your device is registered and approved by Google as an authorized and verified Android platform Google doesn’t let you even sign into Google websites from an Android device. They started that back in 2018, there is a work around if you register yourself with an XDA developer account and register your ROM files with Google to get them certified, but if you don’t then Google locks you out.
Sometimes you may get lucky and a redirect to this message.
https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/warningauto
But usually not, and you are instead just redirected back to the login page as if you hadn’t just clicked the login button and entered your username and password.

Even if that's true two wrongs does not make a who cares. Just because Google is doing shit on Android doesn't mean we should be happy for MS to do it on Windows. As I've mentioned before a PC has much more personal stuff on it than a phone.
I don't even mind signing in to an online account in a browser in windows. My problem is with doing it at the OS level, which MS is pushing for with pushing people to use an online account instead of a local.

 

[Mazzspeed]

Don't switch to Linux. Get an application that removes ads and keep using Windows 11. Linux isn't dumbed down enough for the general public to use. At some point Linux will be perfectly able to replace Windows, but at the same time the ads Microsoft will impose will be more difficult to remove. Windows won't get better, but Linux will.

Linux isn't hard to use, it's simply not a drop in Windows replacement - Nor should it be. I've stated it time and time again, I use Linux every single day as a desktop OS, and I don't sit there thinking of the fact I'm running Linux as opposed to Windows. The OS stays out of my way while I get work done.

 

[GoldenTiger]

The OS stays out of my way while I get work done.

That's how most everyone feels about windows, except the angry techies on various forums, and the Linux evangelists .

 

[Mazzspeed]

That's how most everyone feels about windows, except the angry techies on various forums, and the Linux evangelists .

No it most certainly is not. This very thread is evidence of that.

 

[Lakados]

Even if that's true two wrongs does not make a who cares. Just because Google is doing shit on Android doesn't mean we should be happy for MS to do it on Windows. As I've mentioned before a PC has much more personal stuff on it than a phone.
I don't even mind signing in to an online account in a browser in windows. My problem is with doing it at the OS level, which MS is pushing for with pushing people to use an online account instead of a local.

Certainly not it’s annoying all the way around.
What Microsoft is doing to Win11 Home edition with adds and forced online account registration is atrocious.

 

[philb2]

Don't switch to Linux. Get an application that removes ads and keep using Windows 11.

Which one would you recommend?

Linux isn't dumbed down enough for the general public to use.

Will never be, or it will lose the power that makes it attractive for developers and IT admins.

 

[OutOfPhase]

No it most certainly is not. This very thread is evidence of that.

I'd argue it really is how the vast majority view windows. I do also hate that this ad stuff is a thing, but I also can click no, and go about work for another month. Total time spent - 1 second.

I am personally more annoyed with the "you needed the new kernel because of your hardware, and oh, the UI had everything moved. Reasons." On Linux I can have a cutting-edge kernel and a UI which would make windows 95 say "maybe, step it up a bit." But that's all I want.

 

[cpufrost]

So now we need Windows Vanced? :-P

 

[DPI]

Certainly not it’s annoying all the way around.
What Microsoft is doing to Win11 Home edition with adds and forced online account registration is atrocious.

I had to clean up a friend's Win11 Home laptop recently, and the stock OOBE really does roughly resemble a grandmother's malware-infested AOL PC.

 

[Mazzspeed]

I am personally more annoyed with the "you needed the new kernel because of your hardware, and oh, the UI had everything moved. Reasons." On Linux I can have a cutting-edge kernel and a UI which would make windows 95 say "maybe, step it up a bit." But that's all I want.

Running LTS releases here and I experience no problems. Furthermore, the KDE 6 UI looks and behaves better than the Windows 11 UI IMO.

 

[OutOfPhase]

Running LTS releases here and I experience no problems. Furthermore, the KDE 6 UI looks and behaves better than the Windows 11 UI IMO.

I've been running KDE since 1.0. Slightly before. Love it.

 

[philb2]

No it most certainly is not. This very thread is evidence of that.

Yeah BUT. How many people run Windows? Compare that with the number of people on [H] or better yet, the number of people in this thread, not all of whom want Linux on the desktop.

Me, I've used UNIX on an off since the 1980s in different jobs. I'm no MS fanboy, but I really like the Windows GUI and the vast selection of software. And I can work with manages, but I'd rather not any longer.

If I have to use Linux, that's why I have installed Windows Subsystem for Linux. (Which someone said should be :"Linux Subsystem for Windows.")

 

[lukem5]

Don't switch to Linux. Get an application that removes ads and keep using Windows 11. Linux isn't dumbed down enough for the general public to use. At some point Linux will be perfectly able to replace Windows, but at the same time the ads Microsoft will impose will be more difficult to remove. Windows won't get better, but Linux will.

aaaahahaha linux will get better, yeah they been saying that for what 30 years now. i absolutely despise windows but its the only thing that works (most of the time).

 

[Mazzspeed]

Yeah BUT. How many people run Windows? Compare that with the number of people on [H] or better yet, the number of people in this thread, not all of whom want Linux on the desktop.

Me, I've used UNIX on an off since the 1980s in different jobs. I'm no MS fanboy, but I really like the Windows GUI and the vast selection of software. And I can work with manages, but I'd rather not any longer.

If I have to use Linux, that's why I have installed Windows Subsystem for Linux. (Which someone said should be :"Linux Subsystem for Windows.")

The question isn't how many people run Windows, the question is the number of people voicing their opinion regarding their degrading Windows experience - This very thread is evidence that people run Windows, but they're not one bit happy with it's apparent direction.

You prefer Windows, and my Linux desktop experience is perfect - As such I have no need for Windows, and don't think of the fact I'm not running Windows. Use what best suits your use case.

 

[socK]

Running LTS releases here and I experience no problems. Furthermore, the KDE 6 UI looks and behaves better than the Windows 11 UI IMO.

KDE 6 is legit very good. On my 7840u laptop, Linux is a great experience.

Last time I tried on my desktop, I constantly had issues with my GTX 1080 and Nvidia drivers somehow managing to fuck my refresh rate up despite anything and everything.

 

[MrGuvernment]

Don't switch to Linux. Get an application that removes ads and keep using Windows 11. Linux isn't dumbed down enough for the general public to use. At some point Linux will be perfectly able to replace Windows, but at the same time the ads Microsoft will impose will be more difficult to remove. Windows won't get better, but Linux will.

How is linux not dumb down enough?
If you gave someone who has never used a computer before. put Chrome on them both and let them use either - it would be an identical experience. Most people use webmail and webapps these days, so for an average day to day web surfing , email checking person - linux would literally be the same as windows.

 

[DukenukemX]

No it most certainly is not. This very thread is evidence of that.

That and Windows 10 grew more while Windows 11 lost some. This isn't a nothingburger.

 

[DukenukemX]

Linux isn't hard to use, it's simply not a drop in Windows replacement - Nor should it be. I've stated it time and time again, I use Linux every single day as a desktop OS, and I don't sit there thinking of the fact I'm running Linux as opposed to Windows. The OS stays out of my way while I get work done.

The way I look at it, for a normie to use Linux without ever complaining, then it needs to do what Windows does in every which way. Except the ads, we clearly don't want those. I use Linux exclusively, and I know that for the year of Linux to come we need to iron some things out. We need to be able to run Windows applications without any special setups. As much as Proton does this, it only does this for Steam. Lutris is pretty good, but Lutris doesn't cover everything. If you want to run some obscure Windows application on Linux then good luck if it doesn't execute immediately. This isn't Linux's fault to run Windows applications, but we're in Windows world. Definitely needs more applications ported like Adobe stuff and Fusion 360, which again is not Linux's fault. Nvidia needs to make installing their drivers less of a pain, though there is evidence that Nvidia might be interested in Nouveau. If a person happens to run the web browser as their source of productivity and all their games are on Steam then Linux will work fine. Games through Battle.net need a certain version of Proton to even work. It needs to be more stupid proof.

Which one would you recommend?

The one I'm using which is Linux Mint. It's the most Windows like Linux distro that is based on popular Ubuntu. There's little that needs to be done after installing Linux Mint.

Will never be, or it will lose the power that makes it attractive for developers and IT admins.

I'm not asking for Linux to have Clippy or the UI to be changed around so many times I never know where my settings are. Stuff just needs to work without the Linux community pushing for things that are newer and better in theory, but are actually problematic in practice. Imagine if we jumped onto Wayland back in 2008 and forced everyone to dump X11. Or if we dropped OpenGL in favor of Zink. Stuff just needs more time to cook.

aaaahahaha linux will get better, yeah they been saying that for what 30 years now. i absolutely despise windows but its the only thing that works (most of the time).

Again, as a reminder that Linux has 4% of the market. That's 1/4 of MacOS's market share, and I'm not including ChromeOS. I don't consider ChromeOS linux as in GNU/Linux.

 

[Lakados]

For all the rage this PC Manager tool has caused... It has more options than I would normally give Microsoft credit for.

 

[Mazzspeed]

The way I look at it, for a normie to use Linux without ever complaining, then it needs to do what Windows does in every which way.

I don't agree. As someone that's used Linux for a very long time, as someone that still works on Windows based systems, in many ways I find the Windows way of doing things somewhat backwards in comparison to Linux. People should feel free to use whatever suits their use case, Windows is not the line in the sand every OS has to aspire to and everything involves a learning curve.

Linux is not difficult, Linux is simply not a clone of Windows; we all have the ability to learn new things should we apply ourselves. Should people be unwilling to apply themselves in relation to using Linux, they should feel free to keep using Windows - Just remember: There was a time when most didn't know how to use Windows either, now they have the ability use Windows acceptably. The same applies to Linux, and any other UI the masses are exposed to in their every day lives.

If we consider an issue you've discussed under Linux Mint in the past: Auto mounting external storage - Had you been using a distro such as KDE Neon, you could select what external storage you want auto mounted at boot via the settings GUI without the slightest need to use fstab. Hence one reason I never recommend Mint to anyone transitioning to Linux. The fact that everything but Mint Edge is still running the 5.x kernel is another reason I never recommend Mint to transitioning Windows users. Edge runs the current 6.5.0-35 LTS kernel - Which is hardly what I'd consider to be 'edge'.

I'm not saying people should just stick to Windows, I'm stating that people need to be prepared to unlearn the Windows way of doing things should they decide to use Linux as an alternative OS. I'm also stating that if people want to keep using Windows, I'm certainly not going to judge them.

Again, as a reminder that Linux has 4% of the market. That's 1/4 of MacOS's market share, and I'm not including ChromeOS. I don't consider ChromeOS linux as in GNU/Linux.

Linux has also overtaken macOS under Steam as a gaming platform.

That and Windows 10 grew more while Windows 11 lost some. This isn't a nothingburger.

And yet this thread is evidence that people are not at all happy with the direction Windows is headed, hence the number of people doing their best to avoid Windows 11. Definitely not a nothingburger according to this thread. Once again, I never stated people should drop Windows for Linux.

Last time I tried on my desktop, I constantly had issues with my GTX 1080 and Nvidia drivers somehow managing to fuck my refresh rate up despite anything and everything.

Running LTS releases and not Arch BTW, I haven't experienced a dealbreaker issue such as refresh rate problems running Nvidia hardware/drivers provided they were installed via my distro's package manager and not via Nvidia's .run script, in a good 5 years or more now. I turn PC on, PC goes burrr.

 

[DukenukemX]

I don't agree. As someone that's used Linux for a very long time, as someone that still works on Windows based systems, in many ways I find the Windows way of doing things somewhat backwards in comparison to Linux. People should feel free to use whatever suits their use case, Windows is not the line in the sand every OS has to aspire to and everything involves a learning curve.

There are things that Windows and MacOS does do better. For example downloading a .exe or .dmg will always work, where as Linux doesn't have something that is universal for each disro except AppImage. Of course you shouldn't be downloading applications from a website as a repository is much better with security and convenience.

Linux is not difficult, Linux is simply not a clone of Windows; we all have the ability to learn new things should we apply ourselves. Should people be unwilling to apply themselves in relation to using Linux, they should feel free to keep using Windows - Just remember: There was a time when most didn't know how to use Windows either, now they have the ability use Windows acceptably. The same applies to Linux, and any other UI the masses are exposed to in their every day lives.

Linux is easier if you don't have to deal with Windows applications. The problem is I do want to deal with Windows applications. If everyone released their games and applications for Linux then it would be the year of Linux.

If we consider an issue you've discussed under Linux Mint in the past: Auto mounting external storage - Had you been using a distro such as KDE Neon, you could select what external storage you want auto mounted at boot via the settings GUI without the slightest need to use fstab. Hence one reason I never recommend Mint to anyone transitioning to Linux. The fact that everything but Mint Edge is still running the 5.x kernel is another reason I never recommend Mint to transitioning Windows users. Edge runs the current 6.5.0-35 LTS kernel - Which is hardly what I'd consider to be 'edge'.

Linux Mint takes care of most things I would want done with a Linux distro. I don't know about KDE Neon, though it does look attractive. Two things I don't like about Mint is that they don't offer a KDE version and no Wayland support for Cinnamon. KDE Neon is still on 22.04, just like Mint. The other thing is that Mint will never support snap, and that includes Mint 22. I don't know if KDE Neon has snaps on by default?

I'm not saying people should just stick to Windows, I'm stating that people need to be prepared to unlearn the Windows way of doing things should they decide to use Linux as an alternative OS. I'm also stating that if people want to keep using Windows, I'm certainly not going to judge them.

If you're a guy who's into computers and tech, then it's time to rip the band-aid and get into Linux. Linux is clearly the future of desktops. Microsoft is now at a phase of Windows development where there's nothing new they can add to make Windows better, but there are things they can add to make Windows more profitable, which is what we're seeing now. If you're a guy who's intimidated by setting the clock on their oven, then stick with Windows. Linux is not there yet for people who think this is how task manager works.

 

[philb2]

Linux is easier if you don't have to deal with Windows applications.

Agree.

The problem is I do want to deal with Windows applications.

Why? Aside from MS Office, all my applications are from other software vendors.

If everyone released their games and applications for Linux then it would be the year of Linux.

Hey, for all those vendors, it comes down to the business case. Unless you a MacOS specialty shop, you do Windows and maybe MacOS. Chrome, can't. Linux at 4%, is it going to be profitable? Most certainly not.

My career was in software product management, and if I learned one thing, it was that you test, test, test. If you claim support for Win 7, then you need to test on Win 7. If you don't support 8.0 but only 8.1, you need to say that also. Same with OSX. Now, for Linux, exactly which distros and releases are you going to support? Geez, whaddya know, there is a crapton of distros. And what is the market share for any one distro? And which release of that distro? So very quickly you are talking fractions of 1% for any given Linux distro. And probably no support for Solaris or any other "legacy" UNIX. And don't forget, for each supported release, you need a support system (or VM). And you need to train people. =$$$. So tell me Sparky, what's the business case?

Linux Mint takes care of most things I would want done with a Linux distro. I don't know about KDE Neon, though it does look attractive. Two things I don't like about Mint is that they don't offer a KDE version and no Wayland support for Cinnamon. KDE Neon is still on 22.04, just like Mint. The other thing is that Mint will never support snap, and that includes Mint 22. I don't know if KDE Neon has snaps on by default?

And if you are a support manager in a corporate, do you want to support KDE in addition to Windows and MacOS? Remember, that support = people = $$$.

If you're a guy who's into computers and tech, then it's time to rip the band-aid and get into Linux.

Sorru but I have to "unlike" this statement.

Linux is clearly the future of desktops

See above.

. Microsoft is now at a phase of Windows development where there's nothing new they can add to make Windows better, but there are things they can add to make Windows more profitable, which is what we're seeing now.

That's a pretty strong assertion. How do you prove that point?

If you're a guy who's intimidated by setting the clock on their oven, then stick with Windows.

I really resent that statement. I build all my own desktops and usually upgrade my laptops with third-party parts instead of paying overinflated vendor prices for RAM and storage.

And I customize my Windows installs.

Linux is not there yet for people who think this is how task manager works.

I call BS on this one.

 

[Mazzspeed]

There are things that Windows and MacOS does do better. For example downloading a .exe or .dmg will always work

Downloading some random .exe or .msi from some obscure corner of the internet with absolutely no attempt at any form of security whatsoever is actually one of the points I find backwards regarding Windows. When it comes to MacOS, there's at least two different methods to install software, with many applications requiring the user to change security settings in order for certain applications to run correctly, in such an instance installing software under Linux in most cases is actually easier. Then we have uninstallation of software under MacOS, in such an instance there's at least three different methods to do so depending on the installation process used - People claim MacOS is intuitive, I disagree.

Linux is easier if you don't have to deal with Windows applications. The problem is I do want to deal with Windows applications. If everyone released their games and applications for Linux then it would be the year of Linux.

Click the compatibility tab of a Steam game under properties > Click 'Force the use of a compatibility tool' and select Proton Experimental = Done. For other launchers, install the flatpak of Bottles, run script to install launcher, download and install the latest Wine-GE under Bottles preferences and run the launcher = Done. I can honestly state that I have no such problems here with the exception of games running kernel level anticheat. For al other software, almost everything is supported cross platform.

Linux Mint takes care of most things I would want done with a Linux distro. I don't know about KDE Neon, though it does look attractive. Two things I don't like about Mint is that they don't offer a KDE version and no Wayland support for Cinnamon. KDE Neon is still on 22.04, just like Mint. The other thing is that Mint will never support snap, and that includes Mint 22. I don't know if KDE Neon has snaps on by default?

The problem is: Most other distro's will do things better than Mint, Mint is in many ways too frozen in time. Yes, KDE Neon is loosely based on 22.04, however at least it runs the latest LTS kernel - Unlike every release of Mint with the exception of 'Edge'.

If you're a guy who's into computers and tech, then it's time to rip the band-aid and get into Linux. Linux is clearly the future of desktops. Microsoft is now at a phase of Windows development where there's nothing new they can add to make Windows better, but there are things they can add to make Windows more profitable, which is what we're seeing now. If you're a guy who's intimidated by setting the clock on their oven, then stick with Windows. Linux is not there yet for people who think this is how task manager works.

Since I started using desktop Linux, things have progressed quickly and in huge strides. However, this is a Windows thread, I suggest we keep discussion centered around Windows.

 

[toast0]

For example downloading a .exe or .dmg will always work, where as Linux doesn't have something that is universal for each disro except AppImage.

The best format for distribution on Linux is a self-contained Windows exe that you've tested in Wine. Not sure which windows version to target, but as long as it runs well in Wine, it will run everywhere. Much better than trying to play nice with anything else.

 

[ManofGod]

I have gotten to the point, after being into computers for 34 years and presently an IT pro and have been so for 25 years, that I just do not care anymore. Just so long as what I use works, at home, which is Windows 11, I just do not get the same passion that I did even 4 years ago.