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Windows needs to stop showing tabloid news

(www.tomshardware.com)
1725 points taubek | 10 comments | 27 Mar 23 05:20 UTC | HN request time: 0.418s | source | bottom
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oliwarner ◴[27 Mar 23 07:25 UTC] No.35323842[source]▶
I left Windows in a hail of Vista bugs, over a decade ago. I've seen it get worse and worse in that time, both in UX rot and anti-consumer "features".

I'm almost impressed with what people willingly put up with.

Not here to eulogize over what I moved to, but I think it's important people consider why they're still using Windows. It's not your friend.

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nunodonato ◴[27 Mar 23 07:40 UTC] No.35323955[source]▶
That's precisely the question I keep asking: how much more anti-consumer features people need, in order to switch? At this point it's hard to understand why there is so much resistance in leaving windows, I can't imagine having to deal with this kind of things on a daily-basis while trying to actually get stuff done.
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1. jsmith99 ◴[27 Mar 23 07:42 UTC] No.35323963[source]▶
What kind of thing? That it comes with a News app that has a pre installed widget that can be removed with a single right click?
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2. c0l0 ◴[27 Mar 23 07:50 UTC] No.35324012[source]▶
Yes, for instance. Because defaults actually matter.
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3. herbst ◴[27 Mar 23 07:53 UTC] No.35324029[source]▶
Common anti virus, weird update windows, weird scary Dialogs you learn to blindly confirm to install things. Blinking and animations in the taskbar, ... Not even a common design pattern for the annoyances.

As someone who hasn't used Windows in more than 10 years the whole desktop is full of distractions popping up unasked. IMO it's horrible for a productive environment because it doesn't allow to focus properly

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4. quickthrower2 ◴[27 Mar 23 07:55 UTC] No.35324045[source]▶
Worst thing is how it slows things down compared to a clean linux install. Sticking with Windows though because it is a family shared PC, for now.
5. yourusername ◴[27 Mar 23 08:27 UTC] No.35324256[source]▶
Don't you think it is a strange default that users (even people that pay for the enterprise version) are bombarded with the worst of the worst clickbait that takes up 1/3 of your screen if you mousover a certain part of the screen?
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6. jsmith99 ◴[27 Mar 23 08:31 UTC] No.35324274[source]▶
Absolutely, I think it's bizarre. But I find that many users actually seem to like it. The apple news app seems pretty tabloidy too (although not as bad) so I'm cautious about projecting my taste onto others.
7. squarefoot ◴[27 Mar 23 10:18 UTC] No.35324867[source]▶
At this point, I wouldn't be that surprised if people working at Microsoft competitors would receive more distracting junk.
8. gcr ◴[27 Mar 23 13:19 UTC] No.35326342[source]▶
Every week or so, my Windows 10 desktop pops up a dialog telling me to upgrade to Windows 11. I spend about a minute looking for the one tiny link to dismiss the dialog without upgrading. I swear it changes locations each time...

Lately I've also had it sprout similar dialogs about converting my local account to a Microsoft account. Those are even harder to thwart, requiring multiple clicks through "Are you sure?" dialogs and dark patterns.

It's easier to bear this little weekly hide-and-seek ritual when you think about it like a small child making bids for attention. "Mommy, Mommy, I hid your glasses! Play with me before you start your workday!" Kind of endearing in its own way.

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9. jdsully ◴[27 Mar 23 23:03 UTC] No.35334044{3}[source]▶
Usually in your BIOS you can disable your TPM chip. That will make it stop asking as you'll fail the min requirements check.
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10. IIsi50MHz ◴[28 Mar 23 03:16 UTC] No.35335454{4}[source]▶
Although it did seem to randomly announce to me just a few times that mine is not compatible with Win11. Which isn't even true, since the TPM chip thing is a completely arbitrary requirement.