• @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      71 year ago

      I’m using StartAllBack (paid software), it replace the start menu with a Windows 7 like one, and brings back the pre Windows 11 taskbar, it has no ads and good customization. There’s also Open Shell that is free and Start11 that’s also paid.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        31 year ago

        I love openshell, so many options !

        Definitely switch search from tab to just the windows key however

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      111 year ago

      EU should force a choice for all new PC. What OS do you want to run? Windows, Linux or Android? Then you would be able to see real competition in the OS market.

      Maybe something like the raspberry pi OS chooser. In the best of worlds you have everything installed and just choose in the boot menu what to run.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        10
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Some manufacturers allow you to get a refund for pre installed windows if you feel like sitting on the phone for hours. Something about a lawsuit involving Microsoft and anticompetitive contracts with the manufacturer not allowing the distribution of other operating systems.

        I’ve seen a story about someone who got a refund for their dell laptop but it was slow, and the support staff was rude about it during the process. They stated things like the Microsoft software is free and why would you want to remove windows anyway, passing him from department to department. It’s often $60-$80 depending on the version of windows etc.

        Edit: I should clarify it might only be a US thing, I’ve heard people in France having some luck.

        • voxel
          link
          fedilink
          4
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          i mean you can just buy a Dell laptop with a copy of Ubuntu preloaded instead, they sell those as an option with most models

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            21 year ago

            It’s always better to go that route. I also understand having hardware requirements and not being able to find a version of those models with Linux installed.

            I like what system 76 is doing but I don’t think they really have competition in the US market right now. If you don’t mind a clevo and you live in the US I’d recommend them.

      • voxel
        link
        fedilink
        3
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        i mean it’s annoying but how is it disgusting?
        it just shows recently opened files/software mixed in with stuff you open frequently, it’s not an ad section or anything.
        but yeah i have disabled it on all my machines, because I’m not using it + disabling it adds two extra rows of pinned apps…

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      131 year ago

      Windows 10 LTSC FTW!!! I just installed it and wow is it snappier and devoid of nearly all of those annoyances. I have no idea if productivity apps are affected by its stripped down nature but for Steam gaming it’s perfect. I get less lag spikes on steamVR.

      I haven’t trusted Windows in years. This is just for gaming. I have a physically separate hot swappable Optane SSDs for Linux and Windows Gaming.

      For those who will winge at me for not just switching to Linux. During this process I gave a concerted effort to give Linux a go and chose Manjaro KDE to try for steamVR gaming. It sucked. Once I had worked out that it was a permissions issue (It’s always a fucking permissions issue under Linux) and just ran it under the root account, there was extremely high latency for the VR compositor to HMD display. Completely unusable as it made me sick and that’s usually very hard. I tried X11 and Wayland. Direct and Non Direct output modes. No success.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        51 year ago

        I was using Manjaro KDE and ended up switching to Pop OS because Manjaro would never work right with my GPU. Pop OS has worked very well out of the box though.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          31 year ago

          Odd. I retired from arch to Manjaro. I’m baffled at the depiction of it being difficult. It’s been a smooth 6 years so far…and yes, Nvidia.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          31 year ago

          I chose Manjaro KDE as one of the SteamVR requirements is KDE Plasma. It’s required because it has a DRM function to allow SteamVR to take ownership of the DisplayPort.

          A quick google search says that PopOS is Gnome based. But KDE can be installed over it? I might give it a go.

    • Twitches
      link
      fedilink
      51 year ago

      I think it’s a registry modification, but, I’ve seen windows start to ignore modifications to the registry so idk.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    321 year ago

    Buying windows is like self flagellation. You have to be a masochist to enjoy it,especially the apologetic users.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      191 year ago

      Unfortunately for many, even in this day and age, there is not much choice. I main linux but also keep Windows on my PC as there are still tines when something will only work in Windows. Usually work related or gaming (VR in particular for me) and in fairness its increasingly rare.

      Many other users aren’t motivated to change. For Microsoft, its a bit like boiling a frog - if you turn up the heat slowly the frog just puts up with it. That’s what Microsoft is doing to its customers - a slow constant enshittification, seeing what it can get away with. Try something and it causes outrage? Don’t worry, just undo it and just try again in a few years! Many are already used to no privacy and being sold as a commodity that they don’t even question it happening on their own personal computer.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        41 year ago

        You don’t need Windows for gaming.

        Sure, some games only work on Windows but some only work on Switch or PS5 and you can still play video games without playing those in particular.

    • Liam Proven
      link
      fedilink
      81 year ago

      @ChickenLadyLovesLife @dvdnet62 Not as such. I mean it is but its drivers are 25 years out of date now. YellowTab Zeta is out there too which was updated a bit but is still ancient.

      But there is Haiku. Bigger, slower, more complicated, but it does a lot more.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        71 year ago

        As I recall, Gasse was offered something like $440 million for BeOS by Apple and he turned them down. Not sure it would have made any difference in anything by this point, but at least Objective-C wouldn’t have been littered with classes with the “NS” prefix.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            21 year ago

            Yeah, BeOS was awesome. I remember a coworker showing it to me in 1996 - he also taught me how to wow the c-suite with giant printouts of insanely over-normalized databases, a parlor trick that has served me well over the years.

            • Liam Proven
              link
              fedilink
              21 year ago

              @ChickenLadyLovesLife

              I am sorry but I don’t junderstand any of this.

              > the c-suite

              (?)

              > with giant printouts of insanely over-normalized databases

              (?)

              > a parlor trick

              (?) How is a database a trick?

              What does this stuff mean?

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                English
                11 year ago

                c-suite

                CEO, CTO, CFO etc. In a '90s Internet startup like the company I worked for, the “C” really stood for “clueless”.

                giant printouts of insanely over-normalized databases

                Over-normalization is a database thing - a simple example of normalization would be a “People” table where instead of having the “Salutation” field just contain text like Mr, Mrs. etc., you have a separate “Salutations” table with all the possibilities listed and keyed with an ID (usually just a sequential number), and then the “People” table stores a Salutation ID for each entry instead of the actual text. It’s a valid and standard thing to do with database design, but it can be taken to extremes where absolutely every possible trivial thing that can be normalized is, producing an overcomplicated mess that is extremely difficult to work with programmatically.

                Printing out this over-normalized mess of a database on multiple sheets of paper which are then taped to the wall is utterly useless.

                How is a database a trick?

                The printout is the trick - it fools the bosses into thinking you’re doing something amazing and productive when you’re really just fucking around. It only works on the technically incompetent, of which there was no shortage in '90s Internet startups (or today).

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    31 year ago

    Indeed, Linux and FLOSS more broadly was never about technology itself, it’s about empowering. It “just” happens to be where software change could lead to a pragmatic difference for so many lives.

    Own your computer, own your devices, value your life and don’t interact with the numerical world through manipulative blinders.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    291 year ago

    There’s a reason I run Linux, and root my Android

    Because it actually feels like my device now

    (And fixing issues is significantly easier, if you know where to look)

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        11 year ago

        And yet, if you do that to your girlfriend, people have issues. Double standard here, people! Double standard!

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    451 year ago

    That’s a perfect way to put it. I remember starting college and being really excited about the cloud, having my stuff accessible anywhere, changes automatically saved, etc etc. but now I don’t want any of my shit anywhere near their servers, it’s mine and mine alone and I’ll manage it myself and buffer against losses the best I can. I’d rather have myself fuck up and break a hard drive rather than let microsoft or apple wipe my stuff over a bug or because I didn’t pay them enough. Horrible, misleading bullshit.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    351 year ago

    I helped my parents migrate to linux mint and they are very happy with the transition. No more ads, dumb bing search suggestions, or MS edge.

  • chi-chan~
    link
    fedilink
    191 year ago

    The thing that makes me laugh/cry/be happy I switched to Linux, is that it’s in that state, but it’s a paid product.

    If the license was free it was somewhat okay, but it’s not. People are still paying.

  • LiveLM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    141 year ago

    Only now?
    My Windows computer stopped felling mine when 10 came around