With the release of Windows 10, I have lost all faith in Microsoft. In my eyes they have turned pure evil. The amount of privacy concerns and malicious practices in Windows 10 makes feel like they are now employed by the NSA.
Each release of Windows continues in that direction. A good example is using tools that reduce the amount of privacy leakage in Windows 10 get reset every time you do an automated Windows Update. Turn off Cortana? No worries, Microsoft is sure you want it on and will immediately turn it back on. Minimize data sharing, you probably did that by mistake, let's turn that back on for you.
Ever since the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has pushed their online account option for signing into your PC. A practice that absolutely disgusts me, I have zero interest in an online user for my local PC. There has always been away around this, until now.
In a recent update, users are reporting there is no way to create a local account and the only option available is to use an online account. Some have reported successfully avoiding it by disconnecting their Internet during the install, but then later reported they are forced to convert to an online account later on.
The amount of pressure and underhanded practices they are going through to force you to use an online account is scary. I remember when Windows 10 was offered as a free update and Windows 7 would continually nag you to install it. You were presented with two options, install now or install later. No option to not update unless you hit the X in the top right corner. This worked for a while until Microsoft decided to make the X in the top right corner an Install Now option. This sort of behavior is only found in malware and shoddy software. This has become the norm for Microsoft.
Just recently Microsoft announced all Java Minecraft users will need to move their accounts to a Microsoft ID. If you don't make the move within the first few months you lose access to your Minecraft license. I own three copies myself and will have no choice but to move them but I am not happy about it.
This wouldn't be a big deal if there were better options, but there are not. Linux isn't quite ready for desktop use, I mean it has gotten way better but it still lacks a lot of the software available on Windows. Gaming is also a work in progress and you are limited on what you can play, although it has been getting a lot better but you got to deal with hacks and tweaking to get most games to work, and forget about buying games when they come out.
MacOS is the closest viable option, a lot of the software I use has a version of the same product on MacOS these days. There are very few things I really need I can't find on MacOS. I don't want equivalent or open source versions of the software, I want the real thing. MacOS can do this, but gaming is even worse than Linux.
I have run MacOS on a hackintosh, and it works as good or better than a real Mac Pro, but the future of this being possible is not looking good as Apple is moving to ARM chipsets. x86 support is likely going to end in 5-10 years. No way I'm buying a real Mac, they are over priced and use less than ideal hardware.
For years I've been wishing for a better option, being a gamer has been the biggest hurdle as I will not use dual boot systems. I don't want to keep rebooting to swap around.
Why you should vote me as witness
Another crafty trick I noticed last week was to change the browser default and associations back to Edge after an upgrade due to 'security concerns'. As for Mac OS, I think it's awful but I used a 2008 MacBook Pro as my main Windows laptop for years. It was solid as a rock.
The answer?
Yeah, i noticed that as well. They are evil! Its funny really how bad they are. Its like its all for your own "safety" They need to be taken down for antitrust
Don't trust them, switch off updates and take control wherever possible they are super sneaky!
Except for some games (which I don't play terribly often these days), I've found I can use Linux for everything quite easily and it's a thousand times better in a variety of other ways. No forced updates. No forced reboots when you update. Much faster installs and updates than Windows. Doesn't thrash your hard drive for days at a time for no discernible reason. None of the privacy concerns. Far more customizeable. Works on a wider variety of hardware with rarely any trouble. Etc.
Linux is actually easier and faster to install and use than Windows 10. By far.
OSX is quite nice but being limited to Apple hardware makes it a non-starter for me for the reasons you mention. And even OSX has gone more or less slowly but steadily downhill since Snow Leopard or so. At least it has become far more bloated with questionable gains in usability. And honestly, I don't know that support for Intel Macs will continue (at least by Apple ) even 5 years. PowerPC support didn't last that long. The first Intel Mac was released ~August 2006. Snow Leaopard, released in 2009 was Intel only and Rosetta was dropped with Mountain Lion in 2010.
I guess if you really want to use software that is only available on Windows than you are stuck. In my case, I'm generally fine with the open source alternatives.
I find most of the open source solutions look like they were designed in 1970 and have the feature set to match. There are some exceptions, but I still feel Linux isn't quite there yet. That being said, I really want a Linux core OS, so I can use sh and terminal. It's a million times better than Windows and I love Linux as a server.
I got pissed at MS several years ago and cleansed my computers in the switch to Linux.
Both my desktop and laptop that I have today have never had Windows installed on them. That's how much I distrust the Bellvue Bandits.
I get it that Linux won't work for what you want to do. All I can say to that is "Thanks for sharing."
It's a trade I've gotten used to in the last 6 years. I'll not go back. BTW, I often use DuckDuckGo for search functions :)
The more these centralized OS lockdowns continue, the more incentive we have to create some kind of crypto Linux that blows them out of the water. I honestly can't believe we haven't monetized Linux development yet. Seems like a no-brainer. I suppose the organization of such a thing is no trivial task.
Check out Qubes.
https://www.qubes-os.org/intro/
I use it only on one machine just for file copying like between two external drives - because I have problems in linux with that - across distros,not sure why - in windows 10 I run this script in powershell - pasted below - by a youtube tech guy called Chris titus Tech - I've been using windows since buttons for windows - each new version, I hated it more and more - windows 10, is living inside spyware - even when you use the powershell script, next version and update - Cotana and One Drive is back - every new install, they want something more - now i see, as I installed it the other day again - they want your phone number or two emails - you need a backup email - they just want finger printing data so they can track you across the net - and xbox also tracks all conversations and sells of the data - I said in a private party once, how I might start drinking coffee again - I said I wanted to buy coffee, next day - google had adds for me out of nowhere for coffee - the email address, phone numbers, and not connected on each account - but they got everyone in the schools, that is where they farmed their user base - its like operating system crack. Sorry for the rant - but I have grown to hate windows 10 - I got a version of Enterprise as well, the lite version - not that its much better. Thanks for the post! Link to script: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/win10script and https://christitus.com/debloat-windows-10-2020/ its updated each month - however, windows keepts patching things to stop you being able to get rid of Cortana, which is of course related to the tracking features
I like Chris Titus, I watch his videos regularly about Linux.
If your a gamer, get a console. The PS5 is out next month. I can't be arsed with all the multiple configs associated with PC's anymore.
I have a console, but I wouldn't use it for most games. Just games I have no other option like exclusives and things I prefer to play on the couch.
No way I'd give up PC gaming for consoles, I like to play better than 30 fps and I don't like gfx settings turn all the way down.
It's been so long since I played a PC game I wouldn't notice it. The claims for the PS5 is 60fps at 4k. It still won't match a top-end PC but then again, I'm not into FPS and racing games that demand this kind of thing.
They claimed the PS4 did 30 fps, but it rarely was able to sustain that, even the PS4 Pro struggled. I wouldn't play FPS games on a controller either.
Thank me for sharing. Never updated to window 10, still using 7! It’s an old laptop. LoL
me too! lol :D Still using the same Windows 7 OS.
I wonder when the "normies" realize that the big corporations aren't actually working FOR them, but rather FROM them.
Of course, some people just don't care, which they have the right to, but there are those that simply just know. These are the people that are being taken advantage of and that, in my opinion, is the most disgusting thing about these evil corporations.
Most people. Most people don't and won't care.
Good to know. It seems like this sort of thing is more and more becoming the norm. I can't open a web page nowadays without consenting to their cookie policy. Between phones, computers, smart tvs and watches, it seems that every single movement, view and thought within our daily lives is being tracked, analyzed and stored. I don't even like to think about it
This is why I didn't even upgrade my OS to Windows 10 and I am still using Windows 7. If I ever get a new laptop then I guess I won't have a choice anymore.
The only option I can think of is a dual boot machine with Linux for daily use and modified Windows 10 for gaming. There is a video by Linus Tech Tips on youtube that shows an option to modify your legal copy of Windows 10 into a completely private system.
Maybe not a good solution but it seems to be the best of both worlds. I will try it myself soon.
I have dual boot. When gaming I frequently look over to my other monitors to keep an eye on things. I used to dual boot ages ago but found it too inconvenient as I frequently has to bounce back and forth.
I have always wanted to be a linux user. It is just not plug and play enough for an average user yet.
Hopefully one day we will be able to completely ditch the Microsoft universe for freer pastures.
When will the software companies make all major programs Linux friendly!??
I just use Windows 7 to run "Pro Tools" because like you mentioned there is no alternative (except Apple)...
Yo Mark, why is your Poshbot down to 0 rep.?
It was nuked by someone, but it has recovered but currently rep is disabled on many nodes so it is showing stale rep.
Do you know who "nuked" it?
Yes. Bernie.
I thought so. He's still around?
Yes
I did not know you made Poshbot. I don't use Twatter, but am mirin' poshbot. Well done.
I have been considering and researching moving to W10, but am increasingly convinced it will not work for me. The amount of knowledge and subtle - as well as brutal - hacking and tweaking that would be necessary is more daunting with every forum I visit and blog I read. Dedoimedo, Nsane forums, and My Digital Life reveal tens of thousands of man years have been dedicated to making W10 usable by security conscious folks, and I am sure you are familiar with all three, making your assessment grim reading for me.
Mac, for the same reasons you detail, isn't going to be a long term solution for me, and I don't want to spend the necessary time and effort on a temporary fix. That leaves loonix, which has the various drawbacks you point out.
Too bad Terry Davis wasn't quintuplets!
Thanks!
Shutup 10 by O&O does a good job disabling a lot of the garbage Microsoft turns on, and easily turning them back off when there is a patch.
Take a look at Qubes if you are really concerned about security, otherwise the three choices are:
Or of course Qubes.
Reading up on Qubes now. Thanks for the forthright information.
You can not use a bipod as a stool. You need a tripod for stability. FOSS and services need open source hardware to enable a full ecosystem to be stable.
This is coming. Open source ecology was a move that greatly excited me, but it seems that 2020 and the lockdowns have disrupted it's collaborative development model. 3D printers and conductive inks promise user printed devices, and I for one cannot wait for this to mature.
I would be happy to print my own chips, even if they were the size of furniture, because my security is worth it.