Mike StoneHow is it the OS that currently lists for $139 on the Microsoft site is the one forcing advertising integrated into the operating system, yet one you can download for free has nothing of the kind? Why is it people just keep using it? When will it be enough to make the majority of people seek alternatives?
Paolo Amoroso@mike When if comes to ads it's often said that if you aren't paying for it, you're the product. But sometimes you're still the product even if you do pay for it.
卄卂ㄚㄒ卄乇爪@mike for work also for games
Matt@mike Microsoft seems to have an unlimited supply of credibility. In the near term, nothing short of discontinuing Windows themselves will drive people away.
Ric@mike I've been using Linux as my primary o/s for a good 20 years now. Always baffled me why some people think it isn't "desktop ready" yet 🤷♂️
Zygmunt Krynicki@mike people honestly could not care less. Ads are so prevalent in our lives, and people pick their battles. My personal impression of operating systems is that people from the next generation just don't care about them anymore. The operating system is a utility like water and electricity. We are surrounded by free ad-based services. In that landscape, there are almost no ads there.
Andres MorenoExcel--lots of things in the business world depend on Excel.
Games: though Linux is getting better, there is no comparison.
Support: corporate computing support edifice built around Redmond. Now you want all those folks to learn how to configure Linux computers?
I have been using Linux since the late 1990s for EVERYTHING so I know what I would do if given the power!
Shreyash 
@mike
Microsoft windows is like default os in every computer and people just don't want to go through the trouble of installing a new OS which may not be completely compatible with their device.
Microsoft windows is like default os in every computer and people just don't want to go through the trouble of installing a new OS which may not be completely compatible with their device.
Tical91@mike Everytime this question comes up I say the same things:
Its burned into us at a young age. Im in my 30's now and my first experiences with a computer were Win95 installing and playing Doom and a bunch of Doom clones.
DOS wasnt second nature or anything but I knew that and MS Word Excel and the things were taught in my computer class when I was in grade school.
I didnt even know what Linux was until I was in HS in 07 messing around on a computer that had gotten a virus.
railmeat@mike
There are good reasons to useMS Windows. The choice of applications is much better than on Linux and the Windows applications are usually better quality.
Since it is so ubiquitous it is easier to get support. You can get it installed, which is important to some people.
DigitalStefan@mike Past the initial dance during first install, Windows 11 is "quiet". The one distracting thing I keep meaning to deal with is the very occasional "look at your memories!" popup from OneDrive. I think I see that once per month, maybe.
When alt OS' become as frictionless to use (on a daily basis), they will stand a chance.
For me, as soon as Linux hits a display requiring of some scaling to make readable, things quickly go south.
smolwaffle@DigitalStefan
It's astonishing to me that high DPI screens are still unsolved in Linux. Isn't this what Wayland was supposed to fix?
This is a problem I've struggled with since 2002, when I bought a Fujitsu Lifebook P2040.
@mike
@smolwaffle @mike there are still some Windows apps that don’t automatically get on well in a scaled environment, but they are few, old and generally all modern software is absolutely fine with it.
Linux bro’s love to tell me “oh you *just* have to do X to get it to work”. Nobody has succinctly explained why the scaling factor is also supposed to be 0.5 in Linux to make things scale up by 2X. That’s about as obtuse as anyone could make it!
Tim Makarios@mike
Does anyone actually pay separately for Windows, or is it just a hypothetical price?
Does anyone actually pay separately for Windows, or is it just a hypothetical price?
Stefan Koopmanschap
Gert, ZL2AW 🇳🇿@mike Great one !!
No idea why people buy that stuff....
No idea why people buy that stuff....
John Kennedy@mike You probably know the answer to all these questions.
lupus_blackfurBecause they can.
Just another company gouging us for all they can get...
Bet they're selling our data, too.
M$ has jumped the shark but refuses to die so they're grabbing/grifting all they can get.
Yay Unrestricted Capitalism!!
My Actual Brain@mike I guess it’s a combination of greed, monopoly power, and unlimited growth.
baliceauxPelican@mike [ said in Yoda voice ] brainless sheep they are. freedom they do not value.
@mike because using it is just so difficult? Getting started (install os and apps) tends to be easy. But then there are updates that break each other. Weird choices (why are touch pad buttons 'smaller': why can't I turn off middle click? Why do brightness controls turn the backlight off? Why must I reboot to detect a second screen?). It's all fixable....but from the command shell, which is an instant failure for most users. It's frustratingly close to being good enough, but so far away.