Gareth HalfacreeNov 24, 2023

Dear Microsoft. Here is a list of things I want the Start Menu to do:

* Show my installed programs
* Search my local files
* Provide access to system settings

Here is a list of things I do *not* want the Start Menu to do:

* Show the weather for a randomly-selected town near my network's public IP infrastructure
* Show tabloid headlines
* Show programs I *don't* have installed
* Search the web via Bing
* Show adverts(!)
* Attempt to engage me in conversation with a hallucinating LLM

Thanks.

Show threadGareth HalfacreeNov 24, 2023
Why yes, I have been having to handle a Windows 10/11 system today, why do you ask?
Show thread@ NovaNaturalist HAS ALSO MOVEDNov 24, 2023

@ghalfacree

I moved to Ubuntu the day Bill Gates decided my version of Windows needed to be upgraded. He chose to upgrade the very moment the webinar I was leading started, leading 30+ participants hanging there, wondering what was happening.

I have never regretted deciding that my laptop belongs to me and not to that multi-billionaire.

Show threaddeutrinoNov 24, 2023

@NovaNaturalist the "I do what I want when I want to" aspect of the Windows Update mechanism is by far the leading negative selling point for me when it comes to that godforsaken OS. absolutely unconscionable. totally unacceptable. never again.

I am so fucking glad I haven't used Windows for more than about 30 minutes a handful of times since 2008. @ghalfacree

Show threadPierre 'Fox' AvitalNov 25, 2023

@deutrino @NovaNaturalist @ghalfacree Funny enough, forced update (not upgrade) is actually one of the few "recent" decisions in Windows I agree with: a lot of users never reboot nor update, and with Windows' track record on security, this puts them and surroundings at risk.

I don't agree with the oft decried "shutdown randomly" method, but provided the user has been warned repeatedly, and given the option to shutdown with or without update, it can be warranted given the consequences.
1/3

Show threadPierre 'Fox' AvitalNov 25, 2023
@deutrino @NovaNaturalist @ghalfacree Windows has never been my main platform, but I do use it daily (until gaming on Linux becomes yet a bit better), and have done so for the last 10 years: never was my computer turned off unexpectedly, and since I generally opt for "update and shutdown" when the option is available, I've always been able to take the no-update route when I needed to.
2/3
Show threadPierre 'Fox' Avital

@deutrino @NovaNaturalist @ghalfacree In the end, one could argue that with these mechanisms in place, the people who get struck by the hammer of forced shutdown (which I've yet to witness) are exactly the people who would stay vulnerable "forever" otherwise.

And while I agree it's your PC, that PC doesn't live in a vacuum.

Could the system be improved? Possibly.
Is it within the top worst things about windows?
"Not even close", I'd argue; despite how annoying it can be.
3/3

Nov 25, 2023 at 6:40amWeb