We have seen this game 100 times. Opt in for now and then turned on for everyone 6-12 months later. It's just a temporary move to handle the bad PR.
You forgot the best part
Silently turned on via "security" update
It's a security update because it adds new security vulnerabilities.
Same as it ever was
Or the other trick of constantly prompting "Turn on / Maybe Later" until people either accidentally accept or just give up to make nagging stop.
That guy at the club who won’t fuck off
registry switch that'll mysteriously reset itself. we've had this shit with countless windows configurations at work that our IT guy has to battle with on the regular.
I've had so many people jump down my throat for listing some of the many obviously fucked things Microsoft did on my PC just over the life of Windows 10. (And not that it should matter, but I even paid for Pro).
I turned all their various advertising and spying "features" off through legitimate settings, group policies, whatever, and the list of things that reverted themselves over time was insane.
User: Goes through 15 step process to turn off unwanted "feature".
Windows: I turned this on, in case it got turned off accidentally. I'll do this every reboot.
And not that it should matter, but I even paid for Pro
It should matter though. If MS wants to give away Windows for free, then users should expect compromised privacy. But it's not. They charge hundreds for it.
If Windows made a paid version that was private and secure, and that the user was in control of, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
If they were giving away Windows for free, their behavior would still be unforgivable.
There is no scenario where any operating system including spyware or ads can ever theoretically be acceptable behavior. Any person who contributes in any way to that happening belongs in a prison cell.
Well that's the only way a "free" product is sustainable.
Linux is free qnd plenty sustainable.
If you can't support providing something for free via a mechanism that isn't pure and unadulterated evil, then don't do it for free. "We have to be monsters to make money" is not a valid position.
Linux is free qnd plenty sustainable.
It also has a vast array of enormous compromises, which is why no one uses it.
I understand you have qualms with Linux, and that's plenty fine, but when the large majority of servers and smartphones around the world run it, you can't say that no one uses it.
That's not true at all. It has a huge market share, just not in desktops.
But again, that's completely and utterly irrelevant. If being evil is the only way for your business/product to exist, it does not deserve to exist.
Yeah dude, there's nothing they can do to fix this. They have eroded the trust of their users for decades. It will take them decades to get it back, if they actually tried.
Also it took hackers days to find vulnerabilities. Which is a massive security concern.
Can anyone give me examples of times Windows has done this in the past? I mean, I feel like this is true, but I legit can't think of anything that matches this.
In the last 6 months:
One Drive reinstalled and turned back on on my personal & work computer multiple times.
AI Co-pilot added to my machine and enabled "so you can start using it now!" with an obtrusive pinned shortcut on my start bar, to both of the same machines but at different time intervals. Uninstalling is virtually impossible and requires registry mods to 'remove" it. Not even a powers he'll command can remove it.
We have seen this game 100 times. Opt in for now and then turned on for everyone 6-12 months later. It's just a temporary move to handle the bad PR.
You forgot the best part
Silently turned on via "security" update
It's a security update because it adds new security vulnerabilities.
Same as it ever was
Or the other trick of constantly prompting "Turn on / Maybe Later" until people either accidentally accept or just give up to make nagging stop.
That guy at the club who won’t fuck off
registry switch that'll mysteriously reset itself. we've had this shit with countless windows configurations at work that our IT guy has to battle with on the regular.
I've had so many people jump down my throat for listing some of the many obviously fucked things Microsoft did on my PC just over the life of Windows 10. (And not that it should matter, but I even paid for Pro).
I turned all their various advertising and spying "features" off through legitimate settings, group policies, whatever, and the list of things that reverted themselves over time was insane.
User: Goes through 15 step process to turn off unwanted "feature".
Windows: I turned this on, in case it got turned off accidentally. I'll do this every reboot.
It should matter though. If MS wants to give away Windows for free, then users should expect compromised privacy. But it's not. They charge hundreds for it.
If Windows made a paid version that was private and secure, and that the user was in control of, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
If they were giving away Windows for free, their behavior would still be unforgivable.
There is no scenario where any operating system including spyware or ads can ever theoretically be acceptable behavior. Any person who contributes in any way to that happening belongs in a prison cell.
Well that's the only way a "free" product is sustainable.
Linux is free qnd plenty sustainable.
If you can't support providing something for free via a mechanism that isn't pure and unadulterated evil, then don't do it for free. "We have to be monsters to make money" is not a valid position.
It also has a vast array of enormous compromises, which is why no one uses it.
I understand you have qualms with Linux, and that's plenty fine, but when the large majority of servers and smartphones around the world run it, you can't say that no one uses it.
That's not true at all. It has a huge market share, just not in desktops.
But again, that's completely and utterly irrelevant. If being evil is the only way for your business/product to exist, it does not deserve to exist.
Yeah dude, there's nothing they can do to fix this. They have eroded the trust of their users for decades. It will take them decades to get it back, if they actually tried.
Also it took hackers days to find vulnerabilities. Which is a massive security concern.
Can anyone give me examples of times Windows has done this in the past? I mean, I feel like this is true, but I legit can't think of anything that matches this.
In the last 6 months:
I don't want, or need, this add-on garbage.
Perfect examples, thank you 👌