Former Microsoft engineer explains why Windows 'sucks' now - Respecting users choices and offering a hardcore mode among key suggestions.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/does_windows_really_suck_that/
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/does_windows_really_suck_that/
53 Comments
Postimo@lemmy.zip · 138 pts · 273d
The engineer assumes far too much good faith by Microsoft. He focuses on the idea that Windows was built for casual users and the online vocal power users that want to stretch the normal use of the system don't like how their strange choices are handled and yell online setting the narrative. His advice boils down to, 'give a power user mode that lets you control the telemetry, turns off ads and searches in your start menu, lets you boot without an online account, bundle all OEM installed apps in one bundle, respecting changing defaults like web browser." Like, sweetheart, I'm gonna hold your hand when I say this, Microsoft didn't stumble backwards into including ads and locking out offline accounts, they are incentivized to be shit like this.
He suggests in addition to buying windows it having a monthly fee for this pro mode to allow for such freedoms, "because they can't just give windows away forever hoping to make it up on OneDrive fees." Cool, I'd rather stick to linux, thanks.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 38 pts · 273d
Now thid is clearly bullshit. What makes Windows sales again, barely 1/5 of the company's cloud business?
Postimo@lemmy.zip · 19 pts · 273d
Well Windows sales might, but that's why you gotta pay for pro mode that removes all the ad shit. Otherwise they would lose out on the additional 2/5 or whatever that comes from their ad-ware
pycorax@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 272d
The ads are for their own services though, doubt they're earning any direct profit from advertising their own services.
BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 272d
It's not beyond the realms of belief that they do, such are the ways of corpo accounting. OS dept could be billing OneDrive dept for the ads to subsidise the OS dev.
JoMiran@lemmy.ml · 72 pts · 273d
Screen_Shatter@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 273d
"Hardcore mode". Its really not as hard as it seems to people.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 273d
Would the person employing this mode called a superuser?
Screen_Shatter@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 272d
Sudo ultimatepower
edgemaster72@lemmy.world · 47 pts · 273d
Is hardcore mode where if the computer crashes it automatically deletes any files you had and resets the OS to a clean slate?
AceBonobo@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 273d
Installing your OS and data on a RAM disk
nymnympseudonym@piefed.social · 3 pts · 272d
maybe in a handy USB package with built in encryption
https://tails.net/
Hadriscus@jlai.lu · 2 pts · 272d
essentially a live image
Baggie@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 272d
Prefer my roguelite os, I can only install updates every time I nuke my system.
AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 272d
suicidelinux?
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network · 41 pts · 273d
There was an article on a tech news site recently about how to unshittify windows. Just like 4 pages of stuff to turn off and uninstall.
People in the comments unsurprisingly were like "Linux is free and getting better all the time". People were mad. So mad.
cassandrafatigue@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 26 pts · 273d
Yeah.
Like, im sorry your old fav turned to shit and is shit now, but it is shit now. Let's look for options that aren't shit and aren't turning to shit.windows users:
nymnympseudonym@piefed.social · 3 pts · 272d
In the beginning was the command line - Neal Stephenson
ieatpwns@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 273d
Last night I had to go into powershell to delete an mp3 because for some reason I couldn’t just right click and delete because I needed admin permission. I built you I’m not an admin I’m god
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 273d
Linux has you sudo all the time so that's not weird.
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network · 29 pts · 273d
If you are using sudo all the time something has gone wrong
DickFiasco@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 273d
I just set my computer to auto-login as root when it boots up. I never have to use sudo!
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 273d
If you aren't trying new packages and distros are you even Linuxing?
valter@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 273d
As a Silverblue-based distro user, I don't need root to do any of that.
Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 15 pts · 273d
It might be roundabout weird because using Windows you expect any request performed by the user (except perhaps modifying system32) to be accepted without questioning.
Linux (with a few exceptions) gives the user the expectation that the reason they need sudo is that it is the safety glass confirmation around the potential self-destruct button (even if sometimes needed for mundane things)
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 273d
Yeah not sure that one holds up. I'm happily on Linux now, but permissions are something that often creep up and I need to sudo often.
BCsven@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 273d
Was it copied from an old hard drive?
ieatpwns@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 273d
It was an old download but it’s weird because everything else in the folder deleted except that single file.
BCsven@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 273d
I have had issues when it was copied from an old hard drive where the files were downloaded by another account name. Windows knows the account IDs don't match so your permissions are limited. If you don't like command line you can often go into properties , security, advanced, then use take ownership option, or select user name and check the full control option
ink@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 273d
i had that, but with a font file. so dumb.
kbal@fedia.io · 33 pts · 273d
That video came up in my youtube recommendations last night, and I watched it. Pretty good, although if you've used Windows in the past ten years there aren't going to be any real surprises in there. It sucks for all the reasons people usually complain about, and it's all getting worse lately.
Postimo@lemmy.zip · 16 pts · 273d
I am less sympathetic about it. He says it's a love letter wrapped in a complaint, essentially saying 'Windows is shitty because of all the enshitification they've done', yeah bud, we know.
30p87@feddit.org · 9 pts · 273d
Though, the central reason for everything should be the most important part: capitalism.
Jackinopolis@sh.itjust.works · 20 pts · 273d
This is the YouTube video.
https://youtu.be/oTpA5jt1g60
pennomi@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 273d
foobaz@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 272d
Of course it's fucking Dave, piece of shit https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/attorney-general-s-office-sues-settles-washington-based-softwareonlinecom
lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com · 6 pts · 273d
Windows sucks now? Like there was a time it didn't?
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 272d
I liked Win3.11!
dubyakay@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 272d
Windows 2000 was pretty solid.
original_reader@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 272d
So was 7.
massacre@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 272d
Win XP has entered the chat
dan1101@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 272d
XP UI was great, security not great.
original_reader@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 271d
Nah, UI was good... ish.
But that's where the downwards spiral began. Remember the online activation?
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 273d
When did it not suck exactly?
Maybe win 2000?
XP was the start of the enshitification, I knew I couldn't stay on windows with that release.
Although after Bill (how can this sell more windows) left and they were very open about being a DATA collection company first, a computer service company second, I thought they might simply offer windows for free.
With all this shit in it of course because that is how you satisfy data collection.
But I guess they figured why kill the revenue stream of windows itself.
festus@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 273d
Windows 7 was legitimately decent. I think it was also the automated upgrade to Windows 8 that was my red line and got me to successfully switch to Linux.
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 5 pts · 272d
So if my PC crashes, I have to get a whole new one and start at the beginning?
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 271d
Of course not! You just need to be willing to allow Microsoft to record you while doing some full penetration.
the_q@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 273d
kandoh@reddthat.com · 3 pts · 272d
I've decided I'll juat use a Mac for work and play PC games on a docked SteamDeck. No more need for windows.
bizarroland@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 273d
Microsoft needs to get on this. I would pay money out of my own pocket to be able to upgrade my Windows 11 to hardcore mode at work just so I didn't have to deal with all of their AI and tracking bullshit.
And actually I know the company I work for would pay to upgrade all of their employees to the same level. Like they're sitting on millions of dollars of profit to just be able to turn off the bullshit they're forcing on us.
gnuplusmatt@reddthat.com · 4 pts · 272d
create problem, offer to fix problem if you pay... seems kind of like extortion, or in the very least abuse of monopoly powers
bizarroland@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 272d
I'm willing to look the other way on this one.
Every time I image a PC, I have to run so many Windows 11 Debloat scripts and fixes to get rid of useless AI shit and then it just comes right back and it's such a pain. It's such a pain. I would gladly pay an annual amount of money to not have to deal with that pain.
Lfrith@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 272d
yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 270d
Gotta love how they have more than 70% of the market, yet they still need to see line go up, because otherwise they might actually have to improve the product 🫨
Fizz@lemmy.nz · 2 pts · 270d
Its funny that windows users are asking for the most basic shit like searching their own computer and Microsoft is like nah im going to give you bing and ads
ZeroHora@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 273d
Shit headline. The correct one is "Former Microsoft engineer explains why Windows sucks 'now'."