- cross-posted to:
- privacy@lemmy.ml
- sysadmin@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- privacy@lemmy.ml
- sysadmin@lemmy.world
You must log in or register to comment.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Windows isn’t ready for the desktop. Just use Linux.
I mean, Windows is just such a weird proprietary distro.
It doesn’t use the latest Linux kernel, or even a mainstream POSIX-compliant alternative like BSD. Instead, you have a strange CP/M-like monolithic kernel — I think they used to call it DOS — that’s been extended to behave more like VAX and MP/M.
It also doesn’t use either X11 or Wayland as a display manager. Instead, you have an incredibly unintuitive overblown WINE-like subsystem handling the display.
Because it doesn’t natively use Wayland or X11, you are limited in the desktop environments that you can use. There’s really limited support for KDE, despite the best efforts of volunteers.
Instead, there’s a buggy and error-prone proprietary window manager that ships with it by default. A bit like how Canonical tried to make Unity the default desktop for Ubuntu.
And confusingly, they’ve named that window manager Windows as well!
That window manager lacks many of the features an everyday Gnome or KDE user would expect out of the box.
It also doesn’t ship with a standard package manager, and most of the packages ship as x86 binaries, so installing software works differently to how an everyday Linux user would expect.
There’s also only one company maintaining all of these projects. It insists on closed source, and it has a long history of abandoning its projects.
And sure, if you’re a nerd who’s into alternative operating systems, toying with Windows can be fun.
But if your grandpa is used to Linux, frankly he’ll be utterly bamboozled by the Windows experience.
I’m sorry to be glib, because Windows does have some nice ideas.
But.
Windows on the desktop just isn’t ready for your average, everyday Linux user.
#Linux #Windows #PC #OpenSource #GNU #GNULinux #BSD #FreeBSD #Microsoft #KDE #Gnome #Ubuntu #GPL #LinusTrovalds #Linus #BillGates #OperatingSystem #DesktopLinux #POSIX #UNIX #Distro
I agree with every single bit of this but felt like I was being attacked the whole time I read it. Maybe it’s PTSD from asking questions in Linux forums as a kid and getting ripped into with long replies. Does anybody else feel that way?
@ajsadauskas @Naich @ardi60 And if you thought that was confusing, the same company also makes a “Windows Subsystem for Linux” but appears to have got the name backwards — it’s not FOR Linux, at all!
Luckily I’ve changed my default OS to Linux
Lol … you can bypass the Windows restriction by deleting the System32 folder
This is the way
Some people are saying this is good, but Microsoft recently changed my default search engine to bing “In case it was accidentally changed or changed by another program”. I have zero faith they won’t abuse this, they are becoming ever increasingly pushy about using edge and switching to bing.
It doesn’t seem like your computer, does it? It’s like you’re a user in their enterprise.
Haven’t they recently renamed “My Computer” to “This Computer” on the desktop?
“Our Computer”
Presumably one can still set default in settings. I’m not giving up Firefox yet.
Yes, the article clearly indicates MS stated purpose here was to ensure that an end user is presented with the default selection options and their choice is respected, regardless of administrator actions outside the user interacting with the settings panel. MS is not trying to force everyone to use Edge.
At least not in the EU, there Windows should even allow you to uninstall EDGE. MS in the EU is way different, less restrictive and more private than MS US.
Google gets to do this on Android. Apple gets to do this on iOS.
The unfortunate reality is that MS is catching up to the bad apples in bad behaviour.
I’m not sure that a protection against changing the default browser with third party programs (maybe without the user knowing) via the registry is the evil thing being depicted here.
The way I read this article is that this is a move for compliance with the new digital markets act and I’m not seeing the maliciousness.
Willing to be wrong, I haven’t used Windows regularly for like 20 years.
To anyone saying “just use GPOs”, here’s a quote from the SetUserFTA page:
Microsoft offers a solution with GPO, but it is Computer-based and not User-based – and rather complicated. this means, you can not associate your Users on the same Server/Client with different file types. for example:
you have a PDF viewer and a PDF editing software on your XenApp server. Now you want that a certain group opens their PDF’s in the editor and the others only in the viewer (for licensing reasons for example). this is NOT possible anymore and Microsoft states “it is by design” and “this is a security measure”.
Said solution:
- Set up a reference computer
- Install applications
- Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Default Programs and configure default apps associations.
- Export/import the custom default app association with dism.exe
[…]
As some recommended applications can manage more extensions with each new Windows 10 version available, it’s a good practice to refresh your XML. For example, in Windows 10 1703, Microsoft Edge registers the epub extension. If you’re using an XML file from Windows 10 1607, epub is missing. As a result, you will get an app reset notification for epub.
[…]
Configure a policy for your domain-joined computer: file association will be configured at each logon. User will be able to change file association, but at the next logon file association will be configured using XML file. This policy works only for domain-joined computer.
This is just about the most convoluted, annoying way they could come up with for doing this, doesn’t help people whose machines aren’t part of AD and isn’t scriptable. If they were mainly concerned about security they’d have an option for not allowing the user to change these preferences even temporarily on domain-joined machines.
Posts like these reveal how many reads the article.
This is a good thing done by Microsoft. They make sure that 3rd party software can’t change the default browser without the user knowing.
They will get prompted with the choice screen showing all installed browsers. And when they make their choice, even Edge wouldn’t be able to prey people into clicking a button that makes it the default instead.
In principal, the change is good for reasons you mentioned. However microsoft has :
- bypassed any default screens in the past, allowing edge to be set default without user input.
- has added very annoying screens when changing default applications asking the user multiple times if they are sure.
- has added special protocols for applications and set edge as default browser to bypass default application settings in all office applications ( outlook, teams, word, … ).
They just can not be trusted with this, they have proven this in the past…
No, they can’t be trusted. That’s why they are forced to do it by the EU to comply to the DMA.
This may only be released in the EU, also.
deleted by creator
If you read the article you’d see that per Microsoft this is due to them not wanting the liability of an administrator changing settings without the users knowledge, then the user either not receiving a prompt for a default browser or their selection being ignored, both of which would violate the DMA.
I’m not really sure how the DMA applies to corporate-owned machines, at what point is the administrator the user?
Now I guess you’ve got to determine whether or not you take MS at their word or not. The example of blocked software was a script that edited a reg entry, for administrators to use. How does something’s like the prompt built-in to a browser like FF or Chromium asking if you want to set it to be the default browser operate? If it’s through setting this registry key lolol well played MS. Is ignoring user input from an uncontrolled third-party application and requiring the change be made in the Windows settings themselves a dark pattern, or at that point is it just malicious compliance? Although for all I know that’s not how the in-application prompts update the OS default file handlers.
Nowhere does MS claim that.
“Kolbicz believes this change may be to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA)” (emphasis mine).
“BleepingComputer contacted Microsoft about the lockdown of these Registry keys in March, but they said they had nothing to share at this time.”
I understand that software directly and silently changing the default software can be a security issue. But it’s only because it happens silently. Does Windows allow for showing a system prompt that confirms the change to the user? If not, then that’s just plain ol’ anti-competitive. Especially with how pushy Edge and Bing can be.
I don’t think the goal is to lock you into their browser, since you still can change it through the GUI. It seems to be part of the recent push to block software which changes hidden settings. The end goal being to lock down the OS and prevent users from disabling features MS wants to push onto them.
