- cross-posted to:
- pcgaming@lemmy.ca
- cross-posted to:
- pcgaming@lemmy.ca
Let’s put it this way; when Microsoft announced its plans to start adding features to Windows 10 once again, despite the operating system’s inevitable demise in October 2025, everyone expected slightly different things to see ported over from Windows 11. Sadly, the latest addition to Windows 10 is one of the most annoying changes coming from Windows 11’s Start menu.
Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced a so-called “Account Manager” for Windows 11 that appears on the screen when you click your profile picture on the Start menu. Instead of just showing you buttons for logging out, locking your device or switching profiles, it displays Microsoft 365 ads. All the actually useful buttons are now hidden behind a three-dot submenu (apparently, my 43-inch display does not have enough space to accommodate them). Now, the “Account Manager” is coming to Windows 10 users.
The change was spotted in the latest Windows 10 preview builds from the Beta and Release Preview Channels. It works in the same way as Windows 11, and it is disabled by default for now because the submenu with sign-out and lock buttons does not work.
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Is there a way to pre-emptively block this? Something in hosts.txt? Registry?
The very first day I see those ads in my Win10 will be the day I uninstall Win and go Linux.
Why wait?
If you’re a person who prefers to type commands than click through menus then you should try the “run” program in the “powertoys” suite from Microsoft.
It a launcher program that’s superior to Start in every way. You can type in plain English system commands like “shutdown”; a search that actually works; you can pass queries into your browser’s search engine; and of course launch programs by typing in their names. You can even enter entire registry addresses to open regedit at the desired location.
This is a complete replacement for the Start Menu.
This is what I came here to suggest. Everybody should be using power toys and keyboard entry as much as possible on windows.
I just made a similar comment above but you’re in an abusive relationship. MS isn’t going to come to their senses and change paths. You can delay things by using powertoys, but they’ll be back to abuse you again. Use this time to plan an exit strategy and leave.
It’s pretty insulting to anyone who’s ACTUALLY been in an abusive relationship to claim that looking at an ad is the same thing as being beaten at night.
I’m sorry for your situation. That sucks, and I empathize. I hope you have found physical and mental healing.
That being said, there are different levels of abusive relationships. I can see where that poster could compare Microsoft to a gaslighting relationship where a partner says they are doing something for you, but it’s always about themselves.
Classic Start says nah.
Classic Shell is awful as it can be.
I have to use a windows 11 machine for work, and it genuinely surprises me how terrible it is. I don’t understand the opposition to local accounts - if I’m working somewhere with public WiFi/capture portal, I have to use my phone as a hotspot first.
The PIN log in seems to roll a random number and decide each morning whether it is going to work or not.
I also got a laptop with 11 on it for gaming. So much spyware I’ve had to uninstall, configuring anything is a nightmare. I was trying to adjust my mouse sensitivity/figure out why the scroll wheel is either 0 or to the moon, but even when you dig into the control panel, half the settings are missing.
I also had to turn off my WiFi and google commands to make a local account, because otherwise Microsoft accounts are mandatory.
Every change seems to make the experience actively worse for the user.
Can’t stand them forcing onedrive on users as well as pushing online versions of the applications that are inferior in every way.
Heh
Well… it’s time to HOST style AdBlock to shine baby…
If you use HAGEZI Ultimate Aggressive, 1Host Pro, StevenBlack, & Hblock filters in your machine, you practically immune to Microsoft adsPaying for an OS that phones home with incredible amounts of telemetry where you have to run adblock to get rid of the built in ads is just silly.
or just swich away and let them have their little sandbox to themselves
These ads are what finally got me to pull the trigger and move to Linux. Arch is great, zero issues to report.
Definitely wouldn’t recommend jumping straight to Arch as a first distro unless you want a steep learning curve and have the time to learn.
Buy an expensive license
Install the software on hardware you own
Company puts ads on it that weren’t there when you bought the license
2024 is wild. Run Linux.
I jumped ship to PopOS a few months back.
There are some issues, like Bluetooth not starting without some terminal commands, I think I have to wipe or otherwise mess around with my 1TB NTFS storage drive to mount it and stuff like that.
But all the games I’ve tried to play work fine.
CPU: 3700x GPU: 4090
PopOS is pretty great. There is a polish to it that I haven’t seen in some other distros. Which is why it remains on my main gaming rig even though I have considered distro hopping for a while now.
Can’t you make an script and make it autoload on start?
It’s kinda like AAA game companies waiting for a couple of weeks after a title’s release (and all the reviews are done) before rolling out the micro-transaction market (and the corresponding game-balance adjustments).
Funny how when Windows XP had dial-in activation we warned that this would drift over to games if we tolerated it, and then it did.
100%. Every time consumers tolerate something, it will get worse. On the other hand, it seems so simple to tell people “just don’t buy a product that does X”, but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get people to stop giving these companies money.
but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get people to stop giving these companies money.
This is why consumer-protection regulations are necessary.
Well, hardly any consumer actively buys Windows since it comes pre-installed on most PCs.
People will yell, gnash their teeth, and greivously complain about terrible things and issues.
but they, for the overwhelming majority of them, will refuse to ever give up their precious shiny and make a change, and will eagerly throw out money at every opportunity for it. If not directly at buying them, then at buying secondary related items, or by watching ads.
I can’t believe they’ll put this on windows 10 pro.
that’s what’s kicking me,why would a professional license used primarily for business need ANY kind of advertisement/popup/nag from their OS? fuck off Microsoft
Remember when you payed for software and then it was yours forever?
Microsoft don’t hold back from the ads and crapware in the Pro versions of Windows. The Enterprise versions tend to be where you get some control over it.
They’re doing a good job getting people to move to Linux or MacOS
As a long time Linux user, thank you M$!
I was on 8.1 when 10 was released. They never brought the good features to 8.1 back then, so I never expected them to do it now.
Dang I thought Windows 10 would be safe from this for some reason. Silly me.
Windows 10 already had ads, I don’t see why MS would be adverse to adding more.
no security updates, only ads
If they can’t bring the people to Win 11, they bring Win 11 to the people instead?
Just install Linux, it’s not that hard. Or at least get a Mac or a Chromebook…
I have been installing Linux on a number of my work PCs that I manage. Most of them are pretty straightforward, office products, printing, web, basic video player. But my personal PCs have so many different programs installed for different niche uses that it’s been a massive roadblock to me switching over. I know it’s coming because I’m not moving to Windows 11 even though my PC is compatible in theory. But man is it going to take me a lot of time to figure out all of the different screen capture, video editing, audio extraction and editing, disc imaging, photo editing etc. I know I can figure it out, but it’s about the time. I have a huge steam library too,but most of that should work.
Any of you playing Fallout London on Linux?
screen capture
OBS (same as is popular on Windows).
video editing, audio extraction and editing
I basically never do that sort of thing, but if I needed to I’d start out with Kdenlive and Audacity, respectively.
See also:
https://itsfoss.com/best-video-editing-software-linux/
https://itsfoss.com/best-audio-editors-linux/
disc imaging
For a task that basic, most of the time I just use
dd.photo editing
GIMP and/or Krita.
I wouldn’t suggest GIMP to anybody: Photopea. It is very similar to Photoshop and is a webapp.
Was in the same place, got FOSS soft for almost everything so now I run Mint on my main PC and on my laptop too, with a little 100€ used think centre running photoshop (I’m starting to figure out krita/gimp but pixel editing is a bummer there IMO) and 3dsmax for when I need them.
Edit: no internet connection for that box ofc.
Just install Linux, it’s not that hard.
This is just but the small first step. I was basically checking what it will take to daily drive linux on my desktop, and there’s many little roadblocks that I’m just instead considering getting a Win 11 pro license next year and just turning off all the shit in gpedit.
- No RGB software for my gigabyte mobo (openrgb doesn’t have it).
- No AMD adrenalin unless I go with Ubuntu, which is just on the same path of enshittification as windows
- No steelseries engine
- No Sapphire trixx
- No microsoft office desktop/onedrive (means I gotta find an office replacement that also works on my apple devices and syncs)
Linux has come a long way, and it’s probably enough for some but it would be a massive headache for me still…
Yea, it’s definitely not for everyone yet. But the average user (who needs a browser, a file manager and maybe an office suite) has no reason to stay on windows besides the convenience of being installed already.
You know that you dont have to pay for a Windows license right? You can permanently activate it (and any version of office) with a script. I found some article a while ago talking about it, some official Microsoft tech support used it because they were frustrated with Windows, so it’s legit
I do computer repair/tech support for just a small business. I haven’t used Windows on a a personal machine in a looong time, but that script helps me when I get stuck at work
You can mount and sync your OneDrive files with rclone, which I think is much nicer than OneDrive, but maybe not easy to set up if you’re not comfortable with command line interfaces.
Learning Linux gets more tempting every day. Either that or government needs to pass laws against shit like this but I doubt that will ever happen.
I would recommend Fedora as it’s been the most stable regularly updated distro for me.
Let me give you a tip. Theres nothing to “learn” it’s just a different way of clicking on some things. If all your gonna do is use steam and Internet browser just do it. There is nothing magical. Just use popOS or Ubuntu. They’re made for ease of use.
Mint is great for beginners IMO
I use Mint on all my devices right now. Mint is great! My favorite part being it’s an operation system that stays out of your way.
I mean, there’s a LOT more to it than just, “a different way of clicking on things”. Let’s be honest and help define proper expectations. You will be messing around in the terminal a lot. Even for installing simple programs, you’ll at minimum be copy-pasting a bunch of commands from the developer’s website straight into the terminal to install most stuff. There are package managers, to help alleviate some of the pain, but there are multiple ecosystems and each one has it’s own contributors, meaning that overall development and technical knowledge is gated behind silos.
I love Linux, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly user-friendly.
Absolutely! To make it easier you can even tell chatgpt to write a whole terminal script to install X or do Y. And then never think about it again. But for the average user, setting up proton on steam is as deep as it needs to be.
