Long post and well worth the read, but the interesting part to me is this:
Windows operating system and apps
Customers using Windows have always used a combination of operating system functionality as well as apps, but now Windows will clearly identify operating system functionality in places like Settings, Start, and Search:
- Settings > System > System Components will show notable operating system components.
- Start menu’s All Apps list has been renamed to All and operating system components are labeled with “system”.
- Under Search, search results will show operating system components labeled with “system”.
All apps in Windows can be uninstalled. Of course, apps can always be installed again from the Microsoft Store and internet. Settings > Apps > Installed apps continue to show all the apps installed on the PC and we’ve added the ability to uninstall:
- Camera
- Cortana
- Web Search from Microsoft Bing, in the EEA
- Microsoft Edge, in the EEA
- Photos
Nobody would be using their ad-bloated software otherwise
Is it that bad now? I don’t use windows products in my private life, only at work. And I don’t find things that bad over there, but maybe that’s because it’s windows for business
Your business sysadmins will have gone through the trouble of getting rid of any bullshit. My companies windows installs are more chill than default win11 versions.
I’ll be sure to thank them!
Yeah, just like a home user can if they bothered looking into the settings.
~Sincerely a sysadmin
And tweaked some things here and there.
And dusted some stuff off.
And debloated a bit.
It's not. People just like to complain. Ad-bloat in the Camera, and Photos app? Edge doesn't show more ads than other browsers without an ad-blocker. I don't think Cortana is specifically pushing ads and Web Search from Bing... well Google is also pushing ads wherever they can.
This is not about ads, it's about choice.
Edge used to be fine until the recent GPT craze. Now they added a giant obnoxious Bing AI circle ad in the top right. Bing is of course default everywhere. At this point I'm just waiting for the MSN bar to reappear
You're partly right, it is not about ads. It is about the integrated control of your camera, your media & other peripherals/software/data by Cortana - which rings home all day long - all from behind closed source software which does who-knows-what with the information it gathers.