We've been using this tool to strip out unwanted Microsoft 'features' such as Cortana. Its a powershell script you simply give it your Windows ISO and it lets you remove applications and services you don't wanted installed. It creates a really awesome Windows OS. I highly recommend it.<p><a href="https://github.com/DrEmpiricism/Optimize-Offline" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/DrEmpiricism/Optimize-Offline</a>
I recently had to install Windows 10 and ended up installing "Windows 10 LTSC". Right after install i used "O&O shutup" and "Win10-Initial-Setup-Script" to get some sane defaults/strip all the crap.<p>It's sad that Windows itself has become bloatware...<p><a href="https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10" rel="nofollow">https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10</a><p><a href="https://github.com/Disassembler0/Win10-Initial-Setup-Script" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Disassembler0/Win10-Initial-Setup-Script</a>
What a load of shit.<p>I love the guy trying to infer Microsoft's ad profit centers by trying to read between the lines of marketing copy. Entertaining stuff. But let's not confuse this for grown up analysis.<p>Microsoft releases their financials, like every publicly traded corporation. Bing search ads are a small part of revenu, about 5% of what Azure earns, and stable. Desktop ads are a vanishingly small line item. Microsoft's strategy is based on platform sales — you know, the part of their business whose revenue is doubling every quarter. Google's strategy is based on "collect it all" data hoarding and ad sales.<p>But the punchline is really the best part. "Apple has lit the torch." Siri and Cortana are analogous products, and they are the motivation for both their companies' data collection.<p>Actually a voice assistant gives a company a ton of power, but it can be used for different purposes. Alexa doesn't exist for ad revenue, it exists to push more sales through Amazon. Cortana exists to push Azure platform integrated features in Windows, effectively doubling down the value of the platform investment. Siri exists to push Apple integrated features and to guard the gates of their walled garden.<p>The only valid part if the article is that it's hard to believe that anyone really wants a voice assistant.
When a clean install of Windows 10 ""Professional"" had prominent ads for Candy Crush in the Start Menu, is when I realized MS had lost their dignity.
A little bit irrelevant to the article:<p>Unpopular opinion but, is opt-outtable telemetry that bad?<p>Of course using tracked behaviors for add targeting is bad (which is why my opinion is irrelevant to the article) but using telemetry to do AB-tests, UX-tests, finding bugs, etc... what’s really bad about it?<p>Every comment about telemetry in HN reads something like ‘Telemetry with opt-out is bad, so GitLab is bad, VSCode is bad, brew is bad, etc...’ but personally I really can’t see the problem.<p>For people who can’t believe the company enough for processing one’s data can turn off telemetry right? The fact that one is using the application from one company (for example, VSCode) implies that they trust the company (in this case, MS). If one doesn’t, one can manually turn it off.
Microsoft had the dominant consumer operating system since the 1980s. Using that advantage (and not innovation and quality !) they were able to grab substantial chunks of other markets:<p>Word processing, commercial compilers, cloud computing etc. Next up is digital assistants and advertising.<p>What is the alternative for average consumers ? Chrome books ?
Microsoft isn't selling your PC usage data to advertisers. If you doubt me, go ahead and show me how you can buy this data. I'll gladly give you my next month's salary if you can.
I find that any major service pack install inadvertently resets preferences around defender/other settings. I’m not a daily windows user currently, but i definetly don’t appreciate opening a laptop after a month in 2019 and it being unusable for an hour while it auto updates.
> And, Apple has lit this torch.<p>Too bad this ends on this line. So you recommend trusting another corporation over Microsoft to be virtuous over the long term? The only OS you can truly control is well known, and it's Linux.
The link from the PDF booklet targeted to those who would buy Microsoft's ad services:<p><a href="https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us?s_int=en-us-gct-web-src_pdf-sub_0-cam_ic_scj_flx_chptr2" rel="nofollow">https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us?s_int=en-us-gct-web-sr...</a><p>"Sign up for a Microsoft Advertising account to take advantage
of these tools or get in touch with an account representative.
If you already have a Microsoft Advertising account, log in or talk
to your account representative about how to be a High Performer"<p>which leads one to, as the author writes, the page with the first picture of<p>"a couple of dudes snooping on animals, taking pictures and analyzing them while on Safari."<p>I don't think the choice of the photo is irrelevant.
It's a nuclear arms race for capturing and monetizing user behavior and attention across all tech giants.<p>I'm generally against pervasive government regulation and oversight as a fellow tech enthusiast, but I fear where humanity is headed if these companies are left unchecked to their own devices, in an era where echo-chamber outrage amplifying newsfeed algorithms are subverting democracy as we know it.
My business partner's kid runs a cracked Windows 10 LTSC when he plays games because "he doesn't like Microsoft spying on him" as if he's some valuable target.<p>Because it's hacked, it's crashy (and also his "rig" is overclocked and badly integrated.) And of course, he blames "Windows" for being so crashy.
I agree that more data crunch-n-munching would make a nice feature-set for GlassWire. It still always makes my list of must-have installations though.<p>... "GlassWire 2.0 comes with a free 7 day trial so you can try out all its paid Basic, Pro, Elite features. After 7 days GlassWire will revert to its free version."<p>#shamelessplug
The author did not even mention how Windows 10 pushes the "Your Phone" app. Which gives Microsoft full access to your android phone and your behavior and data on your mobile device. Unlike apple which provides this feature with end to end encryption.
I have been seeing this MS vs other debates since decades. Why Linux has not been able to come up with a consumer OS. Why Windows or MAC only rule in consumer OS space?
We have win machine at the office with latest OS. I don’t see these ads at all. Clearly there is a way to prevent this otherwise companies would not go for it.
Advertisement is not a cause of the problem. It's just an effect of a deeper one. The cause and effect chain goes like this: money-based world -> profit-oriented economy -> advertising.
> what does that even mean<p>to me it reads like a description of "marketing accessibility" in more words. So, making your ads work well with screen readers. Truly a devilish conspiracy by M$
/s
"Advertisement needs to end."<p>"Privacy is the biggest, one of the most important challenges in technology today. Democracy depends on it."<p>in my opinion this article is a rant.