I'm making the first effort in many years to finally be rid of windows,because of recall. I'm really uncomfortable with the idea that once that is implemented I really will have no un-monitored/spied source of computer usage. It used to be almost impossible to reach some sort of usability parity linux/windows but I think its possible now. A big part of that is with computer power long surpassing daily usage needs the lack of cutting edge driver support on linux is no longer as big a deal.
I started with ubuntu, but I also am pairing it with NIX package manager. I'd like to use this experiment to get familiar with the disposable OS paradigm. I think that could be a killer feature to move away from windows. I don't see them ever getting windows to be rebuildable on demand.<p>I realize NixOS has some hurdles and learning curve though.
> Earlier this week, Microsoft again clarified that Recall will not be mandatory on Copilot Plus PCs, and will be an opt-in experience that can be fully removed. The clarification came after various YouTube videos claimed Recall was being installed on any PC with Windows 11, version 24H2.<p>Oh, thank god. I definitely heard the "You can't opt out!" line and was worried.
Question: why are people having a tizzy about this specifically yet touting Apple Intelligence?<p>- people are going to be using intelligence with Siri. Siri sends all transcripts to Apple, even if processed locally. Will this include text transcripts too? That’s some seriously private information that gets sent to Apple that you can’t opt out of.<p>- have you looked at what’s in knowledge.db?<p>People hissy with Microsoft’s product because of OCR of the screen or is that only a factor?
From this thread:<p>> I definitely heard the "You can't opt out!" line and was worried.<p>> Microsoft is known for being utterly user-hostile when pushing features on people.<p>In truth ( <i>so far</i> ) .. you can opt out (not easily) and here Microsoft is guilty of poor engineering rather than active hostility (although hard to seperate).<p>Chris Titus, the source of a two week(?) old HN thread about Recall being "Mandatory" and unremovable from latest Windows w/out breaking file explorer released an eight minute update video on the matter:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42002418">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42002418</a><p>For those not watching, the problem was a bad Microsoft dependancy manifest - a common DLL not marked as a file explorer dependancy got removed along with Recall causing file explorer to glitch.<p>This is now 'solved' and included in his cleanup | debloat scripts for those that want the feature gone.<p>He closes with some other thoughts on Microsoft feature software deployment going forwards into the future.<p>'Recall' for now is little more than a placeholder stub for most, incapable of activation or more for many w/out specific hardware, and <i>intended</i> to be "removable" <i>provided</i> the engineers get their manifest dependancies sorted out.
I mentioned this in another post recently <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41699265">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41699265</a><p>but I've been using something of a homegrown equivalent of Recall most of the year and I really do think the concept has a lot of potential. definitely understand the privacy concerns (and especially if there's no opt-out), but I just want to encourage y'all to be open minded and consider the potential benefits.<p>anybody use google photos? I've got almost 20 years of photos and videos on it. But there's so many gaps in the timeline! so why not just record everything. and with an AI layer on top to help surface and search interesting/relevant moments. same thing for facebook and twitter and ig and hn and whatever social media you might use. it's such a privilege to be able to go back and look at our digital artifacts from years and decades past. so why not do it in 4k+audio.
Steve Jobs once said something about working back from the desired user experience to the technology. What Microsoft is doing here is the complete opposite. They’re making the technology fit the user experience.
near as i can tell, the "ai revolution" consists largely of nontechnical climbers trying to get a promotion package (or scamming VCs, just like the XML craze of 1999)<p>it's very much along the lines of "i've got a great idea for a video game, all you have to do is implement it". that and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee<p>also, get off my lawn :-)
In other words, they are struggling to implement it. Software development in an average company is on some sort of a weird asymptotic curve towards getting anything done becoming <i>literally impossible</i>. And Microsoft is so, so painfully average.<p>I've been waiting for Windows to get the vertical taskbar back, but I'm beginning to think that the difficulty-to-develop is increasing faster than the development itself is progressing.
Just like "No" has been replaced with "Remind me later," dropping bad ideas entirely has been replaced with delaying them. Way to go, Microsoft!
> We decide on something, leave it lying around and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don't understand what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back.<p>- Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission
Funny that this was supposed to launch in June 2024 and now it’s being delayed for the second or third time because Microsoft needs more time to make sure it’s secure.
I'd never owned an Apple computer until last week. I couldn't buy a new Windows computer knowing Microsoft's trajectory with intrusive tracking, Recall being the most prominent example.
Shouldn't it be finished faster now that AI is doing all the coding? Just imagine the delay if they didn't have Copilot as a productivity booster.
MS is such a mess of a company. The existence of MSFT is only proof that profitability doesn’t mean jack shit when it comes to the products themselves.<p>Haven’t liked windows in a long time (XP?). But still sad to see it go down this way.
There's a lot of FUD about Recall. Recall was always opt-in. Windows 11 24H2 installs the feature for everyone by default, in the same way Japanese might be installed for everyone by default. It's there, but not on until you opt in. If it detects a Copilot+ NPU in device manager, the update shows a full screen splash screen explaining Recall, with a No & Yes button. Spamming Spacebar/Enter doesn't do anything. You must tab or mouse to the Yes button, as there is no default. As for paranoia that Microsoft may one day switch you to Yes, or the idea that one ought to go further than saying No and uninstall the feature as well, I will leave those arguments to the youtubers. I understand folks distrust of Microsoft's dark pattern tactics, and the willies they get about AI watching their screen. Personally, I think you either have to trust a company at the kernel level to not abuse your Print Screen button, or stop using the company products entirely. Anything in-between doesn't make sense. You either have to take Microsoft at it's word or don't, because if they are lying about this then why would they stop there?