Copilot first appeared in my taskbar after an update as a pinned app, which I promptly I unpinned.

Another update not long after it appeared again in my taskbar, this time not as a pinned app icon, but it literally replaced my "show desktop" button in the bottom right corner! I had to search online for other confused people looking to restore a basic desktop navigation feature that's been around since like 2009, because they replaced it with the 17th ever-present option to jump into their preinstalled bloatware!

And just as a sidenote, Microsoft Copilot is by far the worst LLM I've tried to use, both in how dumb it is, but also in how infuriating it is when it gets stuff wrong while spamming a bunch of stupid emojis into every sentence like it's excited about how confidently stupid it is.

Frankly I don't understand why anybody would be surprised over this. They have been doing this stuff for over a decade? (I specifically mean quietly introducing privacy-hostile settings without user consent or knowledge, not other user-hostile stuff that's been going on for much longer).

Activity History has existed for years. It's not new.

New is extra data collection and Copilot "understanding" your activities based on those records.

given Microsoft's excellent security record how long do you think that'll take to break into?

an hour? maybe two?

No, that scheme would be too hard to contain so the three letter agencies are blatant about it. They just let tech companies develop these things and know they'll have access to the data anyway.

For every real user that finds a tool slurping up data to be useful, there are 100 law enforcement agents also saying it's useful so everyone should hop on the bandwagon.

~~it's supposed to be optional.~~

it's supposed to be local. <------ YOU ARE HERE

you can supposedly disable it.

it's supposed not to send your information to the cops if it's sees you being naughty.

Which is equally bad. Why am I wasting CPU power on that?

An OpenAI model running locally, not sending data to OpenAI? Similar to how llama3 can be run locally?

Yeah, you'll have to bring some sources for me to begin buying that. It goes totally against everything Microsoft and OpenAI have been pushing.

> For example, there are no drivers for a pretty common steering wheel (Logitech G923).

This is a nice, specific detail. Most of these comments are very vague.

> There is a driver for an older version of the wheel that kind of works

Do you mean an out of tree driver?

Would you test this and post back? The 6.3 kernel they mentioned 3 months ago is very old and likely a forked kernel.

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/vb0b37/g29g92...

I am new to steering wheels-not sure if this is the exact version because they mention xbox)? Try a distro with a very recent kernel (6.11; like Nobara for a gaming focused distro).

> I also noticed that games from Steam end up taking up substantially more disk space to the point where I can have only a few games installed on Linux.

Shouldn't be substantially more disk space. Would you provide stats?

Proton makes a Windows environment for each game as it installs those 3rd party libraries in the environment and that is used for disk calculations, while on Windows those libraries may be installed directly to the OS. Each 3rd party library and the shader cache is stored separately. This is my guess-I do not work on Proton.

> And even the games without any special hardware dongles don't work so well as you imply.

Anticheat and a few obscure Windows libraries are an issue. River City Girls needs some media foundation library or it does not show cutscenes. Valve is working on them.

I still don't get why wheels even need drivers at this point. It's 2024 and even with a legit version of Windows, there are all kinds of problems with all different wheels and all different games. We have a couple of axes and a bunch of buttons and some feedback. Steering wheels have been around for at least 30 years.

And if you DO have a driver, why does the fucking game have to have a list of supported steering wheels? Shouldn't that be abstracted away from the game? Isn't that the whole point of all those gaming and device APIs that Microsoft has built?

The experience with racing games isn't great on Windows, it's going to be worse on Linux where manufacturers put exactly zero investment into making it work and the crossover between sim racers and Linux developers is very small.

> From my experience, it's still not a 100% replacement

if it were a perfect replacemente, there would be no Windows.

for some it's good enough to endure the rough spots.

if you want to replace Windows and give yourself a gray area, and you can afford it, get a computer with 2 gpus and use a VM with VFIO and looking glass and you can contain its naughtiness away while enojoying it at native speed for gaming or whatever you want at 4k@120hz in a window or fullscreen inside Linux.

Would you consider replacing the Adobe suite with other products?

Photoshop runs in the browser[0], maybe the whole suit will follow.

0. https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-web-faq.ht...

Im surprised Adobe themselves dont try to help with this.

Adobe would be able to try a vertical integration play

I run it on Linux everyday with Steam on Proton. It is my go to game on steamdeck and my Fedora desktop.

By default steam wants to download the old old old Linux version that doesn't allow online play, but if you enable proton it will download the Windows version and run fine. I am pretty sure it doesn't have a real anti-cheat included.

The funny thing about this was that Rocket League was native on Linux and Psyonix removed Linux support.

Better say your last goodbyes in that case, as it's always worked perfectly =b

Riot's Vanguard on the other hand, has unfortunately made it impossible to play LoL =c

What? Rocket League works fine on Proton with no weirdness. Played a bunch of competitive matches with no issues whatsoever.

I'm pretty sure Fusion360 is built with QT tool kit for the GUI, and uses Python for the scripting engine. Of any of the modern professional paid 3D CAD programs, it seems to be the least tethered to Windows. It would be nice if they released a proper Linux version, like Autodesk does for some of their art industry programs. NX used to have a UNIX GUI recently, but it would take a pretty major company to move off Windows to bring that back.

Solidworks made its name by being the first mainstream CAD built for Windows back when all the other 3D CAD was running UNIX workstations that cost more than a new pickup truck. Both Solidworks, and the Autodesk competitor to it, Inventor, are Windows API through and through. It is disappointing, but unsurprising that they don't do well in WINE. They went all in on Windows to their core from the very start.

Sadly, Solidworks is still in the "Garbage" category. Is there any effective way (aside from coding myself) to effect improvement there?

Valve Index. I currently dual-boot Windows for VR. This is the rabbit hole I went down (to be clear: SteamVR, specifically the compositor, is completely broken).

1. Install Monado with libsurvive.

2. Discover that libsurvive doesn't have the "smarts" that SteamVR has, and that calibration can be wonky (and was wonky for me).

3. Learn that you can import SteamVR calibration data. I can't do this in Linux because, well, SteamVR doesn't work.

4. Dual boot Windows with the intention to copy over calibration data.

5. Windows is installed. Give up and dual boot.

https://monado.freedesktop.org/libsurvive.html

If anyone else has had success, I would love to hear about it.

Overall, if you are willing to deal with some annoyances, give it a try, it might cover your use cases.

SteamVR is playable, but not at Windows level and rough around the edges. I personally run an Index on a 4080 Super (previously 3080) via the SteamVR runtime. System details in case it matters: Arch Linux Zen kernel, X11 (i3), Nvidia drivers, SteamVR Beta, usually a recent Proton GE version. I remember playing Beat Saber, including modded [1], Until You Fall, Pistol Whip, Raw Data and After the Fall without issues. Non-steam applications outside Steam can also work, I have a launch script that sets up the env vars for Proton, should be easier via Lutris.

I see some problems however. VR itself is not as smooth as it should be, 100% playable, but not as smooth as I remember it ages ago on Windows or using a FOSS VR [4] stack (which has other issues). I don't really use SteamVR home, it sometimes takes a while to load. SteamVR window on the monitor has weird flickering issues, usually I can't get into its settings, likely i3 related. Firmware updates are mostly broken. No (I think) standby for the Lighthouses, I toggle them via Home Assistant and smart plugs.

Shout out to steamtinkerlaunch [2] for making certain settings easier to apply and ProtonDB [3] for tweaks if needed.

[1] https://github.com/geefr/beatsaber-linux-goodies [2] https://github.com/sonic2kk/steamtinkerlaunch [3] https://www.protondb.com/ [4] https://monado.freedesktop.org/ https://lvra.gitlab.io/

Out of curiosity, what prevents that software from running on Proton?

Is it something involving certified OpenGL drivers?

> LTSC would be better, but there's no reasonably legal way to obtain it

I looked into it in 2018; turned out to be pretty easy and reasonable (~$300):

https://tinyapps.org/blog/201811300700_windows_10_ltsc.html

I find it funny that on website called hacker news, it's still assumed that anyone who customizes their system must also be an idiot that knows nothing about being safe online.

I think it's a pretty damning condemnation of Microsoft's current product strategy, at least in relation to the user segment that visits hacker news.

People are willing to run highly privileged untrusted and unverified code in the personal computers, just for a chance to remove the stuff you're actively spending money and time developing.

Ultimately it's Microsoft not giving those users what they want. They have to accommodate the OS to fit their needs and sometimes it breaks.

It should be technically easy for Microsoft to decouple Recall from Explorer. I already saw this in the 90s with their web browser, coupled to the OS for purely commercial reasons.

I wouldn't say always. The last time I ran such a script, it didnt break anything. Granted, I did as the repo readme expressly and boldy stated, more than once, that 'anyone using this should read through the list of commands' (it was also nicely commented for lay people) and disable any sections related to services they use. Regardless, the defaults seemed quite sane and I even had to enable/uncomment a few for other services/products I didn't need.

key difference being - copilot and recall were added to my operating system without my consent - microsoft did not ask before they added these things, via windows update.

those dubious scripts from who-knows-where are run by me, with intent and with my consent, having passed whatever my own personal review process might be for that particular script.

If I try something and it turns out bad, that's on me, and I'm okay with that. If something is done to me without my knowledge or consent and it turns out bad, then that's a different story.

What would get disabled that "breaks the install"

is it that funny?

I'd trust some rando on github more than modern Microsoft

I thought for sure somebody was complaining about explorer.exe not loading if it cannot find recall.DLL or something.

The thread describes a much more minimal kind of dependency. More like the dark pattern variety which is hard to turn off.

Just disable Defender's real time scanning when you run the resultant script, otherwise it will protest. A lot. (Not just when you first run it, but the whole time.)

I find Gnome on stock Ubuntu pretty terrible for someone used to Windows, since workflows are different and you can't adjust anything.

KDE and Kubuntu are pretty close though. I'd never really considered fully switching to Linux a usable option before I found it, but I've been running it for a few years on my laptop and recently on my work pc, and once Win10 is EoL it'll probably be the only thing I still run on the rest of my machines. The nice side effect of bloated Electron apps is that at least now most things work on all platforms lmao.

If you use Ubuntu Cinnamon it will look like it too.

This is the first thing I run on any new Win 11 device/install and afterwards the OS just disappears into the background and doesn’t bother me one bit.

Incredible feeling of zen being able to scroll past the heated online Win 11 debates that don’t seem to apply to my day to day usage at all.

The "Recommendations" section is near-impossible to get rid of, but it's pretty easy to stop anything from displaying in that section.

Under Settings > Personalization > Start, I have "More pins" selected, and the various "Show whatever" options disabled, and my "Recommended" section is a single empty row at the bottom of the start menu that reads "To show your recent files and new apps, turn them on in the Settings."

I know this technically applies to a lot of open source, but given the breadth of tools under the windows 'tweaking' category and the audience I'd expect to use these "magic wands to fix things you disagree with MS on" I'm really surprised there aren't more subtle trojans mixed in with them. I think it's extremely unlikely any significant amount of users examine the source or make sure a binary they're using is trustworthy, even assuming they know what to look for.

There's a lot of 'marketing' possible and a receptive audience whenever a big tech company pushes something like Copilot/Recall, and I'm sure a well timed or prompt 'quick and simple fix' tool release with some a time pressure could get a lot of installs.

Yes, w11 iot ltsc is the way.

No. It's just a less useful UX. Linux Mint after will get you everything Windows forgot customers want.

It's amazing how much frustration and cognitive load you remove when using things that aren't hostile to you. I've had the same experience.

The year of linux on desktop, everyone!

Activation, introduced in Windows XP, is the main reason why I consider Windows 2000 the high water mark of Windows. The Windows NT lineup was truly no nonsense, no fuss. Unfortunately the merger of consumer-focused Windows (which used to be the 3.1/95/98/Me) lineup) and pro-focused Windows (which was the NT lineup plus Windows 2000) coincided with the introduction of many annoyances, starting with activation in Windows XP and later adding nagging prompts for updates and security-related things, telemetry, UI changes, and more.

Sadly even macOS has gotten more annoying over the years with its various nagging prompts.

Back when Microsoft started pushing telemetry in Windows 10, they added additional telemetry to Windows 7 through updates. Not nearly as pervasive and omnipresent as with Windows 11, though; you can just remove the telemetry updates: https://gist.github.com/xvitaly/eafa75ed2cb79b3bd4e9

Except now it's __literally__ taking screenshots and reading them.

"Oh no it knows a program was run" is not 'as bad' of a HIIPA violation as, "Oh no, it's literally taking a screenshot, reading it and saving it".

I wasn’t really familiar with the Windows 11 changes. I’m still on Windows 10 and use Ribbon Disabler, and also hide the toolbar by patching an XML resource in shellstyle.dll (IIRC). Ideally I’d want a no-context-sensitivity “just normal menus” version.

Windows 10 LTSC is either too old (2016?) or only lasts until 2027. It’s not worth it. Linux is fine for CLI use, but the GUI doesn’t cut it for me, not to speak of the many Windows software and drivers that won’t work or will be awkward to use. There is no good solution, but ditching Windows entirely is still the worse (non-)solution for me.

Probably yes. Depending on your requirements (e.g. if cloud, spying, etc is all fine), it can indeed make sense. Windows has its strengths.

But what I suspect: A much bigger cohort is people saying "I'm not forced, I just explicitly prefer it" although this is actually a lie. Some of them are aware of that, some not. Being forced to sth is not great. Not everyone is honest (or even aware) enough to admit it.

This is good to hear. It seems built for it.

What a sarcastic comment. It may be true on average, but definitely not for everyone. I'm one of the counterexamples, because I think about it a lot, and I'm carefully considering my options and alternatives.

This doesn't deserve downvotes because it is entirely correct. Your average Windows user doesn't know about this let alone think about it. The number of people who know and care about this are an extreme minority.

You should take a look at what Apple collects

You don't even have to go that far: https://distrosea.com/

>Are they implicitly signing up to be the customer service for these folks who are used to an OS-as-a-product type setup?

I mean first off, yes most people using Linux have no problem with helping people out, my guess is linux users are probably 100x more active on support platforms than anyone else. (if not more)

But also, who on earth has Microsoft customer service? Big businesses sure, but do you think most Windows users get customer support, big tech companies stopped connecting you to a human being like ten years ago. Everyone just googles when something breaks no matter the OS. I'm just so tired of the meme that there is any meaningful difference at this point. I've been using stock Ubuntu Desktop for 12(?) years, out of the box, no weird tinkering.

Do you know how often friends and family call me because something broke on their Windows machine and I'm the "tech guy"? This is the experience of every programmer I know. What difference does it make if they run Linux, yes stuff will break but we've been fixing stuff breaking anyway.

> Linux makes it easy for you to be a developer, while other platforms fight you every step of the way

I see this sentiment a lot but the developer experience on Windows is good to great in my experience.

Much better than MacOS or linux if you are using Visual Studio and .NET, pretty equal if you are using another stack.

What it isn't is posix/unix. A lot of the bad developer experience people have on windows is from trying to (pre-WSL, at least) shoe horn unix tools and practices instead of doing things the windows way.

Linux is a tool. Windows is a product. There's only so much UX needed between a user and a command line for a user to have a pleasant experience. Windows chases the dollar and needs to produce products.

I am still a C# developer :) I just use Linux for my personal devices, and with a license for JetBrains, I use their Rider IDE. While not perfect, it is just good enough for my use case.