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I love the phrase I heard recently: “software developers don’t understand consent”

It describes so much

The Penguin is calling.
> at this point a Windows machine only belongs to you in name. Microsoft can run arbitrary code on it.

I get what the author is trying to say, but...like... obviously?

Block updates, remove bloat via PS scripts. Done.
> I also paid for a pro version of the OS.

Yep. And you got what you've paid for.

Look at it. This is "pro" now.

Satya Nadella really nosedived Windows.
Given the continued dominance and success of the Xbox platform /s I'm surprised the shockwave hasn't reached the top.
Why would anyone want to buy a new computer now unless the old one is worn out? There is no price/performance improvement. Nor will there be for the next five years or so. NVidia says to expect 10% price increases each year. DRAM prices have doubled, and Samsung says not to expect price cuts. Micron just exited the retail RAM business.

Microsoft is trying to escape this trap by pivoting to Windows as a subscription service. It will get worse, not better.

I'm getting to that point where I may need to upgrade. Now I need to delay it more because AI is gonna make electronics even more expensive than the tarriffs in 2026.

2026 seems to just be becoming the "please don't break" era unless I can find some proper work this time. Car is on its last legs, a variety of housing appliances to repair, computer I use professionally. If nothing else, I upgraded my phone this year so that should get me through 2028 at least.

I had to upgrade to get DDR5, for one.
Do yourself a favor and start using Linux on both machines.
I've been running Win11 without a TPM for 6 years. Saying you can't upgrade isn't the same thing as Windows saying you can't upgrade. Knowing your OS seems to be a lost art. I'm not dismissing the valid complaint, but the title is empirically wrong clickbait.
Just use something else and stop whining.
There must be a way to disable this thing. Maybe we can disable the service? But anyway I already switched to Linux for my daily usage. It is not smooth as Windows due to driver issues and other weird things, like Firefox crashing frequently when I’m typing in a text box like this one, but still feels better than Windows.

The Windows team and its product manager is determined to trash the product. Good work!

If you are on Nvidia hardware, make sure to use a distro that makes it easy to install the proprietary Nvidia drivers. In Ubuntu, just open the Additional Drivers tab and the rest will be self-explanatory. For other platforms, ask an AI.
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In late 2025, there are plenty of alternatives:

Linux FreeBSD NetBSD OpenBSD DragonflyBSD Haiku Plan9 Redox ReactOS Debian Gnu/Hurd FreeDOS Genode SculptOS

And probably some others I haven't heard of. Using Windows in 2025 AND complaining about it is complaining about a self inflicted wound.

Haiku is very pleasing in an eyecandy sort of way, but that's sadly all it has going for it.

I personally wouldn't use it as a serious OS.

It's beside the point of the article but...

> The hardware limitation is specifically TPM 2.0

Almost every even half decent CPU made in the last decade does have TPM 2.0, albeit for some strange reason OEMs used to ship with it disabled. You may be able to turn it on in the bios.

Adding to the enshittified pile of bad decissions that Windows has become, the actual requirements for Windows 11 are just a corporate caprice and not a real "requirement". I did whatever it needed to bypass the checks at install time, and W11 is now working exactly and equally as well as W10 was, on a laptop which only has TPM 1.2 and an old CPU.

Where is the requirement then in modern CPUs and TPM 2.0, Microsoft? Didn't you mean "nice to have" so additional but perfectly optional security features could be enabled?

I'm guessing they'll break it later by actually using said requirement.

Then say "i told you so!"

Rufus will let you install with a local account even on PCs that don't support TPM, but would you really want to?
For many types of users, Windows is no longer viable. I have friends who work at a .NET shop and most of that team now uses Macs. Unthinkable just a few years ago. Meanwhile, I checked ProtonDB and now 90% of my Steam library is Platinum or Native. So I finally switched my gaming PC to Linux. Microsoft's priorities are elsewhere, Windows doesn't have a bright future.
Yeah. It really does seem that Microsoft is giving up on... everything? Like Xbox is kinda out, Windows is not great, and their AI never comes up as meaningful.

I wouldn't personally work for them ever. I've only heard bad things about their codebase... and I know people like to complain, but it's usually comedy levels of bad.

My limited understanding is that they are focusing on B2B and short-term milking B2C until it lasts.
I ordered a basic Windows laptop, it comes with Windows 11. It's going to be my Linux starter computer. I'm not a computer person. Wish me luck!
In Win 11 Home, and want to add a local account and not change it to a Windows account, and not share my stuff with MS. No Cloud or "Backups", thank you.

The option to enable a local account was through the command line only. The dark patterns and persausion to convince me not to was off putting.

But every time I boot in to have to go through the nag screen is off the wall.

It is truly crazy how much I understand the dedication people have to avoid using a unfamiliar system.

And it’s not just TPM. I have tpm module however they don’t support my Intel 7700K processor.
yup. Fixed list of supported cpus. Well, I suppose it grows to include newer CPUs.

That said the rufus workaround can work for these - I'm writing this from a machine that's not a supported cpu that I just upgraded to Win 11 with rufus. Runs just fine. Fun fact about my cpu: no cpu with the same socket is supported, so to be officially supported I'd have to also upgrade the motherboard.

Surprisingly effective solution:

  Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
  
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
  "ProductVersion"="Windows 10"
  "TargetReleaseVersion"=dword:00000001
  "TargetReleaseVersionInfo"="22H2"
Is it possible to switch an existing windows 10 install to the extended support version? (Can't remember the exact term).
massgrave. Even Microsoft support uses that script