I log into a windows 10 server and see system notifications ads pop up. Here is an example of one i’ve seen several times across multiple windows 10/11 boxes.
My personal experience with Windows has been different. I’ve not seen advertising anywhere in Windows so far; where have you seen that? I’m a bit shocked about Microsoft spying on me, too. Do you have any sources on that? It feels like that should be illegal in Europe and would make headlines.
I don’t use desktop office software and haven’t purchased any desktop software in probably a decade. My business makes heavy use of Google Workspace and uses online services that are agnostic to the operating system. The only things I’m really installing on my machine are developer tools through apt-get and games through Steam.
Auth@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
al_Kaholic@lemmynsfw.com 3 weeks ago
Open up your start menu and start typing, what comes up? Is it just apps or in other words program within your local hardware? Are there suggestions from the Internet or in other words an advertisement.
poopkins@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The results are honestly pretty spot on, at least for my use cases, and this isn’t different from how Chromebooks or MacOS does it (although for the latter, Spotlight results are hilariously terrible). Even Linux distros often combine on-device and online search results—are those also advertisements? I’m puzzled why Windows is called out in particular on this.
shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
If my Linux distro searched the internet, when I opened my launcher, I’d be finding a new Linux distro.
poopkins@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I distinctly recall a version of Ubuntu that not only showed search results, but Amazon shopping links.
grue@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
[deleted]poopkins@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I didn’t mean to have upset you as I wasn’t aware that European users weren’t allowed to comment here. I only ever meant to speak to my own experiences and not on behalf of anybody else.
Pirate@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
That guy is a jackass. Probably an American upset that he’s a minority on Lemmy. Don’t mind him.
poopkins@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I reviewed the community rules and didn’t see anything about Europe, so I’m left confused about what I’ve done wrong.
Pirate@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
When you install windows from fresh, you have a bunch of “suggested” apps on you task bar which are ads. Then you also have Notifications that tells you the news, which are sponsored news. Then you have other notifications telling you to use this or that Microsoft service (eg. oneDrive), another form of ads. If you use a browser that isn’t Edge, you’ll be routinely “reminded” how amazing edge is. Also, Edge reinstalls itself after every update even if you uninstall it.
All of these are forms of ads and outright abuse. Maybe you don’t care, but this is definitely happening. I’m also in the EU, my laptop was bought in the EU.
poopkins@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You’re right that Edge routinely attempts to make its return—that’s annoying alright. Microsoft is skirting a fine line here since they were found guilty of antitrust practices for this very thing. (Tangentially, I wonder if iPhone users have the same complaints about Safari.) In Europe, at least, those updates prompt you whether to make the switch, and the user remains in control. It’s been many years since Microsoft changed my defaults.
You’re also absolutely right about the attempted upsells for Office 365 or OneDrive or whatever. I agree they’re ads and that they’re annoying, but not more so than how my MacBook constantly nags me about iCloud or how iPhone consumes it with app data, or how Google leverages its surfaces for Photos, Drive, Workspace and Gemini upsells.
In the end all these companies arrive at the same challenge: converting a one-time purchase into regular payments through subscription models. I had honestly forgotten about these prompts until you reminded me of them, and so long as they’re irregular and easy to ignore, I feel like Microsoft isn’t doing anything outright awful.
I often think communities like Lemmy choose to disproportionately hate on things. In this case it’s Windows, which I really don’t think is warranted.
Pirate@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
But it is, though. You just choose to not see it that way. Laptops aren’t cheap, and you already paid the brand for it. Windows comes priced in into the purchase, you just don’t see it because you’re used to the price being combined. But its there.
For me, if I already paid for the product, that’s it. The company loses the right to advertise to me and milk me for further revenue, and just because its industry standard it doesn’t make it okay: the law should be tighter around this. Full stop.
poopkins@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I wonder if consumers would choose to pay more to opt out of this. Surely corporations have done their research, because none of them have chosen to offer a buy-out option. To be perfectly frank, I wouldn’t pay more for a laptop for a guarantee that I’m not prompted for any up-sells, and it’d only make the consumer offerings more confusing if such an option existed.
All these companies are forcing themselves into the corner of offering the one-time fee to be as low as possible, preferably free, and find other revue channels after the purchase. I hold them all equally guilty of this: why pay $100 for Windows when there’s no such fee for a Chromebook or MacBook? Microsoft is forced by competition to reduce the fee and recoup it elsewhere, and they’re in my opinion not even the worst among those examples.
It’s odd that Lemmy directs its anger at an individual company, while they’re all guilty of the same practices, instead of towards their government representatives who are actually able to take action against it.