I’m so confused by the ads thing. I don’t think I’ve noticed any since upgrading to Win 11. Are they only on certain editions or something?
Comment on Microsoft revives aggressive Windows 11 upgrade campaign with intrusive popups for Windows 10 users
mipadaitu@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I would upgrade to windows 11 if it wasn’t full of ads, I had two computers accidentally upgrade after mis-clicking an upgrade prompt and the experience was bad enough I reloaded the whole computer.
Not only that, but it doesn’t make sense to have a task bar on the bottom of an ultrawide display. I’ve been putting my taskbar on the left side for over a decade, and now you just can’t do that for some reason…
Tarcion@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s what confuses me. There are absolutely ads, it’s just fake installed apps. But amount of ads are exactly the same as windows 10. They’re in all the same places, same types (mostly the start menu). Shit you could say 10 has more since that awful edge desktop widget doesn’t exist by default on 11 as far as I’m aware.
Do people just have such deeply debloated windows 10 installs that they’ve forgotten what windows 10 is actually like? Maybe it’s because it’s been 1.5 years without a major update that reinstalls all the garbage automatically?
Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
My start menu is a glorious thing with zero ads. No programs are listen in those shite block tile things. Removed them all and shrank the start menu to be the same size and feel as ptevious windows versions. In fact, I never even use the start menu for anything anymore but typing CMD.
They killed it for me the day it started searching the web instead of the system. I just navigate to the install folders like I always have years and run programs with the actual exe.
Kadaj21@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Man I’m programmed to just ctrl+r and type cmd lol
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Web search can be disabled with a few registry keys.
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
I think the key is I simply never interact with the OS outside of opening the search bar or PowerToys Run to type in the program I want to open, clicking on desktop shortcuts, or going into Control Panel. All the places they try to sneak ads in I literally just don’t use because there are other, faster ways to get there.
mipadaitu@lemmy.world 1 year ago
pcmag.com/…/how-to-remove-most-annoying-ads-from-…
check out how many settings you have to search and disable to turn off MOST of the ads in windows. It’s completely ridiculous.
everett@lemmy.ml 1 year ago
Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems are PCMag Editors’ Choice picks
lol
ares35@kbin.social 1 year ago
they keep moving that shit around, too. seems like i'm always finding some new crevice they've hidden some setting they don't want you to know about.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
What? I was expecting registry edits from your description. Actually hidden shit. Those examples are all right where you should expect those settings to be.
That really isn’t that many settings, and while it would be nice to have a collected “ads” settings page, those are all located sanely. You just need to pay a modicum of attention to where the ads are on your system, then go to the associated settings page.
Do people in general just not ever go through the settings when they first get something new? I feel like that’s the equivalent of buying some flat packed Ikea furniture and complaining about how shit it is after you throw away the instructions and can’t figure out how it needs to be put together.
VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Do people in general just not ever go through the settings when they first get something new?
Basically, yeah. Lots of people just mindlessly click next to be finished as fast as possible instead of looking at the page and seeing what it turns on by default.
Tarcion@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
This was my thought as well. Pretty sure I already have all of that turned off but I would have done that as part of the install and brief customizing of the UI. Can’t say I ever used a guide or anything, or even considered it unusual for modern software.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
There aren’t more ads than 10 because MS has added those ads to 10 with each update over the years.
Weather bug in taskbar is an ad server. You click on it and it brings up bing stories to get you to click them and see ads. The search bar now has a little daily decoration. Click it for ads. The search menu has bing news- again to bait you into clicking one and seeing an ad.
Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 1 year ago
All of that is disabled on my system.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
And all of these are easily disabled with GPO, registry edits, and other basic system administration means.
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 1 year ago
One shouldn’t have to disable ads on an OS they pay for.
Tarcion@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Ah, that likely explains it. I know when installing I hit “no” on anything that sounds remotely marketing related and I turned off search and weather because they just don’t add any value and I like a clean screen. So I think the only ads I get are the small, unobtrusive ones on the lock screen, which I can’t say I’m bothered by in the slightest. I barely even notice them since it isn’t like I stare at the lock screen.
DarkenLM@kbin.social 1 year ago
I have to use W11, but I use ExplorerPatcher to make it bearable.
The_v@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I had to purchase new computers for my wife and son. So W11 home edition it is. $12 for for the family pack of startallback and the PC’s run as they should. It’s so stupid that I have to do it, but it clears out all the annoying shit so it’s worth the few bucks.
I have been using classic shell/open shell since Win8 anyways. My screens look the close to the same since Win7 and I am not changing anytime soon.
shitwolves@lemmynsfw.com 1 year ago
I’ve been using classic shell fro years. Is there a reason you’re paying for startallback?
The_v@lemmy.world 1 year ago
They successfully reverted adding a custom toolbar to the taskbar. I create one for each of my cloud drives and one for the desktop. It turns a folder into a menu.
I organize my files in nested folders. It allows me to open files/programs much faster than searching using the mouse hover on the folders
For example:
Clouddrive^research/2023/ file.
Older files or less frequently used ones are buried deeper in a folder tree. Actives ones are very shallow so it’s fast to find them.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 year ago
The W10 bullshit eventually caused me to leave. Never even made it to 11 haha.
IronKrill@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Windows 10 came with Candy Crush ads in the start menu (on my machine), it’s not any better than W11. Don’t get me wrong, I use W11 and think it sucks more overall, but W10 does the same crap.
PlantJam@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The task bar is my main reason for staying on 10. Forced grouping with icons only and no option to change it is such a bizarre design decision.
ares35@kbin.social 1 year ago
you can now set taskbar to ungrouped (unless full) now in win11, as of one of the recent monthly updates. still can't move the taskbar to the left side (my preference on wide screen displays), though.
deweydecibel@lemmy.world 1 year ago
And honestly the never combined feature is really really buggy, and just downright ugly with the way it resizes the bars based on the amount of text in the window’s name even when there’s empty space left on the taskbar. If you have your file explorer open to c:/ the space on the taskbar is ridiculously tiny. If you want uniform, clean, consistently sized bars that only shrink to make room when the taskbar is full, forget it.
It just barely works well enough that I’ll tolerate it on my work computer because I don’t have a choice about that, but I’m not abandoning the Windows 10 taskbar for this at home.
Madrigal@lemmy.world 1 year ago
My work machine is W11 and has options to change it. Not one of those stupid ‘home’ vs ‘pro’ version things is it?
cloudless@feddit.uk 1 year ago
You can only align the icons to the left, but you can’t move the entire taskbar to the side.
tgxn@lemmy.tgxn.net 1 year ago
Or to the top!
Pistcow@lemm.ee 1 year ago
The update for grouping just came out a few weeks ago on 11. I know this because when I started a job 5 months ago as a regional analyst it was pure hell with windows 11 until grouping became available. I swear it knocked 10% productivity off the top.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s not, that was fixed a while ago.
herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
They (finally) changed this in a patch a few months ago. W11 still sucks, but at least it can now do this one thing that all the previous versions could do.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
You can move the “start” button to the left but you can’t move the entire taskbar to the right or left to be a vertical stripe going down the side. I don’t do it but a right or left vertical bar makes much more sense than horizontal given today’s wide and ultra wide monitors.
VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 1 year ago
For that matter, they said the reason for the new centered taskbar was to be better for touch screens. Centered on the left or right, sure, but centered on the bottom? That’s probably the least convenient spot for a touch interface, especially on a laptop.
herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Good catch. I somehow missed the second part of the comment I was replying to - I was referring to the ability to finally ungroup taskbar items in W11.
stufkes@lemmy.world 1 year ago
This is also my main reason for not switching and let me tell you this issue is NOT fixed. Do not upgrade to 11. You don’t have an option to use small taskbar icons, making the ungrouped tabs massive. Plus they resize themselves constantly. I use 11 at work and the only workaround as of now is third party stuff that either costs money, is a resource hog, or both.
PlantJam@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Thank you for clarifying. That sounds awful.
linearchaos@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I can change it on 2H22 with these instructions
howtogeek.com/ungroup-taskbar-icons-windows-11/
MisterFrog@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I had to use it on a work laptop briefly. It is still insane, when you run out of space it the apps then get put in this crappy overflow area.
You know what I used to be able to do? Make the taskbar 2, or even 3 lines. No more.
I’m staying on windows 10 for work as long as I can help it.
The “show more” menu on right click is absolute insanity. I right click files constantly, all day.
They’ve taken features away for seemingly no reason.