Microsoft’s announcement: “We are introducing a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage. The Game Pass recommendation card on Settings Homepage will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC. As a reminder – the Settings homepage will be shown only on the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 and if you’re signed into Windows with your Microsoft account.”
Ethically, if not legally, this is terrible, as are all other steps Microsoft has taken to force ads onto your computer.
Seriously, think about it. You own the hardware, right? And the OS is present to run the hardware, right? To do that, it needs to be able to perform various tasks without your specific approval, and that’s fine, but using your bandwidth to download advertisements in the background, then using your computing cycles to force them in front of your eyes regardless of what you’re using the computer for, is awfully questionable. I would go so far as to say it’s a form of theft.
And no, ads on websites aren’t comparable. You, the user, are actively opting to view a web page that carries ads. You are choosing to grant them access to your eyeballs and the resources used by your browser. But nobody is actively seeking to view ads through their operating systems, and they don’t get anything in return (such as the content you went to that website for).
stardustsystem@lemmy.world 5 months ago
What kind of therapy do I go to if I’m in an abusive relationship with my Operating System?
Coasting0942@reddthat.com 5 months ago
There are Ubuntu versions that look very similar to the Microsoft
stardustsystem@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Linux user for a long time, actually. I like Q4OS for myself, it’s also Debian based and it puts very little in front of the user to start so I can customize a little more
shrugal@lemm.ee 5 months ago
It’s a group therapy called !linux@lemmy.ml
isles@lemmy.world 5 months ago
My last Linux dual-boot install was trying to apply Conversion Therapy to me and corrupted my windows boot records. Finally got it resolved, but what a nuisance.
Lem453@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
If you don’t want to think about your computer and just want a tool to use there is Aurora. It’s a variant of fedora but it uses an atomic
djsaskdja@reddthat.com 5 months ago
Why would anyone use this over Silverblue?
Beaver@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
I heard they have specialized clinics in Antarctica for that situation.
applepie@kbin.social 5 months ago
Self-harm?
stardustsystem@lemmy.world 5 months ago
No.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
That’s not a funny joke