Why did I abandon Windows for good?

rado84

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Windows 7: after installing any framework version higher than 4.0, it went into an infinite restart loop. If not installing a framework it worked fine but as you can imagine, you can't play games without that framework or without drivers (they too install a framework). The weird part is that exactly the same Windows 7 edition used to work perfectly fine with the same .Net Framework version 3 years ago and with the same drivers from 3 years ago. That makes me think Windows 7 has "pre-programmed aging" in order to force you to use the latest crap in Microshit's inventory.
Windows 10: you gotta constantly tinker the damn registry to do even simple settings that used to be easily accessible in Windows 7. On top of that there's absolutely no way to disable the antivirus, therefore - no cracked games. After a long tinker in Group Policies and registry, you think you have disabled the antivirus but in fact you havent. An antimalware process keeps running itself and there's absolutely no way to disable that process. Adding insult to injury, you have no rights to change anything about your own admin account, not to mention the rights to choose a default program for the file types you want. The most popular file types had no "browse" button in properties to change the program used for opening them.
Windows 11: you could easily disable the real time protection but the antimalware process is still there when you boot the system. The registry tinkering continues for even simple things like assigning shortcut keys to change the keyboard layout.
Windows 10 & 11: both refused to be installed the traditional way because the disk was MBR. When I changed it to GPT, both refused to install the traditional way for the same reason - because the disk was GPT! There's no pleasuring the damn Crapindows, no matter what you do! I had to use the Shift+F10 for Crap 10 to install it but that method no longer works for Crap 11.
When I bought a 4TB HDD and formatted it for first use, I made it MBR NTFS because back then I still hadn't reasearched what GPT was, so I did what I knew better. Linux properly detected that hard drive as a single 4TB hard disk. Crap 10 & 11 detected it as a hard disk consistent of two inacessible partitions, 2 TB each.
So after Crap 10 & 11 "told" me that they can't install on a GPT disk (after crying about MBR for months), I had a surge of Klingon rage because of the constant Microshit's idiotism and kicked almost everything related to Windows in its ass, including the ISOs I had and made all drives to be ext4.


These are my reasons to abandon Crapindows for good. What are yours?
 


The built-in spyware. I didn't like the idea of Microshit recording everything I said or did through the microphone and camera on my laptop at the time, and then (not trying to get political here) using the Prism Program and Patriot Act as a justification for doing so. While this wasn't initially a reason, I do like the control Linux gives me. The 3rd reason would be Linux is a community-developed operating system, rather than a corporate product like Winblows (the kernel is developed by corporations like Microshit, but that's besides the point).
 
It is a pain for me to follow all rules for collecting of personal data. Phone has your location, but we cannot use it to suggest commute unless we disclose that we use your location.
If we collect our application usage (how many times you use a feature, for example) or if we send crash data, we need to strip all personal data. It is a pain. We have mandatory training for dealing with customer data.
Finally Microsoft wants to make money (I am interested too, to get salary). The worst nightmare is to accidentally collect and then leak personal data, so we take it very seriously. For example, Windows 10 has a feedback tool where people can describe their problems. People sometimes put their name and e-mail addresses and, since we want to share this feedback with device manufacturers, we need to clear personal data from the feedback. This is a huge problem and there is a whole project dedicated to this, but finally they hired contractor to do it manually. It did cost a lot of money.
The bottom line we use personal data (for example Exchange servers keep a lot of e-mails ), but take special efforts to protect it. For example, I work on project that automatically checks you into meetings. We have to take special extra steps to make sure your data is stored properly and that delays our project.
Sorry for long answer, but the bottom line is that if my code leaks personal data and then people sue Microsoft, Microsoft loses money. That would not be fun for me.
 
Windows becoming essentially surveillance malware with a side-dish of operating system was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.
 
When the registry could not be easily tweaked for performance enhancements et cetera any more . . .

No, I wanted to get away from windoze before doing so in 2010.

Sun workstations running GIS software intrigued me and they ran on UNIX. Political bs got in the way of UNIX licensing or such, GNU/Linux proved an easier get and it's a similar OS, so there it started, for me.

And it is probably why I am running Slackware 15 at this moment in time, to tell the truth.
 
I was happy running windwoes 7...putting up with spyware...viruses...the blue screen of death...computer slowing down...going in to the registry and deleting registry keys left over from deleted software...updating software...trying to repair corrupt windwoes files (sfc/scannow) that never worked...going through all the windwoes updates looking for spyware updates and being told what to do on my own computer.
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Running chkdsk thinking I had problems with my HDD...trying to repair windwoes errors that came up now and then. I had a CD wallet full of repair disks...anti-virus...win 7 repair disk...spotmau rescue CD...trinity rescue kit CD...ultimate boot CD...memtest...hiren's boot CD.

Then that horrible...ugly...useless windwoes 8 came out...that's when I decided to look at Linux and soon discovered what I'd been missing...the freedom...not having to repair anything because nothing breaks and no spyware.
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When I look back and think of all the crap microsuck put me through...how stupid was I.
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I remember that I wanted to disable the Windows 10 keylogger that they had installed with some update, and I was sure that I had done that by following a tutorial. Then some time passed and I was keep seeing posts on the internet about the new windows keylogger, so I checked again just to be sure that I have disabled it. The GUI had changed after some update and I couldn't find the option, I searched for tutorials again and finally found out that the keylogger was enabled all this time, So I didn't bother disabling it, I did a backup and download a Debian 10 ISO and Rufus. It was something I wanted to do for a long time for various reasons. The rest is history
 
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I remember that I wanted to disable the Windows 10 keylogger that they had installed with some update, and I was sure that I had done that by following a tutorial. Then some time passed and I was keep seeing posts on the internet about the new windows keylogger, so I checked again just to be sure that I have disabled it. The GUI had changed after some update and I couldn't find the option, I searched for tutorials again and finally found out that the keylogger was enabled all this time, So I didn't bother disabling it, I did a backup and download a Debian 10 ISO and Rufus. It was something I wanted to do for a long time for various reasons. The rest is history
You can't disable the keylogger. As it became clear some time ago, the code of every single app of Crap 10 contains a keylogger, including the calculator. The only solution for no keylogger is "no Windows".
 
Other reasons to run from windwoes I forgot to mention...selling your information to Governments or to anyone with cash.
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Secret backdoors in the OS that allow microsuck employees to enter your computer and change or delete your files.
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I didn't abandon Windows, I abandoned Apple's MacOS X ! ;):p
 
Other reasons to run from windwoes I forgot to mention...selling your information to Governments or to anyone with cash.
t1935.gif

Secret backdoors in the OS that allow microsuck employees to enter your computer and change or delete your files.
t2401.gif
t1939.gif
It's probably intended for remote helping the ultimate noobs. I think MS employees have many better things to do than wasting time to poke inside a random user's computer.
 
It's probably intended for remote helping the ultimate noobs. I think MS employees have many better things to do than wasting time to poke inside a random user's computer.

They care about your data, don't underestimate the value of your data
 
I've used windows a lot: it's not easy to use. It's okay for gaming, but then you have to make all these bug reports to steam. I think windows is a virus.
 
The reason for me was nothing to do with the telemetry (which, by the way, Microsoft details quite well and transparently in their site, to their credit). Telemetry is something that, to some extent, you need to run if you provide services and want to get diagnostic data. It's true that I shall be opt-in and not by default and no matter what, but hey. Long story short I was OK with it. And, let me be clear, according to my own threat model, and to the way I perceive issues and risks, and to the extent I feel threatened by corporations, if it wasn't for what it comes next, for me Windows would be a fine product for what it does.

The knock off factor for me has been the direction Microsoft has been taking towards selling the positioning of content to the users through their ridiculously named "Web Experience Pack", which long story short is what causes Microsft News to throw content "from our partners" (a.k.a., the highest bidder) at your face every time you open Edge, and also them trying to push Edge as their preferred browser. Also, such pack, which in Windows 11 is built-in from the very first release, includes data collection agents for non-telemetry ends, "for them to offer content mode valuable / interesting / tailored to you". That non-diagnostic data has its own privacy policies and opt-ins and opt-outs, and it's basically the same Google and Facebook do when they track your web and app activity to put the best ad in front of you.

Positioning content of the highest bidder (news, opinion pieces, apps, etc.) is harmful as it creates echo chambers that lead to a distorted view of the world, and we've seen on quite a few occasions lately how dangerous those can be. Not detailing any more to comply with the forum rules, but a few episodes should come to your mind in the last, say, 10 years.

The main driver for me to use free software is precisely to oppose to those activities, and get the content the most unbiased possible way.
 
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Alas... I can not totally leave WIndoze behind as it is a part of my job.

But as far as my home life... My reasons for not using Windoze are MUCH easier to explain. I.E. Sorry for a "short" post. :D

I just want something that works! Most updates can be done in a single pass. If you're not updating the kernel or libraries, you can probably get away without a reboot. Finding and installing what you need to do what you want is usually cheap and easy.

It runs for months between scheduled reboots. The longest I've ever let a Linux (FTP) server run was 1,823 days. Or, three days short of five years. It still ran fine, the PID's were a bit out of whack. :D Sorry, I digress... It's always ready when I need it. When I'm done working, I lock the screen, turn off the monitor and walk away, fully knowing it will be right where I left it and not in need of a reboot that M$ decided I needed. As far as lifecycle, In the 30 years I've been using computers in my profession, I've had maybe five disk failures on a single disk computer and three raid 5 array failures. In most cases the disks in the array were over seven years old. I deserved those I guess. Thank goodness for backups. ;) I tend not to shut computers down. One of the hardest things (as far as wear and tear on the computer) is start it.

One of the coolest benefits Linux is, I can write my own programs. I can update, maintain and enhance my user experience. From the keyboard I can manipulate the windows to where I want them, what size and shape I want them without having to reach for the mouse.

Windoze... Is a pain in the glass.
 
I hate the way Windows go slower with time.
I used to re-install Windows every year or so, but it's a pain in the b..ks.
 
I hate the way Windows go slower with time.
I used to re-install Windows every year or so, but it's a pain in the b..ks.
Yeah, i found that even with windows 10, after leaving it on for 4 hours makes the system real clunky and slow, really doesn't make any sense given how advanced computer hardware is, i never have that problem with Ubuntu.
 
I didn't abandon Windows, I abandoned Apple's MacOS X ! ;):p
So you abandoned Linux, to move to Linux? OS X is OpenBSD a Unix like Linux. The GUI may be made by Apple and proprietary but it's still all on Linux / OpenBSD. Not to mention Apple has spent a lot of money in court protecting privacy rights, time and again, that's nothing like Microshaft Winblows. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I ran a network of Apple PC's for over 10 years, with only very minor issues which usually related to MSux Office not working as advertised.
 

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