Let’s put it this way; when Microsoft announced its plans to start adding features to Windows 10 once again, despite the operating system’s inevitable demise in October 2025, everyone expected slightly different things to see ported over from Windows 11. Sadly, the latest addition to Windows 10 is one of the most annoying changes coming from Windows 11’s Start menu.
Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced a so-called “Account Manager” for Windows 11 that appears on the screen when you click your profile picture on the Start menu. Instead of just showing you buttons for logging out, locking your device or switching profiles, it displays Microsoft 365 ads. All the actually useful buttons are now hidden behind a three-dot submenu (apparently, my 43-inch display does not have enough space to accommodate them). Now, the “Account Manager” is coming to Windows 10 users.
The change was spotted in the latest Windows 10 preview builds from the Beta and Release Preview Channels. It works in the same way as Windows 11, and it is disabled by default for now because the submenu with sign-out and lock buttons does not work.
These ads are what finally got me to pull the trigger and move to Linux. Arch is great, zero issues to report.
Definitely wouldn’t recommend jumping straight to Arch as a first distro unless you want a steep learning curve and have the time to learn.
Well… it’s time to HOST style AdBlock to shine baby…
If you use HAGEZI Ultimate Aggressive, 1Host Pro, StevenBlack, & Hblock filters in your machine, you practically immune to Microsoft adsPaying for an OS that phones home with incredible amounts of telemetry where you have to run adblock to get rid of the built in ads is just silly.
or just swich away and let them have their little sandbox to themselves
Dang I thought Windows 10 would be safe from this for some reason. Silly me.
Windows 10 already had ads, I don’t see why MS would be adverse to adding more.
no security updates, only ads
I’m in the EU and use Windows 10 LTSC so I mostly clear off of this bulshit. A few months ago I bought a cheap refurbished laptop to use occasionally and decided from day 1 it would be Linux Mint only since I only use it for the basics.
A few months later and I’m surprised how far Mint came. It’s so easy to use. Customizing it was a bit harder but nothing major. And to my surprise…even games. I threw a couple of games at it and everything the computer can handle would run. I was from the time where gaming on Linux was a no-no.
When LTSC support goes, I’ll most likely go full Linux. The only problem is the Adobe software but maybe I can fix that with a virtual machine.
…decided from day 1 it would be Linux Mint only since I only use it for the basics
What kind of out of the ordinary things cannot be done with it?
I switched from Windows 3.11 and I’m still puzzled by this.
Cannot be done with Mint? I’ve OS hopped every few years - currently running Windows 11 at work and Mint at home. I much prefer the Mint install. That said, I’m a video producer - and video production just isn’t there yet on Linux. CUDA’s a pain to get working, proprietary codecs add steps, Davinci’s linux support is more limited than it seems, KDenLive works in a pinch but lacks features, Adobe and Linux are like oil and water, there’s no equivalent for After Effects… I don’t doubt that there are workarounds for many of these issues. But the ROI’s not there yet. I’d love to see a video production focused distro that really aimed for full production suite functionality. Especially since Hackintoshes are about to get even harder to build.
I guess that’s a valid edge case. Although I thought that some professional editing suites had been ported (not Adobe’s, obviously). Apparently it’s not the case.
The way your comment reads, you’ve been using Windows 3.11 these past decades. 😂
Why fix what isn’t broken
I always love when people pretend to be mystified that someone has trouble running programs on Linux when I, a non Linux user, see plenty of examples of people having trouble getting programs to run on Linux scrolling through “Everything” on Lemmy
Well, some people want to run programs on Linux that were written for other operating systems.
As it happens, it can be done, but it’s not the simplest way to do things.
It’s like buying a PlayStation and complaining it won’t run Super Mario properly.
What if those are the basics?
If those are your basics, have you considered running a Nintendo system?
I tried but Nintendo issued a DMCA takedown
We need to remind ourselves that there’s an entire generation that has grown up with smartphones and only touching a laptop or a desktop pc occasionally. For them, windows or chromeOS alone is a challenge. Linux is just an isekai waiting to happen when you cross that bridge of no return.
I tried that LTSC a couple years ago when I had a Nvidia card and I couldn’t get a driver install that would let me play the new release games.
With the craziness around Adobe products you might want to move away from Adobe at some point as well.
I do, unfortunately there are no efficient alternatives.
I have to use a windows 11 machine for work, and it genuinely surprises me how terrible it is. I don’t understand the opposition to local accounts - if I’m working somewhere with public WiFi/capture portal, I have to use my phone as a hotspot first.
The PIN log in seems to roll a random number and decide each morning whether it is going to work or not.
I also got a laptop with 11 on it for gaming. So much spyware I’ve had to uninstall, configuring anything is a nightmare. I was trying to adjust my mouse sensitivity/figure out why the scroll wheel is either 0 or to the moon, but even when you dig into the control panel, half the settings are missing.
I also had to turn off my WiFi and google commands to make a local account, because otherwise Microsoft accounts are mandatory.
Every change seems to make the experience actively worse for the user.
Can’t stand them forcing onedrive on users as well as pushing online versions of the applications that are inferior in every way.
If you’re a person who prefers to type commands than click through menus then you should try the “run” program in the “powertoys” suite from Microsoft.
It a launcher program that’s superior to Start in every way. You can type in plain English system commands like “shutdown”; a search that actually works; you can pass queries into your browser’s search engine; and of course launch programs by typing in their names. You can even enter entire registry addresses to open regedit at the desired location.
This is a complete replacement for the Start Menu.
This is what I came here to suggest. Everybody should be using power toys and keyboard entry as much as possible on windows.
I just made a similar comment above but you’re in an abusive relationship. MS isn’t going to come to their senses and change paths. You can delay things by using powertoys, but they’ll be back to abuse you again. Use this time to plan an exit strategy and leave.
It’s pretty insulting to anyone who’s ACTUALLY been in an abusive relationship to claim that looking at an ad is the same thing as being beaten at night.
I’m sorry for your situation. That sucks, and I empathize. I hope you have found physical and mental healing.
That being said, there are different levels of abusive relationships. I can see where that poster could compare Microsoft to a gaslighting relationship where a partner says they are doing something for you, but it’s always about themselves.
I can’t believe they’ll put this on windows 10 pro.
that’s what’s kicking me,why would a professional license used primarily for business need ANY kind of advertisement/popup/nag from their OS? fuck off Microsoft
Remember when you payed for software and then it was yours forever?
Microsoft don’t hold back from the ads and crapware in the Pro versions of Windows. The Enterprise versions tend to be where you get some control over it.
IS THE ENTIRE FUCKING ECONOMY BASED ON ADS??? WHO THE FUCK IS PAYING FOR ALL THESE SHITTY ADS??? WHO EVER YOU ARE, GET FUCKED WITH YOUR PRODUCT!
Who even buys shit because of ads?
Yes, literally anyone that wants to sell a product or provide a service relies, to a large degree, on advertising.
It’s been this way for over a century.
Buy an expensive license
Install the software on hardware you own
Company puts ads on it that weren’t there when you bought the license
2024 is wild. Run Linux.
I jumped ship to PopOS a few months back.
There are some issues, like Bluetooth not starting without some terminal commands, I think I have to wipe or otherwise mess around with my 1TB NTFS storage drive to mount it and stuff like that.
But all the games I’ve tried to play work fine.
CPU: 3700x GPU: 4090
PopOS is pretty great. There is a polish to it that I haven’t seen in some other distros. Which is why it remains on my main gaming rig even though I have considered distro hopping for a while now.
Can’t you make an script and make it autoload on start?
It’s kinda like AAA game companies waiting for a couple of weeks after a title’s release (and all the reviews are done) before rolling out the micro-transaction market (and the corresponding game-balance adjustments).
Funny how when Windows XP had dial-in activation we warned that this would drift over to games if we tolerated it, and then it did.
100%. Every time consumers tolerate something, it will get worse. On the other hand, it seems so simple to tell people “just don’t buy a product that does X”, but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get people to stop giving these companies money.
but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get people to stop giving these companies money.
This is why consumer-protection regulations are necessary.
Well, hardly any consumer actively buys Windows since it comes pre-installed on most PCs.
People will yell, gnash their teeth, and greivously complain about terrible things and issues.
but they, for the overwhelming majority of them, will refuse to ever give up their precious shiny and make a change, and will eagerly throw out money at every opportunity for it. If not directly at buying them, then at buying secondary related items, or by watching ads.
Windows 10 will be my last Windows operating system. It’s been fine and it works well enough. I’ve already started setting up a drive with Linux Mint 22 for use moving forward.
In the same boat. Mint has some growing pains but for mainly web browsing I’ve been enjoying an OS that doesn’t feel like a ad billboard or a data snitch.
Yess yesssss let the linux flow throughhhh youuuuuuu. Manjaro XFCE here. Play with the distros in Oracle Virtual Machines and find the right one for you. Linux desktop is seriously worth the effort. Check out Yakuake as a Quake style drop down terminal to get to hacky stuff. Learn everything about Linux. It’s fun!
if you don’t feel like setting up a vm, use distrosea :] free website that sets it up for you in-browser
Sure if added to Pro version will have a Group Policy to disable them. Really happy I went Pro for Windows 10.
Really happy I went
Pro for Windows 10with LinuxWhich flavor?
(quick disclaimer: I've been using Linux for over 20 years)
I use Gentoo because I’m a power user and like to customize my system. I don’t mind having to compile software from source, and I actually appreciate the benefits I get from it. I use a custom kernel, which I probably recompile once a week because I make changes all the time. I also appreciate the fact that Gentoo doesn’t force me to use any particular piece of software, e.g. systemd or sudo. I replaced both, I use OpenRC as my init and doas instead of sudo.
For new users I would recommend something simple like Linux Mint, Pop!_OS or Zorin OS. EndeavourOS is great for intermediate users, and it offers a great introduction into the world of Arch Linux. Fedora and Fedora Atomic, as well as derivatives like Universal Blue are really interesting as well.
No Arch? I game on linux as much as possible and went with same that Valve did for SteamOS. Work I use Windows 10 Pro and laptop FreeBSD.
SteamOS has the big advantage that it’s immutable. I have used Arch many times and generally like it, but I recently had a few Arch installations break repeatedly for no reason, and I don’t want to deal with that. So I went back to Gentoo, which has always been extremely stable for me. But I like Arch, and one of the distros I recommend is EndeavourOS, which is Arch-based. But it’s better for users with some intermediate Linux knowledge, because it’s pretty easy to fuck up on Arch.
FreeBSD is nice! I have an old laptop that I keep around so I can play with FreeBSD. I also used to run OpenBSD on the desktop for a few years, but I had another machine running Linux because I couldn’t do everything on BSD. But it was a really nice experience, and I still use OpenBSD on servers.
As a long time Linux user, thank you M$!
Is there a way to pre-emptively block this? Something in hosts.txt? Registry?
The very first day I see those ads in my Win10 will be the day I uninstall Win and go Linux.
Why wait?
Learning Linux gets more tempting every day. Either that or government needs to pass laws against shit like this but I doubt that will ever happen.
I would recommend Fedora as it’s been the most stable regularly updated distro for me.
Let me give you a tip. Theres nothing to “learn” it’s just a different way of clicking on some things. If all your gonna do is use steam and Internet browser just do it. There is nothing magical. Just use popOS or Ubuntu. They’re made for ease of use.
Mint is great for beginners IMO
I use Mint on all my devices right now. Mint is great! My favorite part being it’s an operation system that stays out of your way.
I mean, there’s a LOT more to it than just, “a different way of clicking on things”. Let’s be honest and help define proper expectations. You will be messing around in the terminal a lot. Even for installing simple programs, you’ll at minimum be copy-pasting a bunch of commands from the developer’s website straight into the terminal to install most stuff. There are package managers, to help alleviate some of the pain, but there are multiple ecosystems and each one has it’s own contributors, meaning that overall development and technical knowledge is gated behind silos.
I love Linux, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly user-friendly.
Absolutely! To make it easier you can even tell chatgpt to write a whole terminal script to install X or do Y. And then never think about it again. But for the average user, setting up proton on steam is as deep as it needs to be.
Everybody should learn about pihole.
Or pfBlockerng
Pfblocking?
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/packages/pfblocker.html
It’s a component of the pfSense firewall, although calling it a firewall seems like an understatement. It’s also capable of routing, DDNS, IDS/IPS, and lots of other things.
https://www.patreon.com/pfBlockerNG is a addon for pfsense which is a router os for X86/64 machines. If you don’t want to block porn it will run on nearly anything. You can block all dns over tls or https. Many of the list you need can be selected in the gui.
That won’t stop in operating system ads.
