Finally, I can proudly proclaim that I'm no longer bound Microsoft's bullshit. Been a rocky start, but I've been happily using Kubuntu on my Surface for a while now, and it's going awesome
Hey, great for you! Which Surface do you have and did you get the camera(s) working properly?
This is misinformation. They added the login requirement for their Generative AI and the actual notepad doesn't require a login. But I guess we're ragebaiting today.
Upvoted for visibility.
I recommend Notepad++.
Is the Genevieve AI enabled by default?
After opening the notepad app does it ask you for that login?
Is your access to notepad restricted by the login?
"But it turns out that, while this screenshot is indeed real, those eagle-eyed enough should already be able to tell that something isn't quite lining up here. In fact, nearly any Windows 11 user could open up the fully updated Notepad without getting this pop-up at all, even if they aren't already signed into a Microsoft account. So, what's the deal here?"
"The key is in the exact wording, identifiable within the first sentence: "Sign in with your Microsoft account to use Rewrite and its features in Notepad." This is a prompt that exists, yes, but one that's exclusive to Copilot+ PCs and explicitly requires the user to trigger it by clicking the Rewrite button, as confirmed by our own testing."
Please read the article. No. My access to notepad is not restricted. I also don't run any copilot features of any kind on windows 11. Yes, I believe Generative AI Copilot is enabled by default, but in this case the only time you get promoted to login is when you use a feature in notepad that directly needs copilot in order to work and you the user have to select that feature. Meaning you can use notepad without it entirely and never even see this prompt at all.
Microsoft is a tech giant with all the bad crap that implies. They do enough terrible things that we don't need to lie to make them look bad.
So, turns out that they final push that convinced me to start learning Linux is the ol' Text Document.txt of all things. Swear to God, I thought that it would be the automatic updates nuking my unsaved work (again), but here we are...
How much shit are people going to endure before realizing Windows isn't for them any more?
Dump the damn thing and use Linux. Yes, Linux is friendly, easy to use, you can play most games, you don't need your proprietary programs because there are Free alternatives that are just as good that might take you a moment to adjust to (don't cry about how it's different, that's Baby Duck Syndrome), and so on.
And Microsoft facilitates fascism and government spyware and all sorts of evil crap. So does Apple. And Google. Throw away your phone, use Linux on your PCs, free yourself.
Crying about it being different isn’t baby duck syndrome; saying it’s better/worse compared to what you’re used to is.
People just don’t want to spend hundreds of hours re-learning things that already work for them.
It is objectively easier to stick with something you know than to learn something new, so that’s what most non-technical users do.
Pretty much everyone in IT should learn linux at some point though.
Notepad++ is way better anyway
Linux
End of conversation.
I think that's the start of the conversation. Which Desktop Environment?
I want a clean, advanced, well designed desktop and Im okay with redoing my work flow
Use Gnome
Gnome is cool but can it be slightly more Windows?
Use Cosmic (PopOS)
I want lots of customization, advanced features, and a traditional windows desktop metaphor
Use KDE
I want Windows and don't really care about customization
Use Cinnamon
Dude the Windows 9x look was fucking dope
Use Mate
Im installing this on a potato
Use XFCE
Just try out multiple desktops in a live environment and see what you like before you commit. In fact, I recommend people to use a linux live session for several weeks or months before switching, just to get used to it.
Gnome is an opinionated desktop environment and that turns some people off. But it's bold enough to make some design decisions and have a limited scope. KDE tries to be another Windows alternative.
Of course, you could go with a tiling window manager but my vote goes to Gnome. I've had a very smooth experience on Gnome for the last couple years.
Yeah, Gnome is like the Apple of the Linux world. The devs have the same kind of “we know better than you do” mentality towards design. The issue tracker is a lot of “hey the OS won’t let me do [edge-case scenario that an OS should be able to do, but which most users won’t bother with]” followed by the devs going “Gnome isn’t designed to support [edge-case scenario]. Bug report closed.” Like the devs have a very “it’s not a bug; It’s a feature” mentality, and anyone who runs into that bug must be using the OS “wrong”.
we know better than you do” mentality towards design
And I agree with them. I think people should pick whatever desktop environment needs the least amount of customization for their needs. Keep it simple. If Gnome works out of the box, use it. If KDE works out of the box, use it.
This is Gnomes biggest advantage to be honest. They have a singular vision of how they want their product to work and they aren't concerned with edge uses.
I enjoy elements of so many DEs but I keep coming back to gnome because it's just so well executed over the others.
I really like my KDE plasma
IMO:
want to show off? i3wm with gaps and rofi for menu launcher. Add it some transparency effects too.
want the MacOS style? Gnome. Default on a lot of distros.
want something stable? XFCE. Install and forget.
lol fuck that
Thanks god that I'm not using windows for 4 years now, and at least notepad++ exists.
Why would a bot be using notepad?
Every PC I've ever owned has had some version of vi installed on it pretty much on day one of my owning it.
If you must use windows, Notepad++ is the way to go.
Vi
Clay tablets
They could've added this to wordpad if they didn't kill it.
Good thing whenever I set up Windows, Notepad is one of the things I nuke, using Geany to replace it.
This is a bad sign if MS gets emboldened and starts paywalling basic OS functionality at some point in the future, though.
It should be noted that you can still use Notepad without a Microsoft account, and users can go as far as removing the Rewrite icon completely from Notepad. Despite the ability to still use the software without an account, Microsoft has received some criticism for implementing what is most definitely a paywall/advertisement for a built-in piece of Windows software.
Fucking click bait garbage article, but thankfully the article has a tldr at the top that basically contradicts the headline and saves you minutes of time to realize you've been baited;
TL;DR: Microsoft has introduced a paywall for Notepad, requiring a Microsoft 365 subscription to access new features like the AI-powered Rewrite tool.
Better headline: Microsoft forces you to pay to suffer through using their AI tool that no one asked for, application otherwise unchanged.
And around 20 years ago I did go all-in Linux.
I don't think it's ragebait/clickbait. I think it's really problematic that just a simple text editor get this bad by enshittification.
Sounds like they're slipping cloud based AI assistance into the deal, which is the opposite of what Notepad is "good" for.
Notepad has long been a testbed for new technology in Windows. This isn't just a sign of enshittification, it's a warning that they want to do more.
The recent update was the first time in decades they've touched it. How has it 'long been a testbed of new technology' ?
Used only in cases where everything else is not readily available... Pencil, pen, blood, boogers etc. But the most easily replaceable piece of software. Literally you could just paste into a browser's URL box to do the same job. Lol. There must be some dumb fuck heading Microsoft right now.
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
