If you want to open Edge without actually wanting to open it, just accidentally click on one of the advertisements in the main menu or any info area widget. Those ignore the default browser and always open Edge.
My new work computer on both teams and outlook just open edge with any links too ignoring my default browser preference. My last one obeyed like a good computer.
Microslop promising to improve windows 11 and give users agency back.
5 minutes later...
I prefer Firefox, so I was using that as default browser. Windows asked me every fucking time I started my laptop if I wanted to use edge as default. Sometimes it just went ahead and made the change anyway. Windows was consuming loads of my download data, fuck knows what for. Then the copilot stuff. Finally installed mint and feel like I got my laptop back.
Windows was consuming loads of my download data, fuck knows what for.
Background updates of all the minor services running. I only had 360kbit/s for a while two years ago and windows could take a few hours until it was finished. You usually don't notice it but I literally couldn't use the internet until windows decided it was done.
why stop at edge, open every single program at start up and also fill the screen with pop up ads while you are at it
I honestly might switch to Linux. I know people say that a lot, but gaming has been the only thing keeping me on Windows.
But I've also come to realize I just don't have that much free time to game any more. Most of my computer use is putting YouTube on in the background or web browsing. I still occasionally game, but Linux support keeps improving and even if I only pick Linux supported games... I still won't have enough time to play them all.
Gaming works great on Linux now and often better. The only scenarios I can think of where things are majorly behind are competitive games with anti cheat that doesn't work on Linux and anything requiring peripherals with custom software, for example SIM racing. This means that the vast majority of games work great!
I game often, and 100% on Linux. Unless you're doing competitive multiplayer games with kernel level anti-cheat (read: rootkit malware), games run perfectly fine.
I've seen this episode before....something something IE something something Netscape
in 98 they were taken to court because at one point you couldn't even uninstall IE from your PC since, if I remember correctly, It was so tied into the file explorer it would break your system. they also made it difficult to download alternatives like Netscape.
I remember my Dad had a thing for "eMachines" PCs because A. they were cheap and B. most of the time they came preinstalled with Netscape as opposed to IE and he liked Netscape a lot better. Problem with this though is I liked to play X-Wing vs Tie Fighter and Jedi Knight online and the easiest way to do so was via Microsofts Internet Gaming Zone which ONLY worked on IE. and downloading/installing IE in the late 90s on a dial up connection took forever. and THEN once you did install it good luck uninstalling it.
Oh, so they're on board with convincing people to move to Linux. Good job!
sudo apt install edge-browser
Make yourself at home!
I have an idea. Linux should start automatically everytime you boot you PC.
"Funny" news that bring me back to the last time I decided to switch to Linux.
I updated windows 10 and when my PC booted I got a full screen to setup edge. I wasn't able to find any way to quit the screen. So I completed the set up and went to install Linux.
It's crazy how they believe they own the PC of their customers... I mean, it's in the name... Personal...
Why would my browser Downloader need to start again after I download other browsers?
Even non-techies know how and want to install a different browser, how many decades more will they try this pressure fueling of their shitty browser?
In fear of playing devils advocate a little bit:
Edge is not a shitty browser. Ad-infested, controlling, overwhelming, disrespectful, annoying yes. But not shitty.
It’s chromium-based so it’s quite fast and secure (unlike Internet Explorer that everyone loved back in the day) and it integrates well with the overall OS.
I wouldn’t use Edge, but it’s a decent default if you’re okay accepting Windows antics or too young to remember for how long Microsoft has been desperately trying to play catch up and failing.
It’s an opinion, don’t kill me. 😶🌫️
Edit: unrelated to the topic, but I’d like to thank everyone for not downvoting me for wrong think like what would happen on that other platform. Why is this community so nice? 😭
I'd argue that those behaviours are what make the browser shitty.
That’s also a fair point, in hindsight. I associate shitty to being insecure, slow, and borderline unusable. I have a middle of the road view on the privacy aspect because Chrome exists, it doesn’t care about your privacy but I think you’ll be hard pressed to call it shitty.
That said, I wouldn’t hold my breath and I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few months time Chrome comes with Gemini integrated by default. All your private data, straight to Google’s servers.
Between this and Lemmy, I'm ready for a switch to Linux now even though I don't know how it works.
You ask people online and get 78 different answers, then get caught up in decision paralysis and stick with windows.
It's amazing the level of contempt for the average user most tech companies have these days.
Some senior VP obviously has his annual performance bonus tied to increasing Edge market share, and is pulling shit like this to artificially inflate the numbers.
Ditto for Bing, Copilot, etc.
Mint guy here, since 6 months ago, best choice I have done. If you make some research, in few time you realiese you do not need Microsoft to live in the majority of the cases.
This bullshit again?
they are constantly looking for reasons to turn people away from their products
That's great. Yet another reason to tell people when they ask me why I'm using Linux on my computers.
Slopya Nadella: "Oh no, people are complaining this is the worst windows ever! We must do something!"
and this is the result. /slowclap
Linux is easier than ever to adop, distros like Mint just works out of the box, gaming with on Linux with proton and newer Wine much easier now…
Macs are cheaper than ever with MacBook Neo, if you want something that would just works out of the box.
So people have options and they need to realize there is tons of options for every need.
@echo off
timeout /t 60 /nobreak >nul
tasklist /fi "imagename eq msedge.exe" | find /i "msedge.exe" >nul
if not errorlevel 1 (
taskkill /f /im msedge.exe >nul 2>&1
)
exit
When I bought a new gaming PC a few weeks ago (where I live the pre-builts that were assembled before rampocalypse are still at a reasonable price until the stock runs out), I asked if I could get it cheaper without the Windows 11 license. The sales guy said, "well, it's already installed." I told him, "I'm literally going to take it home and wipe it for Bazzite." He said, "good call, but seriously, they're practically giving these licenses away, so even if we could it would only take like $20 off the purchase price."
Kind of a bummer to waste that $20, but honestly the satisfaction of hitting "reformat" on a brand new, slop-infused, bloatware-infested, data-harvesting-ready SSD and watching it all vanish before I even used it was almost worth the money.
EDIT: Not to mention, I got back a significant amount of space. 15+ GB.
Wasn't MS just saying that they were going to work to de-shittify Windows? Evidently the same decision makers for the previous shit are still in charge.
It's fine.
More people for Linux!
If my school didn't absolutely require windows I would be fully Linux at this point.
It already does, on startup, on 11. The process is set to auto-run in task manager on every single new installation, it just doesn't "appear" though the process is already loaded in memory the moment you log in.
Go ahead, check task manager > startup apps
Microsoft is malware.
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
