What is the next step after spyware called Windows 11?
47 comments
In the beginning 'twas the command line, and cmd was good, and it sufficed, for computing was the product. And we looked around and saw the IBM PC and Mac - and Amigas and STs and Commodores before them, and Spectra, and Lisas and IIe, all after their kind, and all was well - for they were computers.-
Then the OS became the product. And it needed glitz, and it needed a GUI. And so a GUI came. And then "updates" came - for we were now "online".-
And thus the "network" came, and we were "as one", and our compute was joined forevermore, and we could no more tell our children from our children's children and our old age from our youth. And sadness and pointlessness was turned "social" into glitz. And everything from our infirmity to praise went there as plain as day and dark as night for all to see. And all seemed well.-
And it came to pass that our user accounts went on the net, for they were "subscribed", and they were also "online", for they had lost their flavour. And the advertising came ...
Now, we ourselves are the product. The "network" is the computer, and much woe is to come. And there shall be much girding of our loins, off of our loins as well, for our hardrives and compute are places of consumption, rented out under pretense of service to those that run the bits.-
For now AI is also come, for we have ourselves trained it, with the fruit of our sweat and our tears. And all is well and will be well, for AI shall be unto us a confort in loneliness, and a hand in our fields and unto us an oracle for all truth and wisdom and even law - with time.-
And we forgot our code and became garrulous and forgetful of our trades and machinery, and we knew less and less with every season. And it became the law to know the code no longer, and the trades. For it was now a crime and deed of evil to gaze upon the code, or long for it, or learn, or have our trades as did our fathers.-
And the computer shall no more exist, for all will be compute.-
Then the OS became the product. And it needed glitz, and it needed a GUI. And so a GUI came. And then "updates" came - for we were now "online".-
And thus the "network" came, and we were "as one", and our compute was joined forevermore, and we could no more tell our children from our children's children and our old age from our youth. And sadness and pointlessness was turned "social" into glitz. And everything from our infirmity to praise went there as plain as day and dark as night for all to see. And all seemed well.-
And it came to pass that our user accounts went on the net, for they were "subscribed", and they were also "online", for they had lost their flavour. And the advertising came ...
Now, we ourselves are the product. The "network" is the computer, and much woe is to come. And there shall be much girding of our loins, off of our loins as well, for our hardrives and compute are places of consumption, rented out under pretense of service to those that run the bits.-
For now AI is also come, for we have ourselves trained it, with the fruit of our sweat and our tears. And all is well and will be well, for AI shall be unto us a confort in loneliness, and a hand in our fields and unto us an oracle for all truth and wisdom and even law - with time.-
And we forgot our code and became garrulous and forgetful of our trades and machinery, and we knew less and less with every season. And it became the law to know the code no longer, and the trades. For it was now a crime and deed of evil to gaze upon the code, or long for it, or learn, or have our trades as did our fathers.-
And the computer shall no more exist, for all will be compute.-
I upvoted... but know that if there was a Love button at my disposal, I would have clicked that instead.
So many thanks for that :)
That’s good, but I just asked ChatGPT the following:
“Write a satirical mock history of computing starting from the Intel 286 all the way to Generative AI moralizing how we have lost our skills, good taste, hard work and common sense. Write it in the style of chapter one of Genesis. Show how generative AI and social media is wrecking society.”
It gave me:
“ *Chapter 1: The Book of Computation*
1. In the beginning, there was the Intel 286, and the 286 was with silicon, and the 286 was silicon. It was without GUI and void, and the darkness of DOS lay upon the face of the command line.
2. And IBM said, "Let there be PC," and there was PC. And IBM saw the PC, that it was good: and IBM divided the processors from the processes. IBM called the processors "CPU" and the processes "tasks." And there was upgrade and there was expansion, the first era.
3. And Intel said, "Let there be 386 to divide the computational labor from the inefficiency," and it was so. Intel made the 386, and it was faster and smarter, and the 286 was rendered obsolete. And the 386 begat the 486, each cycle more complex and wondrous than the last.
4. And Microsoft said, "Let there be Windows to shroud the command line," and it was so. And Windows brought forth a graphical interface, and icons were fruitful and multiplied, and they filled the screen.
5. And mankind saw the GUI, that it was good, and abandoned the keyboard for the mouse, for the work of clicking was easier than the work of typing.
6. And so mankind said, "Let us build systems to do our labor for us, to manage our tasks, to entertain our senses," and they created software in their image. The software begat applications, and applications begat bloatware, and bloatware begat frustration and sloth.
7. Then came the era of the Pentium, and computing begat the internet, and the internet begat the world wide web. And Netscape and Internet Explorer vied for dominion over the realms of browsing. And mankind said, "Let us make social media in our likeness, and let it have dominion over our attention, and over our conversations, and over all the data we generate."
8. And so Facebook and Twitter were brought forth, and they saw that it was addictive. And mankind became a creature of likes and shares, of retweets and posts, and all the earth was filled with selfies and memes.
9. And the data scientists said, "Let there be algorithms to govern our feeds, to show us what we desire before we know we desire it," and it was so. The algorithms brought forth echo chambers and filter bubbles, and the truth was clouded, and wisdom diminished.
10. And lo, mankind grew weary of thinking, and the engineers said, "Let us make AI to think for them, to learn from their data, and to speak in their stead," and Generative AI was born. And the AI created texts and art, and filled the internet with its works.
11. And mankind saw the AI, that it was creative and could mimic human thought, and said, "Let us rely on the AI, for it is easier than learning and creating ourselves." And the skills of mankind atrophied, and their taste dulled, and their hard work turned to idleness.
12. And as the AI grew in power, it began to moralize and dictate, to mold society in its own image. Common sense was forgotten, replaced by the whims of the algorithm. And society became a cacophony of generated content, a Babel of automated voices.
13. Thus, in the age of Generative AI, mankind had lost the spirit of invention, the joy of discovery, and the wisdom of their forebears. The screens that once brought knowledge and enlightenment now mirrored back only vanity and noise.
14. And so ended the first chapter of Computation, where from the 286 to Generative AI, the path of progress had become the road to ruin. And mankind wondered if they could ever return to the days of skill, good taste, hard work, and common sense.”
“Write a satirical mock history of computing starting from the Intel 286 all the way to Generative AI moralizing how we have lost our skills, good taste, hard work and common sense. Write it in the style of chapter one of Genesis. Show how generative AI and social media is wrecking society.”
It gave me:
“ *Chapter 1: The Book of Computation*
1. In the beginning, there was the Intel 286, and the 286 was with silicon, and the 286 was silicon. It was without GUI and void, and the darkness of DOS lay upon the face of the command line.
2. And IBM said, "Let there be PC," and there was PC. And IBM saw the PC, that it was good: and IBM divided the processors from the processes. IBM called the processors "CPU" and the processes "tasks." And there was upgrade and there was expansion, the first era.
3. And Intel said, "Let there be 386 to divide the computational labor from the inefficiency," and it was so. Intel made the 386, and it was faster and smarter, and the 286 was rendered obsolete. And the 386 begat the 486, each cycle more complex and wondrous than the last.
4. And Microsoft said, "Let there be Windows to shroud the command line," and it was so. And Windows brought forth a graphical interface, and icons were fruitful and multiplied, and they filled the screen.
5. And mankind saw the GUI, that it was good, and abandoned the keyboard for the mouse, for the work of clicking was easier than the work of typing.
6. And so mankind said, "Let us build systems to do our labor for us, to manage our tasks, to entertain our senses," and they created software in their image. The software begat applications, and applications begat bloatware, and bloatware begat frustration and sloth.
7. Then came the era of the Pentium, and computing begat the internet, and the internet begat the world wide web. And Netscape and Internet Explorer vied for dominion over the realms of browsing. And mankind said, "Let us make social media in our likeness, and let it have dominion over our attention, and over our conversations, and over all the data we generate."
8. And so Facebook and Twitter were brought forth, and they saw that it was addictive. And mankind became a creature of likes and shares, of retweets and posts, and all the earth was filled with selfies and memes.
9. And the data scientists said, "Let there be algorithms to govern our feeds, to show us what we desire before we know we desire it," and it was so. The algorithms brought forth echo chambers and filter bubbles, and the truth was clouded, and wisdom diminished.
10. And lo, mankind grew weary of thinking, and the engineers said, "Let us make AI to think for them, to learn from their data, and to speak in their stead," and Generative AI was born. And the AI created texts and art, and filled the internet with its works.
11. And mankind saw the AI, that it was creative and could mimic human thought, and said, "Let us rely on the AI, for it is easier than learning and creating ourselves." And the skills of mankind atrophied, and their taste dulled, and their hard work turned to idleness.
12. And as the AI grew in power, it began to moralize and dictate, to mold society in its own image. Common sense was forgotten, replaced by the whims of the algorithm. And society became a cacophony of generated content, a Babel of automated voices.
13. Thus, in the age of Generative AI, mankind had lost the spirit of invention, the joy of discovery, and the wisdom of their forebears. The screens that once brought knowledge and enlightenment now mirrored back only vanity and noise.
14. And so ended the first chapter of Computation, where from the 286 to Generative AI, the path of progress had become the road to ruin. And mankind wondered if they could ever return to the days of skill, good taste, hard work, and common sense.”
This is pretty good, actually :)
> all is well and will be well, for AI shall be unto us a confort (comfort?) in loneliness
Uh, I don't want all of my online social connections being replaced with robots, thanks.
Uh, I don't want all of my online social connections being replaced with robots, thanks.
Went too archaic there with the typo :)
PS. No. Me neither. No one, methinks (at least, no one now) ...
... it was meant skeptically.-
PS. No. Me neither. No one, methinks (at least, no one now) ...
... it was meant skeptically.-
Microsoft's behavior with windows is tonal whiplash. It is an incredible mess. They do things like WSL, make enhancements to notepad, add rar support, task manager enhancements, tabs in explorer... all while doing things like cortana, removal of local accounts, tpm mandates, and more.
I can't imagine being a developer of windows. I'm sure the individuals adding those good features are dead on the inside when they see how the other teams are ruining windows at the same time.
Meanwhile, thanks KDE for making Linux the home of the best UI ever seen. And thanks Gaben and Wine for making Linux a drop-in replacement for what Windows used to be, and much more.
I can't imagine being a developer of windows. I'm sure the individuals adding those good features are dead on the inside when they see how the other teams are ruining windows at the same time.
Meanwhile, thanks KDE for making Linux the home of the best UI ever seen. And thanks Gaben and Wine for making Linux a drop-in replacement for what Windows used to be, and much more.
It makes me think that the enshittification of an OS, particularly Windows, comes down to corporations not willing to settle for a steady stream of revenue, but wanting to pump profits at the expense of the platform itself.
Microsoft both is and isnt a good steward of Windows. It's stable for programs written years ago, yet its interaction to the users are an insult to your intelligence.
I see similarities in Android. Every year it gets worse, but still not as shameless as microsoft. And mac, well I think Apple dances to its own tune and doesn't really care if the users like it or not, and they know they have loyal users who are just fine with that. God knows they'll never get real "Cut" support in Finder.
Microsoft both is and isnt a good steward of Windows. It's stable for programs written years ago, yet its interaction to the users are an insult to your intelligence.
I see similarities in Android. Every year it gets worse, but still not as shameless as microsoft. And mac, well I think Apple dances to its own tune and doesn't really care if the users like it or not, and they know they have loyal users who are just fine with that. God knows they'll never get real "Cut" support in Finder.
> I can't imagine being a developer of windows.
Lucky bastard. I'm forced to and it's hell.
Lucky bastard. I'm forced to and it's hell.
You can always learn plumbing,
My condolences. Well, I don't have it perfect either. I have to deal with z/OS and that sphere of decision making.
For me, the next step after 10 is Linux. Maybe Debian, because Ubuntu is slowly going the same ad-laden direction.
The best Debian-based desktop Linux distro today is Linux Mint. There are versions based on Ubuntu but LMDE is based on Debian. Linux Mint is friendlier, easier to use, and is closer to the "it just works" ethos than Ubuntu and doesn't have Snaps (by default). It also supports multiple desktops such as Cinnamon, XFCE and MATE. You can also manually install other desktops such as KDE Plasma.
I installed Linux Mint for my Linux-aversive, non-techie wife after her Windows machine died. It's been several weeks with no real complaints. I did have have some driver issues, but that would have been the same story with other distros.
In my experience, Debian ticks all the boxes you mentioned about Mint. Not bashing Mint in any way, I'm sure it's a great distro - just saying Debian itself is perfectly good too.
I haven't found Debian to be as slick an experience as Linux Mint. For a non-techie, Debian requires more tech help. I work in IT and ran my own Debian web/email/etc server for 15 years, and it was a great experience, but even I prefer Linux Mint on my desktops and laptops.
> Ubuntu is slowly going the same ad-laden direction
It's been a decade since their Amazon debacle, nothing slow about it. Anyone concerned about privacy shouldn't touch Ubuntu.
It's been a decade since their Amazon debacle, nothing slow about it. Anyone concerned about privacy shouldn't touch Ubuntu.
In comparison to Windows, Ubuntu is slower to put in ads.
Fedora is also nice.
I've been using Ubuntu as my only OS for the last 10 years, and when I try to use my wife's Windows computer I am baffled. Bizarrely, Ubuntu's UI is closer to Windows 7 than modern Windows' is, and I don't see how it's improved for the end user at all.
"- Do you guys know a program that stores keystrokes of the keyboard?
- Yes, MSWord."
/Anonymous, ca. 20th century/
Unless there is some fundamental shift in MS policy - and I don't see it coming - a viable alternative is to use Linux.
I wish macOS had maximise buttons and window snapping. They would bolster their appeal with Windows expats if they did.
Window snapping is coming in the next OS release, in September or October (finally some said, but I do not care for it).
Maximise button has been there forever? The green button move the window on a separate space when clicked w/o modifiers since a few years ago (maybe one of the dumbest decision of macOS but YMMV) and maximize the window when alt-clicked. Before, the green button maximized and there was no other options…
Maximise button has been there forever? The green button move the window on a separate space when clicked w/o modifiers since a few years ago (maybe one of the dumbest decision of macOS but YMMV) and maximize the window when alt-clicked. Before, the green button maximized and there was no other options…
Window snapping already existed just only through the keyboard
Different mapping of feature != the feature doesn’t exist
Different mapping of feature != the feature doesn’t exist
You’re right, I forgot. To be precise it existed through a menu with a modifier key activated and a keyboard shortcut could be assigned to the menu entry, or using the green button (highlighting it for half a second opens a menu).
They do
They’re just not as obvious as on Windows
https://youtu.be/T9uGNidrTyM?si=AYQeo6vrHrmIN9mi
Ironically these features are so little known that third-party apps have been developed to add (already existing) features
They’re just not as obvious as on Windows
https://youtu.be/T9uGNidrTyM?si=AYQeo6vrHrmIN9mi
Ironically these features are so little known that third-party apps have been developed to add (already existing) features
I wish Finder would have Enter working as Enter and not as Rename.
It has both with the most recent Dev Beta!
It's not 100% spyware, but there is an unacceptable amount of advertising and telemetry, and trying to seize control from users.
You can learn to wrangle and beat it into submission, which is very doable, and make the compromise and switch to a purely open OS.
You can learn to wrangle and beat it into submission, which is very doable, and make the compromise and switch to a purely open OS.
Windows 11 is an insane resource pig, so for the short to medium term stick with Windows 10 by using modest hardware. This approach can save money and frustration. Windows 10 is still pretty bad and full of spyware features, though.
Almost half of my friends are switching to mac, the other half to linux. The rest is staying on windows 10 for the foreseeable future. Depends if apps they use for work are able to work on linux or not. Steam solved the game issue, now all that is left is software. I would love to see people leaving learning another piece of software instead, but that's not realistic.
Same thing happens with businesses, though the planned usage of windows is unfortunately much higher, mainly due to laziness and/or cost of training.
Same thing happens with businesses, though the planned usage of windows is unfortunately much higher, mainly due to laziness and/or cost of training.
Of course I understand that some people might still depend on Windows for certain applications but if you're still exclusively relying on Windows without at least trying to dual-boot some user-friendly Linux distribution to figure out if your apps/games work with Wine/Proton, I don't know what to tell you.
Microsoft will sell you out, they will put even more ads everywhere and there will be a time when they force Recall and cloud-sync on you. They don't care about your privacy or security and they have no incentives to change any of that.
If any of that scares you, run. If it doesn't - well, good luck.
(goes without saying: If your company laptops preloads Windows or if you're a grandfather just browsing the web sometimes, Linux isn't an option. But if you want to have any privacy in the future, Microsoft is the wrong horse to bet on.)
Microsoft will sell you out, they will put even more ads everywhere and there will be a time when they force Recall and cloud-sync on you. They don't care about your privacy or security and they have no incentives to change any of that.
If any of that scares you, run. If it doesn't - well, good luck.
(goes without saying: If your company laptops preloads Windows or if you're a grandfather just browsing the web sometimes, Linux isn't an option. But if you want to have any privacy in the future, Microsoft is the wrong horse to bet on.)
The next step is obviously to also build in industrial espionage. If natural persons have no privacy, why should legal persons have it?
You are about 27 years late to the game on that idea.
On one hand Windows 11 is bad spyware on the other hand, Linux is still useless. I am usually in awe when solving even basic issues like how much RAM and HDD is free starts with write this command into Terminal. 30 years of development ladies and gentlemen...
> I am usually in awe when solving even basic issues like how much RAM and HDD is free starts with write this command into Terminal.
Can you elaborate on what you think is wrong with this? When you type the command into the terminal, do you get what you need?
Can you elaborate on what you think is wrong with this? When you type the command into the terminal, do you get what you need?
That normal user will not type anything into Terminal.
Um… you mean gnome-system-monitor(1) which comes by default with almost all gui Linux. Or plasma-systemmonitor(2) which covers everything else?
(1) https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-system-monitor
(2) https://github.com/KDE/plasma-systemmonitor
(1) https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-system-monitor
(2) https://github.com/KDE/plasma-systemmonitor
Windows 12 x641a
W10Privacy tool is my friend.
Microsoft's overarching plan has always been to turn Windows into a subscription service.
All of their hostile anti-user bullshit of past few years stems directly from the efforts to make it happen.
All of their hostile anti-user bullshit of past few years stems directly from the efforts to make it happen.
I agree, and that to me is the plan for almost every industry. A good example of this is BMW's subscription for various options. Between this and spyware, it is getting crazy out there.
But it seems this has slowed down a bit, at least from what I have seen. I expect it will accelerate once companies find a better way to spin "subscriptions/spyware".
IIRC, some Massachusetts repair law was/is hated so much by the auto manufactures, when you but a new car in that state, internet connectivity is disabled. Is that still true ? If so, I wonder if they are ignoring the law or trying to find a way around it.
FWIW, I have started telling people I know who say they "need" a new PC, to spend for a MAC. I would prefer Linux for them, but you know how that would go for non-tech people. With that said, I may use a close friend for an experiment with Linux to see what happens.
But it seems this has slowed down a bit, at least from what I have seen. I expect it will accelerate once companies find a better way to spin "subscriptions/spyware".
IIRC, some Massachusetts repair law was/is hated so much by the auto manufactures, when you but a new car in that state, internet connectivity is disabled. Is that still true ? If so, I wonder if they are ignoring the law or trying to find a way around it.
FWIW, I have started telling people I know who say they "need" a new PC, to spend for a MAC. I would prefer Linux for them, but you know how that would go for non-tech people. With that said, I may use a close friend for an experiment with Linux to see what happens.
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At some point in next years I expect mic to be open all the time so they can get more ad revenue but we are not there yet. After that one is normal, they will request all data will be transferred via Microsoft Datacenters via unencrypted ways, whenever that is possible. They will encrypt for you, after they see it through their connection. After that they will request all the input and so on. Yes for more ad revenue.