Thanks for ruining the rotating login screen photos you assholes, I actually liked those owl-pissed

I’m sure everyone alive on Planet Earth already knew about Todd Howard’s latest Gamebryo-powered mess

I love that this ad is presented just like a picture of a savannah or a castle

  • sicklemode [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    18·
    1 year ago

    Critical support to Microsoft for making Windows more and more uninhabitable and Linux increasingly sexier for all sicko-tux

    Communism will win, even in cyberspace and software sicko-hyper

  • TheModerateTankie [any]@hexbear.net
    English
    17·
    1 year ago

    This type of shit annoyed me enough that I’m swapping most of my computers over to linux. Yeah, I can use tweaks that may or may not work to stop a lot of the bullshit, like ads in the search bar, but when they constantly upgrade my fucking computer and revert the changes I’ve made, or keep advertising the newest windows I don’t want to switch to, or force links to open in edge, it’s become too much to deal with.

    I installed the newest debian, and it feels like all the promising stuff that was on the horizon years ago, the last time I tried to switch, has matured and gelled together into something quite good. Btrfs snapshots are awesome. Steam works pretty well. Flatpaks work great, and when did gnome get good? It’s nice. I like it.

    Anything owned by a corporation will just shove fucking ads everywhere and try to lock you into some proprietary user-hostile garbage and make everything awful, eventually.

    I’m currently setting up a pihole to get rid of as much bullshit as possible on every other device in my house, too.

    • TheronGuard [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      91·
      1 year ago

      When I first upgraded to Windows 10 on the very last day you still could upgrade from Windows 7 for free, it was just pictures of beautiful landscapes or ancient monuments along with a short blurb about them where the PLAY STARFIELD WITH PC GAME PASS text is in this picture. I didn’t specifically turn that login screen on but I liked it so much that I kept it on. Then, maybe a year ago(?) the text stopped being about the image and turned into a generic blurb for various Microsoft services, most often Game Pass.

      This is the first time I remember the image itself just being a straight up ad for something. I’m sure they were feeling clever because it’s an atmospheric piece of concept art that kind of looks like the kind of photos they typically have in the rotation for these login screens.

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        9·
        1 year ago

        I’m sure they were feeling clever because it’s an atmospheric piece of concept art that kind of looks like the kind photos they typically have in the rotation for these login screens.

        Yeah this is exactly how they got whoever is in charge of these to capitulate and include it.

        Slippery slope from here on out, if they’ve done one explicit ad, more will follow.

  • InRlyehDreaming@programming.devEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    FYI for everyone who hates this shit, ads won’t show up on the login screen if you enable secure login (Ctrl + Alt + Del at login screen). Press Win + R, type in netplwiz, go to the Advanced tab and check the box “Require users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete”. Viola, no more ads.

    • neo [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      12·
      1 year ago

      Part of the reason I left Windows for good was the increasing number of extremely silly and obscure workarounds I had to employ to keep the desktop environment sane. The start menu showing online results almost did me in, but I was able to find random powershell scripts to block that. A failed Windows 10 upgrade was the straw that broke this camel’s back. Fast forward a few years and the stuff I see now about Windows 11 looks downright jokerfying.