1397
Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google
(www.theverge.com)
this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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Technology
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Sometimes Microsoft is such a turd... I've seen this thing posted several times, however I didn't see the fix in this thread, so I'll post it here. Sorry, I couldn't find the Lemmy post that had the information on how to remove it, but I found one on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/computerviruses/comments/149x25h/bgaupsell_what_is_this_bing_popup/jp896s0
It's basically a combination registry changes, and also directory modifications to prevent writing to the directory where
BGAUpsell.exeresides.It's pretty shitty we have to do this. Please, hold all your "switch to Linux" comments, because they are stupid, and superfluous; I see that dumb shit all the time since I came to Lemmy.
Finally, a person with an actual voice. I feel like the, "Switch to Linux," don't realize they sound like, "Just get an iPhone people." To me it all sounds like, "well if you don't like being in this country then just leave."
Linux is not the answer for all people the same as switching to an iPhone should never just be the answer.
What else would be the answer, then? Windows is a commercial product by Microsoft. They will never get better unless forced to. They will keep getting worse for profit because, well, that's what they do.
The whole point about an open-source operating system is that you can make it yours, and nobody can take that away from you. And the more people use linux, the better it gets. Commercial closed sources products can never have the same qualities.
I don't get it. If a product sucks, why wouldn't you switch away from it?
"Don't suggest I leave my abusive husband, instead I'll complain about him to my friends until he magically gets better."
Christ, you guys sound like you have Stockholm syndrome.
AutoCAD, Revit, Photoshop, InDesign, SteamVR.
Pretty much sums it up.
If the alternatives are not there or lacking then people can't switch. If people don't use it and contribute (e.g. reports, donations) then it is difficult to justify creating alternatives.
This is not a stalemate however. It is a slow transition of pioneers frustrated with the status quo.
More importantly, the reason why all of those apps don't have Linux versions is not because of some anti-Linux conspiracy, but because Linux userspace has for most of its existence prioritized distro-packaged-and-provided software, at the expense and sometimes even exclusion of binary software distribution.
This is not just a technical limitation, but I'd also argue a cultural one, driven by folks who consider proprietary/nonfree software irrelevant and not worth supporting in a first-class way. Unfortunately, the companies who make both the software that entire industries are built around and the games that you play when you get off work disagree. Valve was probably the company in the best position to make native Linux games a trend, and the fact that they're more focused on Proton these days is pretty telling.
The only developers in the Linux ecosystem who I feel are taking the problem seriously are the Flatpak developers. They do amazing work, with great tooling that builds against a chrooted runtime by default. But it needs more widespread usage and acceptance, as well as better outreach to developers from other ecosystems who might've had horrendous experience making Linux builds in the past.
There is a future out there with native Linux builds of industry-standard tooling and even games. But it's a future the Linux community has to willing to actually work towards.
Is it not "serious" to work towards a better future because that's more difficult to obtain? There is a future out there where more industries are dominated by software that respects user freedom. The games industry has changed over the years and it is my hope people will not tolerate it forever. Even if I achive no impact with my games I can look back and see I tried for what I thought was the better moral outcome.
I do not believe that distros ignoring the problem of binary software distribution is actually accomplishing anything productive on that front. All it does is put a gigantic KEEP OUT sign for most outside developers who might have briefly considered porting their software. Package maintainers are also incredibly overburdened, and are often slow to update their packages even on rolling release distros.
Worse, it also inconveniences their userbase, pushing them to solutions their that bypass the distro completely such as third-party repos, Steam, Wine, Flatpak, Docker, or even running Linux in WSL. All of them function as non-free escape hatches, but all of them are inferior to distros getting their act together and deciding that binary software distribution is a problem worth collaborating on and solving together.
I tried to get wine to work on my RX580, and the card could t even support it. It's only the last few AMD video card generations that do.
Why not both? I don't see how proprietary software on Linux will slow down FOSS at all, and it'll only bring more users to Linux who otherwise have to use windows for their software, so overall more FOSS users in the community
And programs like Blender have already matured to a professional level, so I'm pretty optimistic that other FOSS apps will eventually follow, too
If the goal is software freedom for everyone then proprietary software working on Linux isn't the end goal. Maybe it's good - a step towards the end game - but I worry it's a peak which is difficult to get down and up to a higher peak. Proprietary software on Linux is convenience above freedom.
AutoCAD has been industry standard for 40 years now, and it's never going away. Can't run it on Linux. It and Revit are 100% mandatory in construction/ arch / engineering
I have heard of those examples before but I have no use for that so I have not learned specifics to talk about.
Would bet it is harder to combat that "this will never change" mindset in the userbase than actually making alternatives. For 20 years from the 50's it was normal for ALL software to be public domain. Times change, and it's up to us users if they want better.
Yeah, that's what I'm getting at, proprietary software on Linux is just a step forward towards a fully FOSS future
For the most part, there aren't many professional fields that have a good FOSS option, so in the meantime their only option is to keep using the industry standard until a good alternative matures like Blender has
At the very least, people would have the freedom to not use microsoft or apple while still working professionally in their respective industry, so that's more free overall
I'll add Visual Studio.
And, no, VS Code is not a comparable replacement no matter how many extensions you add. I say that as someone who uses VS Code for almost everything...except C#.
Yep, definitely have to pick the right tool for the job. If you use these things, you're stuck with Windows. Would be nice if you could install needed software on whichever OS you choose.
I've been running Linux on all the machines I own for years, but I still have to run Windows for work. Not everyone can just switch and I doubt there are many reading this who are unaware they could switch to Linux (or Mac, BSD, etc.).
Oh I also have one MacBook running MacOS because Apple decided to only allow iOS development and parental controls, of all things, on Apple devices running Apple software.
Yes MS and Apple suck but it's not as simple as "just switch."
Agreed. You're making compromises no matter what you choose as an OS.
Penguin sighing noises.
But I like being superfluous.....
What if I suggest switching to BSD?
BeOS is best OS ^^
I did try out Haiku a long time ago. I wonder how that's doing.
Only HardenedBSD.
Linux is not as great a replacement as every one makes out to be. The community is hella toxic. Frequently leads to them shooting them selves in the foot. Right now they're trying to pick a fight with Nvidia because they dared to call Linux's sacred GPL syscalls
The Linux community is full of elitist assholes who think they're special because they have the ability to install an OS. However, there are also amazing people making amazing tools, completely free of charge. You can't paint everyone with the same brush.
Honestly, I wish our governments would pump money and resources into open source operating systems so that we're not all bound to one OS under the complete control of one company.
My understanding of the Nvidia situation is that they are not respecting the kernel's GPL license, which isn't right. Nvidia has always done awful, selfish things, which makes sense as they are a market dominant company. It doesn't mean the Linux developers have to allow them to break the license agreement. Intel and AMD seem to be doing just fine, it's always Nvidia...
They do. The US NSA being of note with SE Linux.
Yes. Completely agree. The problem is, from my reading, is that Nvidia violated GPL by calling GPL functions as opposed to code stealing. The problem with GPL is that it forces everything to be GPL or you're in violation of the license. Link a GPL library, your code now has to be GPL. Called a GPL function, congratulations, your code has to be GPL. This critical fault in GPL has been brought up time and time again. Thankfully this issue is infrequently enforced. But that just means it becomes a ticking time bomb.
Let me be clear, I'm not defending Nvidia's actions. Just that in the blame game, GNU's toxic attitude should be called out
Interesting, I kinda figured that there was some funding by governments but not nearly enough. SE Linux I always assumed was maintained by Redhat, like many other Linux components.
That makes the Nvidia situation a little more interesting. I'd imagine other proprietary software uses GPL'd libraries, like Steam? Doesn't seem fair if only certain software is being targeted for violating the license. At the same time I'm annoyed how little Nvidia contributes back. It feels like AMD is creating open standards like Freesync while Nvidia won't let others play with their toys in the sandbox, like G-Sync.
I personally was elitist because of having a different taste which made me wish to use something open, more personal and more customizable. Do not mix us, please.
Corruption likes one or few big private companies to supply stuff. So it's maybe better that governments don't finance these things at all.
Well, on the other side of things - Nvidia has an official proprietary driver for FreeBSD.
Yeah well said.
I see it here on Lemmy all the time, and you can just see it in this whole comment thread too.
I've been a software engineer for decades. I know my way around Windows, OSX, and Linux systems. I'm not a casual computer user. I AM a gamer though, and jumping through hoops to play games on Linux is not worth my time. Unless there is a native Linux distribution of the game, you're jumping through hoops trying to get it to run through Proton, or whatever other means. Driver support is another thing... Yeah it's gotten better, but sometimes it just like forcing a square peg through a circle hole.
No thanks, I'm very happy with my native gaming experience.
And sure, for dev systems, or servers, Linux is great. All of my professional work is interacting with Linux based systems, containers, etc. I also work on a MacBook Pro, so I understand the tooling for Unix systems is great for that work.
My personal life though, I'm not fighting Linux just to game.
BTW Starfield is great... Check it out lol. I just did a quick search for "Starfield on Linux". First results are something like "Runs on Proton after some tweaks". I'm good.
Linux people like security, it's a security concern to give Nvidia's proprietary drivers such low level access
If their calls violate GPL then I don't even know why you're being sarcastic. Not acceptable. Copyleft licenses HAVE to be respected legally. Silly to pretend like the license shouldn't have to apply to Nvidia. If a user wants to install proprietary Nvidia drivers, they still can. But Linux isn't picking a fight, GPL is what makes Linux Linux.
I did this with the registry edits on my personal computer. However. This does nothing at all to help with those of us still seeing this stuff on work computers or places where we are not the administrator.