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The are a number of Windows settings for turning off what it calls "suggestions". Do a search in the Settings app for "suggest", click "Show all results" and se

The are a number of Windows settings for turning off what it calls "suggestions". Do a search in the Settings app for "suggest", click "Show all results" and see what comes up. Amongst them are: * Show suggestions occasionally in Start * Show suggestions in your timeline * Suggest ways I can finish setting up my device to get the most out of Windows * Get tips, tricks and suggestions as you use Windows * Turn off suggested content in the Settings app Changing these settings can greatly reduce Windows 10 spam.

swiley 6y ago
A much simpler task if you're going to bother with administrating your machine: just install an OS that treats you like a human.
isoprophlex 6y ago
Imagine paying money for an os and having to go through this song and dance to not have your productivity tool become an ad infested unproductivity tool
- nightski 6y ago
  I use it every day and tbh I haven't had to touch the settings in years. I never encounter this stuff. And reading the article it explicitly says they will only show users this feature if edge is their default browser.
  - Semaphor 6y ago
    > And reading the article it explicitly says they will only show users this feature if edge is their default browser. That’s not what it says. It says "even when Microsoft Edge is the default browser".
  - armoredkitten 6y ago
    No, it says "the pop-up will appear even when Microsoft Edge is the default browser... The company is not targeting people who use Google Chrome and Firefox as default browsers." I.e., it shows up for everyone, not just people who aren't using Edge already. They aren't specifically targeting Chrome and Firefox users; they are just also included in the group.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - immigrantsheep 6y ago
      Can confirm that I never encountered this behavior and I have Edge (although Canary) as my default browser at the moment.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
  Admittedly, it is awful and stupid. On the other hand, those of us who use it find the alternative to be even worse despite being free. Imagine what problems must exist with that alternative for this to be true.
  - rightbyte 6y ago
    When you buy a computer, or get one from work, it is preloaded with Windows. Windows is essentially "free", as in for most people there is no savings from not using Windows, like it is i.e. if you build your desktop your self. Linux is compeeting with effectivly mandatory prepaid Windows installs.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
      I paid for it, and I didn't have to. I chose it because it works better.
    - moistbar 6y ago
      > Linux is compeeting with effectivly mandatory prepaid Windows installs. You can get your money back if you don't plan on using the license. https://www.linux.com/news/how-get-windows-tax-refund/ https://www.linux.com/news/how-get-windows-tax-refund/
    - rvieira 6y ago
      French courts disagree: https://www.pcworld.com/article/249340/lenovo_ordered_to_pay_and83641920_for_making_french_laptop_buyer_pay_for_windows_too.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/249340/lenovo_ordered_to_pay...
  - eitland 6y ago
    Some of us find the alternatives to be really really good compared to Windows. The only thing I should wish was that IT was (even more) supportive. Lucky us I guess. (FTR: Linux is as usual as Mac at work now. I've even seen a team lead and a sales guy run Linux!)
    - 6y ago
- 0-_-0 6y ago
  Have you never spent time configuring an operating system?
  - moistbar 6y ago
    Yes, but it's because I want to and not because I have to in order to get it to shut up about itself.
  - lostgame 6y ago
    Yeah, things like desktop wallpaper and to show application extensions; not to tell it I don't want ads integrated into my OS... We generally pay for services, to avoid ads.
- senectus1 6y ago
  oh Puh-lease.... we don't have to imagine it, this isn't new, this is the Status quo. And we're all to enrolled/busy/tired to give a shit about it. just make the customizing changes and move on.
scaladev 6y ago
Remember, you're paying money for this treatment. Reminds me of cable TV, honestly.
- neogodless 6y ago
  It's interesting. Lots of people pay and put up with ads for the convenience of cable TV. But I'll happily pay and memorize where my shows are to enjoy Netflix, Hulu and one or two other streaming apps so I can avoid ads but still enjoy my shows (though for network shows, there's often a waiting period before I get to watch them). There, the price difference per month was one of the driving factors. With my PC, I could dual boot, as it's just reassuring that I can fire up my favorite games and they "just work" on whatever the latest Windows OS is I'm running, and the convenience factor is so much higher now that I'm running WSL2 and can do various Linux things, too. But cost-wise, well I've only ever paid for Windows when buying a pre-made system. When building, I've gotten various free versions of Windows over the years, like when I did a "Windows party" for the launch of 7, and they sent me a free copy of Ultimate (which was free to upgrade to 8->8.1->10. But obviously not available in general if you want a Windows license.) And the cost of time... to fiddle with Linux and try to get all my Blizzard games working, maybe it's not as bad as it is in my head, but it seems like a hassle, and quite often, my spouse and my family members and my friends and I spontaneously want to jump into a game of StarCraft 2 or Valheim or Diablo 3, and I don't want anything causing me to stop what I'm doing and try to troubleshoot it for 2 hours while everyone else plays. So, I run only Windows, and I put up with the once or twice a year that a new update comes out and potentially introduces some kind of notification or extra Start Menu tile, and I turn that thing off, and then I go on with my life without it. If I could have Linux with a "Windows gaming" channel like Netflix that always just worked for every game I play or will play in the future, I think I'd certainly consider switching to that. But for now, I'm not confident enough that everything I use my PC for would "just work" if I switched, with the same performance and lack of troubleshooting, so I do not do so.
  - wayneftw 6y ago
    I just do work stuff on my Linux machine and play stuff on my Windows machine. Couldn't be happier! I've been running Manjaro Linux on 3 workstations for over 2 years now and, as a web developer who does mostly Node/React/React Native, I haven't needed anything from Windows. The best part is not having to fiddle with Windows specific issues all the time. I have even worked on .net core projects with vs code and run SQL server in a docker container.
walton_simons 6y ago
Also consider this script if you're reinstalling Windows. The fact that it needs to exist in the first place is itself a bit of an indictment of Windows 10, but running this during the Windows installation process will give you a nice, clean, non-animated desktop and start menu, with all of the shovelware and ads neatly excised and the privacy settings set to sensible values (admittedly for certain values of sensible, given that you can't disable all of the telemetry in most versions): https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/4378-windows-10-decrapifier-18xx-19xx-2xxx https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/4378-windows-1...
Someone1234 6y ago
Aside: Search in Settings is a bad user experience. If I search for "suggest", click a result, press mouse-back button: It loses my search results. I sent back to a blank index page. So I have to search "suggest", find my place in the results, click result, back, search again, remember where I am, click, back, search, etc etc. If you're going to make desktop software "browser-like" then actually commit. Don't add a back button but not have it act like a browser back button. Just obnoxious. PS - On Windows 20H2/19042.867.
Black101 6y ago
There are so many things that need/should be turned off nowadays in Windows that it is ridiculous. And some "features" are nearly impossible to turn off... you would think that Windows was free software with all that crap that comes with it.

swiley 6y ago

A much simpler task if you're going to bother with administrating your machine: just install an OS that treats you like a human.

isoprophlex 6y ago

Imagine paying money for an os and having to go through this song and dance to not have your productivity tool become an ad infested unproductivity tool

nightski 6y ago
I use it every day and tbh I haven't had to touch the settings in years. I never encounter this stuff. And reading the article it explicitly says they will only show users this feature if edge is their default browser.
- Semaphor 6y ago
  > And reading the article it explicitly says they will only show users this feature if edge is their default browser. That’s not what it says. It says "even when Microsoft Edge is the default browser".
- armoredkitten 6y ago
  No, it says "the pop-up will appear even when Microsoft Edge is the default browser... The company is not targeting people who use Google Chrome and Firefox as default browsers." I.e., it shows up for everyone, not just people who aren't using Edge already. They aren't specifically targeting Chrome and Firefox users; they are just also included in the group.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - immigrantsheep 6y ago
    Can confirm that I never encountered this behavior and I have Edge (although Canary) as my default browser at the moment.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
Admittedly, it is awful and stupid. On the other hand, those of us who use it find the alternative to be even worse despite being free. Imagine what problems must exist with that alternative for this to be true.
- rightbyte 6y ago
  When you buy a computer, or get one from work, it is preloaded with Windows. Windows is essentially "free", as in for most people there is no savings from not using Windows, like it is i.e. if you build your desktop your self. Linux is compeeting with effectivly mandatory prepaid Windows installs.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
    I paid for it, and I didn't have to. I chose it because it works better.
  - moistbar 6y ago
    > Linux is compeeting with effectivly mandatory prepaid Windows installs. You can get your money back if you don't plan on using the license. https://www.linux.com/news/how-get-windows-tax-refund/ https://www.linux.com/news/how-get-windows-tax-refund/
  - rvieira 6y ago
    French courts disagree: https://www.pcworld.com/article/249340/lenovo_ordered_to_pay_and83641920_for_making_french_laptop_buyer_pay_for_windows_too.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/249340/lenovo_ordered_to_pay...
- eitland 6y ago
  Some of us find the alternatives to be really really good compared to Windows. The only thing I should wish was that IT was (even more) supportive. Lucky us I guess. (FTR: Linux is as usual as Mac at work now. I've even seen a team lead and a sales guy run Linux!)
  - 6y ago
0-_-0 6y ago
Have you never spent time configuring an operating system?
- moistbar 6y ago
  Yes, but it's because I want to and not because I have to in order to get it to shut up about itself.
- lostgame 6y ago
  Yeah, things like desktop wallpaper and to show application extensions; not to tell it I don't want ads integrated into my OS... We generally pay for services, to avoid ads.
senectus1 6y ago
oh Puh-lease.... we don't have to imagine it, this isn't new, this is the Status quo. And we're all to enrolled/busy/tired to give a shit about it. just make the customizing changes and move on.

scaladev 6y ago

Remember, you're paying money for this treatment. Reminds me of cable TV, honestly.

neogodless 6y ago
It's interesting. Lots of people pay and put up with ads for the convenience of cable TV. But I'll happily pay and memorize where my shows are to enjoy Netflix, Hulu and one or two other streaming apps so I can avoid ads but still enjoy my shows (though for network shows, there's often a waiting period before I get to watch them). There, the price difference per month was one of the driving factors. With my PC, I could dual boot, as it's just reassuring that I can fire up my favorite games and they "just work" on whatever the latest Windows OS is I'm running, and the convenience factor is so much higher now that I'm running WSL2 and can do various Linux things, too. But cost-wise, well I've only ever paid for Windows when buying a pre-made system. When building, I've gotten various free versions of Windows over the years, like when I did a "Windows party" for the launch of 7, and they sent me a free copy of Ultimate (which was free to upgrade to 8->8.1->10. But obviously not available in general if you want a Windows license.) And the cost of time... to fiddle with Linux and try to get all my Blizzard games working, maybe it's not as bad as it is in my head, but it seems like a hassle, and quite often, my spouse and my family members and my friends and I spontaneously want to jump into a game of StarCraft 2 or Valheim or Diablo 3, and I don't want anything causing me to stop what I'm doing and try to troubleshoot it for 2 hours while everyone else plays. So, I run only Windows, and I put up with the once or twice a year that a new update comes out and potentially introduces some kind of notification or extra Start Menu tile, and I turn that thing off, and then I go on with my life without it. If I could have Linux with a "Windows gaming" channel like Netflix that always just worked for every game I play or will play in the future, I think I'd certainly consider switching to that. But for now, I'm not confident enough that everything I use my PC for would "just work" if I switched, with the same performance and lack of troubleshooting, so I do not do so.
- wayneftw 6y ago
  I just do work stuff on my Linux machine and play stuff on my Windows machine. Couldn't be happier! I've been running Manjaro Linux on 3 workstations for over 2 years now and, as a web developer who does mostly Node/React/React Native, I haven't needed anything from Windows. The best part is not having to fiddle with Windows specific issues all the time. I have even worked on .net core projects with vs code and run SQL server in a docker container.

walton_simons 6y ago

Also consider this script if you're reinstalling Windows. The fact that it needs to exist in the first place is itself a bit of an indictment of Windows 10, but running this during the Windows installation process will give you a nice, clean, non-animated desktop and start menu, with all of the shovelware and ads neatly excised and the privacy settings set to sensible values (admittedly for certain values of sensible, given that you can't disable all of the telemetry in most versions): https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/4378-windows-10-decrapifier-18xx-19xx-2xxx https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/4378-windows-1...

Someone1234 6y ago

Aside: Search in Settings is a bad user experience. If I search for "suggest", click a result, press mouse-back button: It loses my search results. I sent back to a blank index page. So I have to search "suggest", find my place in the results, click result, back, search again, remember where I am, click, back, search, etc etc. If you're going to make desktop software "browser-like" then actually commit. Don't add a back button but not have it act like a browser back button. Just obnoxious. PS - On Windows 20H2/19042.867.

Black101 6y ago

There are so many things that need/should be turned off nowadays in Windows that it is ridiculous. And some "features" are nearly impossible to turn off... you would think that Windows was free software with all that crap that comes with it.