In my naivety, I've always thought of computers as the most free platform (despite being proprietary) you can get your hands on (I grew up with 7). Unlike Andr

In my naivety, I've always thought of computers as the most free platform (despite being proprietary) you can get your hands on (I grew up with 7). Unlike Android and iOS, you have Administrator access, the ability to tamper with low-level system configuration, customise the taskbar, and a boatload of other things. I'd spend hours just sat at the computer tinkering with passwords, how things looked, etc. It's quite disheartening to see Microsoft restricting this once-semi-free platform I genuinely enjoyed using. Computers of 2010, 2006 etc. were very entertaining to customise and play around with, and part of me wants to go back to that era. The Microsoft of 2010 and under, despite having a very different stance on Linux vs. today[0], was a lot better in many ways. There was a lot less unnerving surveillance back then. Cortana didn't exist. They tried their hand at things like Windows Live (a success), Live Mesh (bit of a flop IIRC), cloud storage, etc. but they felt more like additions to the operating system rather than some deeply-engrained spyware you can't quite get rid of. Anyway, back on topic: speaking of Microsoft Edge, it always reinstalls itself whenever Windows updates. I use Windows less and less these days, as forced software on my own hardware feels unethical and immoral. [0]: https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/linux-and-open-source/why-does-microsoft-hate-linux/ https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/linux-and-open-source/why-...