4 ms·

This is getting ridiculous. Just because OneDrive is pre-installed does not mean you are forced to use it or are blocked from using an alternative service. Wha

This is getting ridiculous. Just because OneDrive is pre-installed does not mean you are forced to use it or are blocked from using an alternative service. What's next, calculator apps lobbying for Microsoft to be banned from shipping a calculator with Windows? Drawing apps lobbying for Paint to be banned? Windows shouldn't be allowed to ship with decompression support so WinZip can compete? Can we not recognize there are legitimate reasons to bundle helpful utilities with an operating system and that banning OS manufacturers from including them might actually lead to a worse experience for most users?

hulitu 5y ago
I presume you have limited experience with windows 10. Windows 10 almost forces you to save on one drive. One drive is the default. To save on local disk you have to select local computer, then your drive. (3 clicks away).
- nodamage 5y ago
  I use Windows 10 all the time. OneDrive is installed but I am not logged into it because I don't use it. My Windows save file dialog defaults to the Downloads folder. OneDrive is listed as an option (along with Dropbox which I do use) but I basically never notice it so I am not entirely sure what you are referring to.
  - xmodem 5y ago
    Do you have Office installed? try saving a document from that.
    - nodamage 5y ago
      I do, but as I mentioned in a sibling comment I uninstalled OneDrive so it no longer shows up as an option in Office or anywhere else.
- bjustin 5y ago
  I saw this for the first time on my parents’ Mac computers, where Microsoft Word’s weird save dialog shows OneDrive first and has a button for choosing a location on the local file system. Meanwhile my Windows desktop does not have behavior like this in the apps I use, mostly web browsers and Discord. I don’t believe I installed or uninstalled onedrive. Maybe I disabled some easy to find settings in Windows for the very annoying bits.
  - xmodem 5y ago
    I had to collaborate with an external client who worked heavily in Office, so I installed office on my mac, asked IT for a license, and signed in with my personal account in the meantime. A couple of months later I open the Office web UI on my home PC to add a family member and find a bunch of the documents I had worked on had ended up saved there somehow. Fortunately none of it was particularly sensitive. Some stuff I work with we would have to report to a regulator if this happened.
adriancr 5y ago
Replace onedrive with internet explorer and see how microsoft was wrong there in the past, got fined and had to provide a version without it.
- nodamage 5y ago
  Of course I am familiar with Microsoft's history with IE and perhaps this will be a bit controversial but I believe the EU got this one partially wrong. They could have simply forced Microsoft to allow IE to be uninstalled without also forcing them to ship a version of Windows without a browser altogether. After all, if you're okay with banning IE and OneDrive from being pre-installed where does the slippery slope end? What stops the exact same argument from being applied to every single other application that ships with an operating system? Now you've banned solitaire, paint, file explorer, media player, photo viewer, pdf viewer, disk defragger, etc. etc. and created a crippled operating system that forces the user to hunt down and install all these third-party applications to get functionality that should have been included in the first place. Is the end user really better off under such a scenario? Not in my opinion.
  - owisd 5y ago
    > where does the slippery slope end Should have to convince a judge that bundling the particular application is causing a distorting effect on the market. The complainants might have a case for OneDrive, but seems much more unlikely the video game industry would have a case for solitaire.
    - nodamage 5y ago
      > but seems much more unlikely the video game industry would have a case for solitaire. Based on what? It seems entirely plausible that the developer of a solitaire game could make the exact same argument that Microsoft shipping a free version of solitaire with Windows makes it impossible to complete against them, and therefore (under the same logic applied to OneDrive) solitaire should be banned from Windows in order to ensure a "level playing field".
DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
> Just because OneDrive is pre-installed OneDrive isn't just pre-installed, it's somewhat (aggressively, even?) marketed from within Windows. For example, even if you aren't using OneDrive you cannot remove or hide the OneDrive icons in the Explorer folder tree (not without registry tweaks).
- nodamage 5y ago
  I just attempted to verify your claim but instead found that I could easily uninstall OneDrive from Windows Settings -> Apps. Now it is completely gone and does not show up in Explorer at all.
  - DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
    What version of Windows are you running and do you have Office installed?
    - nodamage 5y ago
      Windows 10 Pro 20H2. Yes I do have Office installed.
  - paulryanrogers 5y ago
    Will it come back after the next automatic upgrade? Because I recall turning it off only to see it reappear every few months with updates.
    - NullPrefix 5y ago
      I remember uninstalling it several times. I think office install also triggers the resurfacing of this once dormant malware.
    - Aerroon 5y ago
      Mine comes back every once in a while. Clicking on it gets rid of it a few seconds later though, but at least the name keeps reappearing.
garbagecoder 5y ago
I’d like to be able to go straight to my file picker in word. Is that asking too much?

hulitu 5y ago

I presume you have limited experience with windows 10. Windows 10 almost forces you to save on one drive. One drive is the default. To save on local disk you have to select local computer, then your drive. (3 clicks away).

nodamage 5y ago
I use Windows 10 all the time. OneDrive is installed but I am not logged into it because I don't use it. My Windows save file dialog defaults to the Downloads folder. OneDrive is listed as an option (along with Dropbox which I do use) but I basically never notice it so I am not entirely sure what you are referring to.
- xmodem 5y ago
  Do you have Office installed? try saving a document from that.
  - nodamage 5y ago
    I do, but as I mentioned in a sibling comment I uninstalled OneDrive so it no longer shows up as an option in Office or anywhere else.
bjustin 5y ago
I saw this for the first time on my parents’ Mac computers, where Microsoft Word’s weird save dialog shows OneDrive first and has a button for choosing a location on the local file system. Meanwhile my Windows desktop does not have behavior like this in the apps I use, mostly web browsers and Discord. I don’t believe I installed or uninstalled onedrive. Maybe I disabled some easy to find settings in Windows for the very annoying bits.
- xmodem 5y ago
  I had to collaborate with an external client who worked heavily in Office, so I installed office on my mac, asked IT for a license, and signed in with my personal account in the meantime. A couple of months later I open the Office web UI on my home PC to add a family member and find a bunch of the documents I had worked on had ended up saved there somehow. Fortunately none of it was particularly sensitive. Some stuff I work with we would have to report to a regulator if this happened.

adriancr 5y ago

Replace onedrive with internet explorer and see how microsoft was wrong there in the past, got fined and had to provide a version without it.

nodamage 5y ago
Of course I am familiar with Microsoft's history with IE and perhaps this will be a bit controversial but I believe the EU got this one partially wrong. They could have simply forced Microsoft to allow IE to be uninstalled without also forcing them to ship a version of Windows without a browser altogether. After all, if you're okay with banning IE and OneDrive from being pre-installed where does the slippery slope end? What stops the exact same argument from being applied to every single other application that ships with an operating system? Now you've banned solitaire, paint, file explorer, media player, photo viewer, pdf viewer, disk defragger, etc. etc. and created a crippled operating system that forces the user to hunt down and install all these third-party applications to get functionality that should have been included in the first place. Is the end user really better off under such a scenario? Not in my opinion.
- owisd 5y ago
  > where does the slippery slope end Should have to convince a judge that bundling the particular application is causing a distorting effect on the market. The complainants might have a case for OneDrive, but seems much more unlikely the video game industry would have a case for solitaire.
  - nodamage 5y ago
    > but seems much more unlikely the video game industry would have a case for solitaire. Based on what? It seems entirely plausible that the developer of a solitaire game could make the exact same argument that Microsoft shipping a free version of solitaire with Windows makes it impossible to complete against them, and therefore (under the same logic applied to OneDrive) solitaire should be banned from Windows in order to ensure a "level playing field".

DaiPlusPlus 5y ago

> Just because OneDrive is pre-installed OneDrive isn't just pre-installed, it's somewhat (aggressively, even?) marketed from within Windows. For example, even if you aren't using OneDrive you cannot remove or hide the OneDrive icons in the Explorer folder tree (not without registry tweaks).

nodamage 5y ago
I just attempted to verify your claim but instead found that I could easily uninstall OneDrive from Windows Settings -> Apps. Now it is completely gone and does not show up in Explorer at all.
- DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
  What version of Windows are you running and do you have Office installed?
  - nodamage 5y ago
    Windows 10 Pro 20H2. Yes I do have Office installed.
- paulryanrogers 5y ago
  Will it come back after the next automatic upgrade? Because I recall turning it off only to see it reappear every few months with updates.
  - NullPrefix 5y ago
    I remember uninstalling it several times. I think office install also triggers the resurfacing of this once dormant malware.
  - Aerroon 5y ago
    Mine comes back every once in a while. Clicking on it gets rid of it a few seconds later though, but at least the name keeps reappearing.

garbagecoder 5y ago

I’d like to be able to go straight to my file picker in word. Is that asking too much?