4 ms·

Bit of a tangent/slightly off topic: how do HNers make Windows not evil/terrible? Like, it tries to force you into creating a Microsoft account to install Wind

Bit of a tangent/slightly off topic: how do HNers make Windows not evil/terrible? Like, it tries to force you into creating a Microsoft account to install Windows, I hear it has ads in the OS, forces reboots when you don't want them, and appears to generally treat its users with contempt and as a resource to exploit. Do you need an MSDN subscription to get LTSC? Any third-party tools that try to fix the horror show? Such a shame to have a solid platform run for evil motives.

paywallasinbeer 4y ago
https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 is a good start
stjohnswarts 4y ago
- chocolatey for installing apps (most of what I need anyway) - WSL for command line stuff, python, rust - bleachbit for clean up of files, be careful and pay attention obviously - Immediately switch over to firefox (from Edge) and have brave installed as a backup - I just don't use the microsoft store at all unless I need to - malwarebytes for nightly scans, avira free as a virus program instead of defender - Shutup10++ to turn off most of the privacy invasion antifeatures of windows - Make notepad++ or gvim default editor - You can delay or turn off updates in the settings. I just live with the reboots though. I have a fast machine and most programs will have session save features anyway. That's mostly enough to make it a decent environment.
- majkinetor 4y ago
  You can now use winget to install ms store tools via CLI.
  - stjohnswarts 4y ago
    I've used winget to fetch a couple of things (because of windows support pages). I still use choco as my default though. Unless someone shows a huge advantage for winget then I think I'll continue on. I like using programs that aren't under Microsoft's umbrella if I can. Much the same way as avoiding google and amazon.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
selfhoster11 4y ago
When it comes to Windows 10, I basically "pave over" as much of the shell as possible. This includes replacing the Start menu with Classic Shell/Open Shell, potentially replacing the taskbar with RetroBar [0], erasing as many UWP apps (Cortana and Edge included) as possible from the system, basically anything goes. For things that are relatively useful to keep like Windows Explorer, I try the numerous registry tweaks that remove features I don't like (for example, OneDrive integration). Couple this with Tron and similar scripts. Installing an LTSC edition would obviously be nice, but it's hard and expensive to get to get (see [1] - the general consensus seems to be that you need to go through a VAR, and then buy an LTSC license alongside some cheap shopping basket fillers to get above the minimum number of licenses limit). When it's available, it makes the above "paving over" process much easier than a retail/pro edition. [0]: https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar [1]: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do-i-purchase-windows-10-ltsc/2f4cd7ee-422e-4c40-b70b-18372c5518dd https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do...

paywallasinbeer 4y ago

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 is a good start

stjohnswarts 4y ago

- chocolatey for installing apps (most of what I need anyway) - WSL for command line stuff, python, rust - bleachbit for clean up of files, be careful and pay attention obviously - Immediately switch over to firefox (from Edge) and have brave installed as a backup - I just don't use the microsoft store at all unless I need to - malwarebytes for nightly scans, avira free as a virus program instead of defender - Shutup10++ to turn off most of the privacy invasion antifeatures of windows - Make notepad++ or gvim default editor - You can delay or turn off updates in the settings. I just live with the reboots though. I have a fast machine and most programs will have session save features anyway. That's mostly enough to make it a decent environment.

majkinetor 4y ago
You can now use winget to install ms store tools via CLI.
- stjohnswarts 4y ago
  I've used winget to fetch a couple of things (because of windows support pages). I still use choco as my default though. Unless someone shows a huge advantage for winget then I think I'll continue on. I like using programs that aren't under Microsoft's umbrella if I can. Much the same way as avoiding google and amazon.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

selfhoster11 4y ago

When it comes to Windows 10, I basically "pave over" as much of the shell as possible. This includes replacing the Start menu with Classic Shell/Open Shell, potentially replacing the taskbar with RetroBar [0], erasing as many UWP apps (Cortana and Edge included) as possible from the system, basically anything goes. For things that are relatively useful to keep like Windows Explorer, I try the numerous registry tweaks that remove features I don't like (for example, OneDrive integration). Couple this with Tron and similar scripts. Installing an LTSC edition would obviously be nice, but it's hard and expensive to get to get (see [1] - the general consensus seems to be that you need to go through a VAR, and then buy an LTSC license alongside some cheap shopping basket fillers to get above the minimum number of licenses limit). When it's available, it makes the above "paving over" process much easier than a retail/pro edition. [0]: https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar [1]: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do-i-purchase-windows-10-ltsc/2f4cd7ee-422e-4c40-b70b-18372c5518dd https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do...