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Even Notepad isn’t a dumb app anymore! They made breaking changes after 40 years so it has autocorrect, rich text, and Copilot. If I wanted all of that, I woul

by SilasX 1mo ago

Even Notepad isn’t a dumb app anymore! They made breaking changes after 40 years so it has autocorrect, rich text, and Copilot. If I wanted all of that, I would have used a different app!

pxoe 1mo ago
I wanted dark mode, tabs, and autosave, and now I don't have to use a different app to get those, so that works out great for me. Not sure what "breaking changes" even means for that though. Did it suddenly stop being able to open text files? No, it still just works.
- drdexebtjl 1mo ago
  IIRC they did make a breaking change by changing the default character encoding to UTF-8 without BOM. They also started rendering and preserving Unix-style line endings (LF). Very welcome breaking changes :)
  - pxoe 1mo ago
    That's a really fair point, but i'm not sure if that's what they meant by "breaking changes" if that was followed with "autocorrect, rich text, and Copilot"
- SilasX 1mo ago
  "Breaking change" is a pretty common term, especially here, so I don't get the confusion about what it means. It means an interface-breaking change, so that the same input produces a different output, and is generally to be avoided because it forces the user to have to adapt and means the new version isn't strictly better[1]. The inclusion of autocorrect (that I mentioned) would be example here: previously, it would accept whatever text you gave it verbatim. Now, it will sometimes change non-dictionary strings to dictionary words. (Another thing that bothered me was that, on the update, it forgot my font settings and I had to work to re-find them.) I'm happy to admit my phrasing was confusing, but not enough so that you would be unable to see the relevant failure mode. [1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/21703427 https://stackoverflow.com/a/21703427
  - pxoe 1mo ago
    Words used to have meaning, now everything is "breaking" even if it's literally working and it's just "I don't like it"
    - SilasX 1mo ago
      No, I used it by the standard meaning. The fact that you prefer doesn't make it not a breaking change, or a good idea in general. Notepad addresses a specific use case (dumb text editor). If you have a different use case, there are other applications that handle it.
bananaboy 1mo ago
For a long time I used metapad as a notepad replacement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapad (I even renamed the exe to notepad). Very fast and minimal.
travoc 1mo ago
It automatically saves and reopens whatever you previously pasted in there. Quite a shock the first few times it happens. It's not a safe temporary holding area anymore.
- jamesfinlayson 1mo ago
  Yeah I switched to Windows 11 recently and was a little annoyed by that - Notepad was always a place to paste formatted junk to get the plaintext - I don't need anything persisted.
  - Rohansi 1mo ago
    They also added a settings menu where you can go and turn all of the things you don't like off, including that.
    - bigstrat2003 1mo ago
      Then they should've left those things off by default, rather than messing with the expected flow of the application for everyone.
      - Rohansi 1mo ago
        Yes, all UX improvements should be disabled by default so only the users who dig through every settings menu benefit from them. /s
- inigyou 1mo ago
  Someone got their use of child porn leaked this way. They opened notepad on a twitch stream and a bunch of CP links came up. I don't remember who it was.
  - throw101010 1mo ago
    Lacari: https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows/csam-using-streamer-lacari-caught-red-handed-by-microsoft-notepad-posts-apology-denial-after-being-perma-banned https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows/csam-using-... He still streams on Twitch, he got a temporary week "long" ban and then came back claiming it was a virus or an accident while also claiming he has a porn addiction problem... but don't worry he's very "sorry" (to have been caught). The state of this Amazon-owned streaming platform is wild... and that's without even looking at the rampant antisemitism (their second top political streamer, Hasan Piker, currently has a bipartisan US House resolution (H.Res.1239) in progress calling him and Candace Owens out for their antisemitism), repeated call for violence (their top political streamer, Asmongold, was recently banned for a few days for calling for the murder of immigrant's children by ICE) and the repeated reckless/distracted car and even truck driving streams with some even leading to accidents (luckily enough without any deadly one... yet). All these are against Twitch rules, but the staff and even the CEO (who cosplays as a streamer) selectively apply the rules and unban the streamers who are under contract with Twitch or are well connected with the staff. I have no idea why Amazon or Twitch shareholders have not cleaned house already (e.g. ousting the CEO and the people in charge of the moderation), especially considering the fact that even with all these transgressions, Twitch isn't profitable after years of activity. They are waiting for someone to actually die I think, with clear links to Twitch... if that ever happens there are plenty of evidence that Twitch and Amazon know what is going on and barely does anything about it.
mook 1mo ago
Yeah, I've been working around that for now by uninstalling notepad. Which actually uninstalls the store app, which in turn exposes the actual notepad executable that ships with Windows. Really confusing, and will probably break in some future version of Windows. I don't understand why they didn't just stuff all the AI things and new features in Write, where it belongs…
titzer 1mo ago
I don't use Windows, but I have to say that TextEdit on the Mac is absolute crap. Literally every default is wrong. Text is too small, looks like crap, cut-and-paste always brings absolutely crappy styling with it, its autocomplete and autocorrect is bad and wrong and annoying. No one at Apple uses this application with any regularity and it shows.
x______________ 1mo ago
Uninstall bloated notepad will revert it to the default version. Doing so with MSPaint removes the app, so you need to find a clean older version..

by SilasX 1mo ago

Even Notepad isn’t a dumb app anymore! They made breaking changes after 40 years so it has autocorrect, rich text, and Copilot. If I wanted all of that, I would have used a different app!

pxoe 1mo ago

I wanted dark mode, tabs, and autosave, and now I don't have to use a different app to get those, so that works out great for me. Not sure what "breaking changes" even means for that though. Did it suddenly stop being able to open text files? No, it still just works.

drdexebtjl 1mo ago
IIRC they did make a breaking change by changing the default character encoding to UTF-8 without BOM. They also started rendering and preserving Unix-style line endings (LF). Very welcome breaking changes :)
- pxoe 1mo ago
  That's a really fair point, but i'm not sure if that's what they meant by "breaking changes" if that was followed with "autocorrect, rich text, and Copilot"
SilasX 1mo ago
"Breaking change" is a pretty common term, especially here, so I don't get the confusion about what it means. It means an interface-breaking change, so that the same input produces a different output, and is generally to be avoided because it forces the user to have to adapt and means the new version isn't strictly better[1]. The inclusion of autocorrect (that I mentioned) would be example here: previously, it would accept whatever text you gave it verbatim. Now, it will sometimes change non-dictionary strings to dictionary words. (Another thing that bothered me was that, on the update, it forgot my font settings and I had to work to re-find them.) I'm happy to admit my phrasing was confusing, but not enough so that you would be unable to see the relevant failure mode. [1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/21703427 https://stackoverflow.com/a/21703427
- pxoe 1mo ago
  Words used to have meaning, now everything is "breaking" even if it's literally working and it's just "I don't like it"
  - SilasX 1mo ago
    No, I used it by the standard meaning. The fact that you prefer doesn't make it not a breaking change, or a good idea in general. Notepad addresses a specific use case (dumb text editor). If you have a different use case, there are other applications that handle it.

bananaboy 1mo ago

For a long time I used metapad as a notepad replacement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapad (I even renamed the exe to notepad). Very fast and minimal.

travoc 1mo ago

It automatically saves and reopens whatever you previously pasted in there. Quite a shock the first few times it happens. It's not a safe temporary holding area anymore.

jamesfinlayson 1mo ago
Yeah I switched to Windows 11 recently and was a little annoyed by that - Notepad was always a place to paste formatted junk to get the plaintext - I don't need anything persisted.
- Rohansi 1mo ago
  They also added a settings menu where you can go and turn all of the things you don't like off, including that.
  - bigstrat2003 1mo ago
    Then they should've left those things off by default, rather than messing with the expected flow of the application for everyone.
    - Rohansi 1mo ago
      Yes, all UX improvements should be disabled by default so only the users who dig through every settings menu benefit from them. /s
inigyou 1mo ago
Someone got their use of child porn leaked this way. They opened notepad on a twitch stream and a bunch of CP links came up. I don't remember who it was.
- throw101010 1mo ago
  Lacari: https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows/csam-using-streamer-lacari-caught-red-handed-by-microsoft-notepad-posts-apology-denial-after-being-perma-banned https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows/csam-using-... He still streams on Twitch, he got a temporary week "long" ban and then came back claiming it was a virus or an accident while also claiming he has a porn addiction problem... but don't worry he's very "sorry" (to have been caught). The state of this Amazon-owned streaming platform is wild... and that's without even looking at the rampant antisemitism (their second top political streamer, Hasan Piker, currently has a bipartisan US House resolution (H.Res.1239) in progress calling him and Candace Owens out for their antisemitism), repeated call for violence (their top political streamer, Asmongold, was recently banned for a few days for calling for the murder of immigrant's children by ICE) and the repeated reckless/distracted car and even truck driving streams with some even leading to accidents (luckily enough without any deadly one... yet). All these are against Twitch rules, but the staff and even the CEO (who cosplays as a streamer) selectively apply the rules and unban the streamers who are under contract with Twitch or are well connected with the staff. I have no idea why Amazon or Twitch shareholders have not cleaned house already (e.g. ousting the CEO and the people in charge of the moderation), especially considering the fact that even with all these transgressions, Twitch isn't profitable after years of activity. They are waiting for someone to actually die I think, with clear links to Twitch... if that ever happens there are plenty of evidence that Twitch and Amazon know what is going on and barely does anything about it.

mook 1mo ago

Yeah, I've been working around that for now by uninstalling notepad. Which actually uninstalls the store app, which in turn exposes the actual notepad executable that ships with Windows. Really confusing, and will probably break in some future version of Windows. I don't understand why they didn't just stuff all the AI things and new features in Write, where it belongs…

titzer 1mo ago

I don't use Windows, but I have to say that TextEdit on the Mac is absolute crap. Literally every default is wrong. Text is too small, looks like crap, cut-and-paste always brings absolutely crappy styling with it, its autocomplete and autocorrect is bad and wrong and annoying. No one at Apple uses this application with any regularity and it shows.

x______________ 1mo ago

Uninstall bloated notepad will revert it to the default version. Doing so with MSPaint removes the app, so you need to find a clean older version..