Why Windows Is Terrible

My spouse bought a new laptop running Windows 11. Every few days some new auo updating feature breaks some legacy process she uses in her work. Printing, browsing, file search, desktop or taskbar arrangements, all have fallen. I come in to fix the problem. Every time there's an update waiting for a restart the computer won't print until after the restart.

This is a real problem for non technical users who depend on the computer for their home office needs and don't have a dedicated IT ream.

And it is far worse today. Microsoft has turned it into bloated spyware sometimes even showing ads. Not to mention all the "AI" junk they are trying to pack into it. The sooner we get rid of Windows the better. Thankfuly Steam Deck is showing people that even gaming is now just fine on GNU/Linux.

Recently, I bought myself a new laptop - a Razer Blade 14 with AMD chipset - and had to relive the pain of stock Windows 11 all over.

In no particular order:

* The amount of “feature” bloat is ridiculous. Widgets, AI assistant, a whole bunch of packages that I have no use for. Uninstalling all this stuff takes TIME and quite some tech savviness.

* Speaking of useless things, there’s Edge and its own myriad of annoyances. In the US, Windows won’t let you uninstall it and even claims it’s an integral part of the OS… but did you know that’s not the case in the EU? I don’t remember exactly how I did it, but there’s a config file in System32 (I think) that you must edit to add “US” to a list of country-gated features… which includes uninstalling Edge.

* No matter how much I edit the registry or group policies, Windows will still try to contact telemetry services. In the end I got fed up and blocked them at the Host files level. My Pi-hole’s blocked traffic got reduced from 20% to like 5%.

I should stop whining and switch to Linux already, but right now I got Windows working more or less the way I want it to.

My main gripes are:

Lack of meaningful security logging. All configuration changes such as new user, impersonation, and permission escalation should be logged. An option should exist to not immediately grant the change but let an admin review and approve.

And no. Asking the end user to approve does not cut it. The end user should have his business IT run an automated check. Suzie in marketing does not have the time to understand why the printer driver is asking for full local domain access.

Although technically not a part of windows, I view OneDrive as a core component. Its current implementation is beyond confusing. Where is the system of record and where can I retrieve an older version? Is it windows file system, personal OneDrive, or SharePoint? This is magnified when multiple people are editing and another group is reviewing.

While it's convenient to point fingers at Windows, such criticism often overlooks the broader context of choosing between imperfect options. Opting for Apple means embracing a tightly regulated ecosystem with fewer choices, while selecting Linux can introduce an element of unpredictability. Moreover, many of the issues highlighted in this article are not exclusive to Windows; Linux, too, can exhibit similar or even more pronounced problems, particularly concerning shutdown processes, USB functionality, and driver support.

Not in my experience. I am forced to use Linux at work. I choose to use Windows at home.

I recently updated Ubuntu at work and it then failed to boot. My sysadmin ended up having to completely reinstall it. That has never happened to me with Windows.

My solution is to use Windows as a host OS and running Linux in a VM for work. It works great!

The colors and layout on this site are very difficult to read!

A critique from 2015.

> Fun trivia: Do you have any idea why it starts with C:\? What about A and B?

Duh! That for the first and second floppy drive...