Yea, it's really shitty.

Enterprise folks don't have this problem because they use the WAIK (or whatever it's called now) to customize the installer.

Anyone can use it, and from what I've read, the Win10 generation of the kit is much easier to use than previous versions (which were pretty bad).

But yea, this stuff is awful.

Checkout things like WinDebloat, Privatezilla, Winaero Tweaker, and LoveWindowsAgain. There's some overlap between them (as they were built for different purposes), but they all pretty much kill telemetry at the service or installed level (as in remove the components providing telemetry).

Yea, it's BS you have to do this. And screw MS for this crap.

One of the many reasons I always run privacy.sexy every time I need to install windows (on both bare metal and inside a VM).

If linux had all these settings on installation everyone would be saying that it's to hard for normies to install

Wait until you get to the screen that asks you if you want to share your data with their 300 friends.

First time?

if you care about privacy linux is the best honestly

I love the "Let's finish setting up your device" popup that prevents me from using my VMs regularly.

Like some condescending peddler trying to slam-dunk your agreement as a foregone conclusion.

Come on, buddy, let's do those remaining tasks, let's have Microsoft scan your face, tell Microsoft about your phone, let's go and install those Microsoft apps missing from your phone, and your laptop, too, and then we go buy that Office subscription and have you store your important files on Microsoft's servers and we really need to get around to switching to Microsoft's web browser now.

And the only option you get is "Yes" or "Remind me later."

If you turn it off (and it needs to be turned off in two places), it'll be back on as soon as Microsoft publishes the tiniest update to any of its unwanted services. Harrghrrr! (artery popping noises)

Not to mention being forced to create a MS account if you're online.

This is most people's reaction to using Windows for any reason.

It's like a mini game to get the choices right

Absolutely disgusting! Literally the only reason why I still use Windows is the fact many games I play have anti-cheat spyware that doesn't work on Linux.

You can use Win10Privacy to bodily castrate nearly all built-in spyware and telemetry.

Downside is that it’s a damn powerful program, with few guardrails, so if you don’t have good knowledge of Windows internals you run a non-trivial risk of accidentally lobotomizing an important feature of your install by enabling the wrong setting. I mean, all settings can be easily reversed, but you gotta know which specific one did the nerfing in order to undo the oopsie.

For example, even the midrange firewall settings are mostly safe, except… a single one of them completely kills Microsoft Office Click-To-Run. It won’t install, and it won’t launch even if you installed it before you applied Win10Privacy. So if Microsoft Office is an essential (Access or Excel absolutely needed, for example), be careful.

I still don't get why people keep defending it. Win+e doesn't even open to a panel that lets me open the c drive without clicking other shit and waiting for it to appear first. An update also just put the search bar back on the task bar when I explicitly disabled it as soon as I got through the bad default options for days during the install. It also added copilot. Auto update is also supposed to be disabled.

While I'm at it fuck every dev that uses libraries/framework/etc that is known to not work in wine. There are thousands of better ways to be a shitty dev.

Yeah, Windows sucks. I recommend the LTSC version for minimized tracking. But even then, I had to use third-party software and hacks to minimize it further. I don't ever plan to go back after switching to Linux.

Oh and that seems to be ltsc or an older win 10 build too! If you want the creeps get a normal win 11 home iso and try it out with a burner account... You might be surprised what they got in charge for you. (A lot of ads and tracking with up selling, tho I don't know how much Home edition costs, pro costs like 130€ or so and has the same crap built in but the ability to make an offline account(they still ask you to "upgrade" to online))

Chris Titus debloat script is the only thing that makes Windows even remotely usable these days.

Yeah sadly as a gamer I HAVE to put up with Windows. But Next time I build a machine I'm definitely dedicating a whole drive to a linux OS because fuck Windows and their petty marketing shit.

I remember installing Windows XP. sigh.

As soon as you start running a pihole on your home network it makes really stop and think and want to eradicate all unnecessary data tracking. Windows was so chatty. Science only knows how much of a consumer profile they create and sell on you for just wanting to use a computer.

Additionally... Smart TV's are the absolute worst too.

This is why if I ever have to get win10 on a VM on my laptop, I am absolutely not updating, ever. Not even gonna give that VM Internet access. Anything I'd need it for, I can passthrough a thumb drive with the files I need. I would hope to God they don't have a way to hoover up data without internet connection and with no macrohard account connected.