Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.
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@jon thank you for addressing this evil from Microsoft.
What's your take on the other evil: Google's upcoming Chrome Manifest v3 reduced API that will severely hamper possibilities for blocking of tracking and ads?
https://www.neowin.net/news/the-eff-will-fight-google-chrome-manifest-v3-which-kills-extensions-that-reliably-block-ads/ -
With a pot of popcorn in hand, I wait for the train wreck, when M$ prevents using Google Chrome on Windows.
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@s_paternotte
Once upon a time, Googel's selling point was no ads....Oh great Lucifer...
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@shifte , and 'Don't be evil' too. No lLucifer, this was the one who brought the light to humans, rather great Mammon.
>Laptop ACER, AMD Ryzen, GPU AMD Radeon RAM 16GB, SSD 512GB -Win11 Home 64 v24H2| Vivaldi last stable|
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@catweazle
Japanese proverb.
「ミイラ取りがミイラになる」 (A mummy-hunter gets lost and becomes a mummy.) -
It's so bad it's hilarious.
Microsoft is taking the browser wars to the extreme. First, the company said that it would block all default browser workarounds in Windows, and now it has done it in the latest Windows update.
We knew this day would come, but we weren’t sure exactly when Microsoft would drop the update that blocks workarounds like those used by Mozilla, Brave, and EdgeDeflector. As it turns out, Microsoft slipped the update into the final patch Tuesday of 2021 for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Basically, this means that “microsoft-edge:// links” can no longer be forced to open in your default browser of choice. Apps like EdgeDeflector and Mozilla’s workaround made it so these links could be intercepted, but that’s no longer possible with the latest update to Windows.IMO anyone who voluntarily chooses to use [as opposed to forced to use for business reasons] windoze is certifiably masochistic.
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@guigirl said in Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.:
It's so bad it's hilarious.
Microsoft is taking the browser wars to the extreme. First, the company said that it would block all default browser workarounds in Windows, and now it has done it in the latest Windows update.
We knew this day would come, but we weren’t sure exactly when Microsoft would drop the update that blocks workarounds like those used by Mozilla, Brave, and EdgeDeflector. As it turns out, Microsoft slipped the update into the final patch Tuesday of 2021 for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Basically, this means that “microsoft-edge:// links” can no longer be forced to open in your default browser of choice. Apps like EdgeDeflector and Mozilla’s workaround made it so these links could be intercepted, but that’s no longer possible with the latest update to Windows.IMO anyone who voluntarily chooses to use [as opposed to forced to use for business reasons] windoze is certifiably masochistic.
^^ This. Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows I ever interact with at all, unless I change job and am forced to use it again. I don't have time to fight with my computer to get it to do simple tasks, and I don't have time to go through endless updates or switch-off endless "features" I don't need. The irony of this is I'm posting this from Windows 10 right now... I have to boot it up occasionally to run updates just in case I ever need it for something. Either you own your device and have full control over it (including the ability to completely brick it), or your device is abusing and subjugating you.
As a question generally to anyone with a bit more of an understanding of Winodws' inner-workings and APIs than me, could something like EdgeDeflector not be rewritten to do something along the lines of the following?
- Run as a TSR (or whatever the modern Windows-word for these is), monitoring the name of every window that gets opened.
- If the name of a new window begins with "Microsoft Edge - " or ends with "- Microsoft Edge", attempt to extract the contents of the URL bar (e.g. screenshot+OCR; or use Edge's APIs for extracting the contents of fields, if such APIs exist; or simulate mouse-click on URL-bar, simulate "select all", then simulate CTRL+C).
- taskkill /f /im:edge.exe (or whatever the binary is called)
- Open user's desired default browser with the extracted-URL as a commandline-argument
I seem to remember, back in the days of Windows 9x, I had a program that could terminate or otherwise-interact with a program window based on various criteria (such as window title). At the time, I just used it to automatically close the "buy the pro version" popup that would occur with H+BEDV AntiVir (now Avira) on updating. I wish I could remember what it was called.
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Microsoft also ignores your choice of browser and search engine when you search the Web from Windows. The Search Box offers the option of displaying the results in Edge, even if you have selected Vivaldi as your default browser. If you select Edge, as you must, the search results will be from Bing and completely ignore any other choice of search engine you may have made (with difficulty) in Edge.
We have an explanation in this post where we also write about the how they also push 365, OneDrive, Teams and Bing on Windows users: https://blog.mojeek.com/2021/11/how-microsoft-sucks-people-in.html
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@colinhayhurst , with the aforementioned apps I have already removed these bad habits, disabling all this and more, but I am certainly even happy that Windows tells me, for an inexplicable reason, that my laptop, less than 2 years old) is incompatible with Windows 11 (not compatible with AMD Radeon (WTF???)) , so it is impossible tothat it update it to this (it tried it, without asking), yes or yes. Windows 10, as I've tamed it now, is definitely going to be the last one I'm going to use, until at least 2025 it will still be supported.
I am not surprised that here in Spain there are more and more computer stores that offer PCs without OS and not with Windows pre-installed, as before.>Laptop ACER, AMD Ryzen, GPU AMD Radeon RAM 16GB, SSD 512GB -Win11 Home 64 v24H2| Vivaldi last stable|
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@healingcross said in Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.:
Leaves me with Vivaldi then
Ha, you could do advertising promos for V...
Use V -- less awful than all the others!
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@catweazle said in Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.:
Windows tells me, for an inexplicable reason, that my laptop, less than 2 years old) is incompatible with Windows 11 (not compatible with AMD Radeon (WTF???)) , so it is impossible tothat it update it to this (it tried it, without asking), yes or yes. Windows 10, as I've tamed it now, is definitely going to be the last one I'm going to use, until at least 2025 it will still be supported.
All of our PC hardware is minimum 5 years old, so I was of exactly the same opinion.
However I recently started thinking about getting a new laptop - maybe during the post-Christmas sales. I have a couple of games that only run (badly) on our previous laptop - which my wife uses all the time to do her mail or watch movies or cooking videos. It would be nice to occasionally play a game (with better graphics) without having to wait for her to be at work or asleep!
Unfortunately that means we're going to have Windows 11 inflicted on us. (Yes I know I could probably go to extra trouble to get one without Windows but I'm unlikely to find one at a good price in a "normal" retailer - and I want to be certain I can play those games on it.)
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@mossman the games I have, which run flawless>50 fps, are from >2018, 3D first person with GPU needed and >4Gb RAM min sys specs, and W11 will not? I think it's a Windows problem and not one of my system. W11 simply don't have AMD Radeon 9 serie in the list of compatible chipsets, on the other hand there are much older chips from AMD.and with much more basic specs.
Anyway, the next OS, when w10 stops support or when I buy a new PC, will be Linux. -
@catweazle said in Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.:
Windows tells me, for an inexplicable reason, that my laptop, less than 2 years old) is incompatible with Windows 11
Perchance do you have Secure Boot turned off?
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@paul1149 , no, I don't have desactivated none of the security features of Windows, only those features, apps and services which I don't need, apart from telemetries and those whith privacy intromissions.
Now all works at my like, fast and flawless, but, as I say before, it will be the last Windows I use.>Laptop ACER, AMD Ryzen, GPU AMD Radeon RAM 16GB, SSD 512GB -Win11 Home 64 v24H2| Vivaldi last stable|
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@catweazle said in Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.:
I don't have desactivated none of the security features of Windows
Secure Boot is in the Bios, or UEFI, not in Windows.
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@paul1149 , I know, I refered to the security of the OS. Testing the compatibility, all pass, except the used CPU, the only which isn't compatible.
Okay, it's not a high-end gaming PC, but a good laptop that doubles or triples the requirements of Windows 11. If I want, there are possibilities to trap it and install W11, but this I will surely not do, nor do I feel like it even the most remote. I am rather happy that M$ considers that my Laptop is incompatible, so from the beginning I avoid that they install it unintentionally in some update.
>Laptop ACER, AMD Ryzen, GPU AMD Radeon RAM 16GB, SSD 512GB -Win11 Home 64 v24H2| Vivaldi last stable|
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It seems crazy that M$ would abandon a processor made 3 years ago, no matter how entry level it might be.
AMD A9-9425 Processor - NotebookCheck.net Tech
https://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-A9-9425-Processor.405946.0.html
The AMD A9-9425 is an entry-level chip from the Stoney-Ridge APU series for notebooks (7th APU generation), which was announced mid 2018.... MORE...Hopefully a lot of people are spurred to finally ditch the grifters from Redmond, and move to an OS free in both ways, Linux.
Current Vivaldi snapshot.. MX-23 Linux x64, KDE desktop.
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@paul1149 said in Microsoft back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.:
finally ditch the grifters from Redmond, and move to an OS free in both ways, Linux
Yep, especially now that we have V's solemn blood-promise to only produce Nix-V hereon...
I edited to include the emoji, lest Some Others once more take my post literally.
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@paul1149 , as I say, my laptop isn't a NASA computer, but it has a very good performance, more than enough for W11. It dosn't make sense that it isn't enough for the Redmond nerds.
It is absurd that my previous laptop, which I had more than 10 years (Acer Aspire), which did not have even half the power of the Lap now, would have been compatible with the old Intel chip.
