Fed up with accumulating restrictions

Judy in Texas · Oct 9, 2025

With all of the new restrictions such as requiring OneDrive for initial setup, I get more and more annoyed with Microsoft. Our internet is often out, and will continue to be due to development in our area. Even the power is often out, but I can continue on my laptop. Much of the Help for Office products is not on my computer, but online.

Not only do I not want to add my work to Microsoft's AI, but these requirements impinge on my ability to use MS at all.

I thought about changing my retiring W10 to Linux, but gave in to the free extra year. I am not looking forward to that. I have been on Windows since at least 3.1. I have learned a lot of its complications.

Are any others of you getting fed up?

If this is not the right place to post this, please move it. the Chillout room didn't seem to fit.

antspants · Oct 9, 2025

Judy in Texas said:
Are any others of you getting fed up?

I go with the flow.

Josey Wales · Oct 9, 2025

I am fed up with Microsoft not necessarily Windows,

antspants · Oct 9, 2025

I learned a very long time ago that kicking and screaming doesn’t help for getting past life's obstacles.
There is a process to deal with most things in Windows, some easier than others.

So on that note, in Brink I trust.

XxXxX · Oct 9, 2025

Judy in Texas said:
With all of the new restrictions such as requiring OneDrive for initial setup, I get more and more annoyed with Microsoft. Our internet is often out, and will continue to be due to development in our area. Even the power is often out, but I can continue on my laptop. Much of the Help for Office products is not on my computer, but online.

Not only do I not want to add my work to Microsoft's AI, but these requirements impinge on my ability to use MS at all.

I thought about changing my retiring W10 to Linux, but gave in to the free extra year. I am not looking forward to that. I have been on Windows since at least 3.1. I have learned a lot of its complications.

Are any others of you getting fed up?

If this is not the right place to post this, please move it. the Chillout room didn't seem to fit.

i gave up worry about what Microsoft wants some time ago
i bend Windows to my way not Microsoft's way.
that normally means removing most of Microsoft's software from the system and installing my own
which is usually older software that is no longer supported but still works OK for me.

as of Copilot and AI its not on my systems. a never ending battle but it keeps me occupied.
best of luck Steve ..

Ghot · Oct 9, 2025

Microsoft is catering to corporations.
Because corporations are MS's cash-cow.

Back in the day corporations ran on Unix, so MS catered to us.
But those days are over.

antspants · Oct 9, 2025

Ghot said:

God forbid anyone objecting here, starts a successful company and wants to run it the way they want to run it.

Rollback_Jockey · Oct 9, 2025

antspants said:
God forbid anyone objecting here, starts a successful company and wants to run it the way they want to run it.

NormanF · Oct 9, 2025

The larger issue is about digital sovereignty and the three current platforms: Harmony OS, Windows and MacOS. They have multinationals behind them.

Desh Kapoor offers a prescient analysis of the stakes involved. Who wins in this Game of Thrones? The future is an open book:

Digital Sovereignty in a Duopolistic World: An Analysis of the HarmonyOS Gambit and the Blueprint for a New OS Ecosystem

China’s new Harmony OS is gearing up to challenge Apple, Microsoft, and Google. While it may not dethrone these giants immediately, its arrival signals that non-US players are entering the operating system race. It reflects China’s ambition to reduce tech dependence on the West with its own options

www.drishtikone.com

antspants · Oct 9, 2025

Also…

The most informative 3 hours you may watch & listen to in regards to AI and what’s ahead for the human race. A wonderful discussion that I learned from and very much appreciated.

This guy, Salim Ismail, has impressive insight and has obviously contemplated this extensively.
I had to watch it in sessions, 3 hours is an epic movie.

It’s not conspiracy or fear mongering, it’s just deep thought and prediction according to the roads we might travel as a result of AI.
This is 3hrs and 20min out of your life. The first 4min is enticing. The conversation is:

AI Reset: "Life As We Know It Will Be Gone In 5 Years" - Upcoming Utopia vs Dystopia | Salim Ismail

They go deep into:

AI's transformative impact on human history
Potential severe disruptions by AI
An outlook on AI's future impact
Critical nature of early decisions in AI development.
Unpredictability in AI outcomes
Quantum Mechanics and AI
AI's role in moving society to abundance.
Utopia or Dystopia - Deciding between a prosperous or bleak future
The shift from centralized to decentralized systems
Structural changes in societal organization
Challenges in adopting new technologies
How AI will affect various aspects of life
The increasing value of data over money
AI's potential to revolutionize healthcare access and effectiveness
Changes in learning methodologies due to AI
AI's influence on political landscapes and rhetoric
AI's role in optimizing resource use and energy distribution
Potential existential threats posed by AI developments
Societal pushback against rapid technological advancements
Changes in job markets and employment types due to AI
Ethical considerations and dilemmas in AI development and application
Potential for AI to exacerbate or mitigate global disparities
Utilizing AI to address social and environmental issues
How society views and understands AI and its impacts

Salim also discusses his initiative with OpenExO, a platform and community that aims to support organizations, governments, and individuals in adapting to and thriving in an environment of rapid technological change.
He believes that in order to survive, businesses must focus on innovation and growth strategies in the era of exponential technology.The insights from this interview invite you to consider not only the technological capabilities of AI but also the broader implications of its integration into every aspect of human life.

Chapter Markers:

[0:00] Metaphysical shift from money to data
[36:25] The AI arms race
[1:10:37] Intelligence merging with technology
[1:39:11] Meaning in the face of advancement
[2:10:26] Paganism, moon worship, AI, and self-management uncertainty
[2:31:00] Cycle of civilization

glasskuter · Oct 9, 2025

You will find a lot of folks here who will agree with you. Me, I get on one of rants every once in a while, but at the end of the day, I roll with the flow.
Microsoft couldn't give a rat's behind whether we are happy or not. They have their game plan and that's the way it's gonna be. Accepting that really does lower one's blood pressure. It is what it is.

NormanF · Oct 9, 2025

And the war of the three kernels: Huawei's microkernel, Microsoft's NT kernel and Apple's XNU kernel.

TairikuOkami · Oct 10, 2025

antspants said:
I go with the flow.

Indeed, I used to block everything, but I got tired playing cat and mouse game.
I use MSA, OneDrive, Edge, but I still disable the rest: AI, Search, Start, Defender.

Judy in Texas · Oct 10, 2025

TairikuOkami said:
Indeed, I used to block everything, but I got tired playing cat and mouse game.
I use MSA, OneDrive, Edge, but I still disable the rest: AI, Search, Start, Defender.

What is MSA?

Judy in Texas · Oct 10, 2025

Thanks folks, will try to chill.

Josey Wales · Oct 10, 2025

Judy in Texas said:
What is MSA?

A Microsoft Account.

FrancoDT · Oct 10, 2025

TairikuOkami said:
Indeed, I used to block everything, but I got tired playing cat and mouse game.
I use MSA, OneDrive, Edge, but I still disable the rest: AI, Search, Start, Defender.

I use MSA, Edge only when it forcibly opens something by default, Defender (I think it does a good job now), new 25H2 Start, AI Co-pilot for occasional searches (although Google AI is about the same) as searches are all I use AI for. I removed OneDrive from all three machines as I find it to be a royal PITA.

PerpetualCycle · Oct 10, 2025

antspants said:
I go with the flow.

Fed up with accumulating restrictions

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