Old-School Windows Developer Says He Likes Windows 11

[Arnox]

More specifically, Dave (or David) Plummer says, "I don't get the hate for Windows 11." (20:34-22:55)



Yes... Absolutely nothing wrong with Windows 11. Nope. Except for, you know... All of this:

Spoiler: Windows 11 Working Perfectly Fine

Windows 11 Features Breaking Due to Expired Certificate: https://www.pcgamer.com/windows-11-features-break-due-to-an-expired-certificate/

Windows 11 22H2 causing performance issues on Ryzen 7000 CPUs: https://www.pcgamesn.com/amd/ryzen-7000-performance-windows-11-update-22h2

Windows 11 forces Edge: https://www.howtogeek.com/774542/wi...uts-down-firefoxs-default-browser-workaround/

Windows 11 forces users to install Windows 11 with a Microsoft account: https://www.pcgamer.com/windows-11-...to-have-a-microsoft-account-for-installation/

Windows 11 (tries to) put in ads in Windows Explorer: https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/15/22979251/microsoft-file-explorer-ads-windows-11-testing

Windows 11 forces watermark for "unsupported" PCs: https://www.windowslatest.com/2022/...proves-desktop-watermark-for-unsupported-pcs/

Windows 11 spies on you more than any other Windows version: https://www.neowin.net/news/new-vid...-windows-11-sends-compared-to-older-versions/

Windows 11 update breaks Chrome, causes catastrophic failure if rolled back: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...breaks-chrome-for-cisco-watchguard-edr-users/

Windows 11 software encryption slows SSDs by up to 45%, on by default: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-x2rTNukao

Windows 11 installs HP Smart software on everyone's computer without permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9i8was6oNQ

Windows 11 causes slow speeds/unstable connections with public Wi-Fi in update KB5033335: https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/windows_patch_wifi_broken/

Windows 11 steals tab data from Chrome to open in Edge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8EGomuEX8s

Windows 11 driver blocks software from changing default web browser: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...s-software-from-changing-default-web-browser/

Windows 11 blocks StartAllBack users from being able to update: https://www.neowin.net/news/microso...-build-upgrades-on-systems-with-startallback/

Windows 11 blocks bypassing TPM requirements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUGCItNGsVs

Windows 11 24H2 Update launches with tons of bugs including crashing Western Digital SSDs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VepOepAA7_U

Windows 11 update KB5051987 bricks Windows Explorer entirely: https://www.xda-developers.com/windows-11-update-breaks-file-explorer/

Windows 11 update KB5053598, KB5053598, and KB5053606 (Windows 10 update) removes co-pilot app entirely: https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/...-deletes-copilot-app-unpins-from-the-taskbar/

Oh, and by the way, TPM has been bypassed before. So no, the asinine argument of even needing TPM for "security" is also bogus. And then... And THEN, Dave suggests using Windows 10 if people can't switch to Windows 11. Except Windows 10 is going out of support! Now, it is true that I personally don't give a shit about Windows updates except for servers, enterprise systems, and government systems, but regardless, his stated argument is not valid. No, certain people, for whatever reason, can't just stay on 10 if they don't like 11.

I fully respect the work and the experience that Dave has here, but he's clearly out of touch now with modern Windows and also modern Microsoft. It's not the Windows XP days anymore, Dave, or even the Windows 7 days. Microsoft is not who they once were, and he needs to stop being a simp for them. Maybe back in 1995-2010, you could simp for them a bit, but holy shit, modern Microsoft doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt anymore.

 

[CharlieTheStooge]

I fully respect the work and the experience that Dave has here, but he's clearly out of touch now with modern Windows and also modern Microsoft. It's not the Windows XP days anymore, Dave, or even the Windows 7 days. Microsoft is not who they once were, and he needs to stop being a simp for them

I probably could write more if I sat down and did some research, however Dave strikes me as an expert who tries to project the absolute truth based on outdated facts.

For one he has not worked at Microsoft in over 20 years. I can tell you their quality assurance regime absolutely is different from then. Second of all he was involved with a paid registry cleaner utility that involved high pressure sales tactics. While that may have had some validity during the XP era, there is much less justification for use now.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Microsoft is cracking down on people creating local accounts on Windows

Another method, squashed.

www.xda-developers.com

From Moonchild on their off-topic forum:

"Considering their claim that "{the bypass allows users to} inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use", I had a look at what the difference is, exactly.And, what gets skipped is:

Setting a PIN for Windows Hello (also not something you are asked when using a work/school type domain setup)
Restoring settings from another device (Microsoft account sync). Not critical, and not necessary for setting up a new device.
Customize your experience: an optional screen where you can indicate the ways you intend to use the PC. Basically letting Microsoft know the intent for use, "to get personalized tips, ads and recommendations within Microsoft experiences". so... ad personalization.
Linking your mobile phone (it asks twice if you say no...)
Setting Edge to synchronize with your Microsoft accountAdvertisement for a free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal (office), and if declined:
Advertisement for paid cloud storage with Microsoft 365 Basic, and if declined:
Promotion to use Microsoft 365 for free, including office applications, if only you use outlook for your e-mail for everything... (they are really desperate to get your data and e-mail...)
Advertisement for a Microsoft PC Game Pass

I mean.... wow, just wow. Critical setup screens? Yeah critical for Microsoft's income by trying to lure you into multiple subscription services. Remind me... is Windows 11 free because it's ad-supported? $139 for home and $249 for Pro, you say? I see...

"

 

[Arnox]

Microsoft is cracking down on people creating local accounts on Windows

Another method, squashed.

www.xda-developers.com

From Moonchild on their off-topic forum:

"Considering their claim that "{the bypass allows users to} inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use", I had a look at what the difference is, exactly.And, what gets skipped is:

Setting a PIN for Windows Hello (also not something you are asked when using a work/school type domain setup)
Restoring settings from another device (Microsoft account sync). Not critical, and not necessary for setting up a new device.
Customize your experience: an optional screen where you can indicate the ways you intend to use the PC. Basically letting Microsoft know the intent for use, "to get personalized tips, ads and recommendations within Microsoft experiences". so... ad personalization.
Linking your mobile phone (it asks twice if you say no...)
Setting Edge to synchronize with your Microsoft accountAdvertisement for a free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal (office), and if declined:
Advertisement for paid cloud storage with Microsoft 365 Basic, and if declined:
Promotion to use Microsoft 365 for free, including office applications, if only you use outlook for your e-mail for everything... (they are really desperate to get your data and e-mail...)
Advertisement for a Microsoft PC Game Pass

I mean.... wow, just wow. Critical setup screens? Yeah critical for Microsoft's income by trying to lure you into multiple subscription services. Remind me... is Windows 11 free because it's ad-supported? $139 for home and $249 for Pro, you say? I see...

"

No, no... This is actually a great change. I really like this. You see, it gives people a fucking kick in the ass whenever they even try to install Windows 11. Maybe then they'll actually think twice before they install anti-consumer garbage.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

No, no... This is actually a great change. I really like this. You see, it gives people a fucking kick in the ass whenever they even try to install Windows 11. Maybe then they'll actually think twice before they install anti-consumer garbage.

and what exactly do you expect the average joe to use? The average person isn't going to know what linux is, let alone how to install it and even less how to use it.

 

[Arnox]

and what exactly do you expect the average joe to use? The average person isn't going to know what linux is, let alone how to install it and even less how to use it.

Then I guess they're gonna learn today, aren't they.

When I get a car, is it also responsible and acceptable behavior to not learn a single thing about it? "OMG, you have to change out the oil? I'm not a mechanic! You can't expect me to know that!"

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Then I guess they're gonna learn today, aren't they.

When I get a car, is it also responsible and acceptable behavior to not learn a single thing about it? "OMG, you have to change out the oil? I'm not a mechanic! You can't expect me to know that!"

Just rent a self-steering EV. (You'd be surprised how many people actually rent cars today)

Today's car's can't often be repaired anyway.. The electrics is tied into everything and requires a manufacturer approved and licensed mechanic.

Or worse: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63743597 & https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62weyp4qqgo

 

[Arnox]

Just rent a self-steering EV. (You'd be surprised how many people actually rent cars today)

Today's car's can't often be repaired anyway.. The electrics is tied into everything and requires a manufacturer approved and licensed mechanic.

Or worse: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63743597 & https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62weyp4qqgo

Mostly irrelevant though. My point is that people scoff if they see this helpless ignorance with basic things in life for other people. But suddenly, when it's computers, we all have to cater to the lowest common denominator and excuse them, even if their deliberate ignorance about basic computer skills helps grossly anti-consumer companies stay very profitable and allow them to set harmful trends.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Then I guess they're gonna learn today, aren't they.

When I get a car, is it also responsible and acceptable behavior to not learn a single thing about it? "OMG, you have to change out the oil? I'm not a mechanic! You can't expect me to know that!"

I don't think I've ever meet someone, who wasn't a car nut, that's ever changed the oil in the car let alone mentioned changing it. Most people aren't going to know how their car works beyond the dashboard, and whenever they have an issue they either ignore or just take it a mechanic/someone who knows how it works.
So no, I don't expect an average joe who just wants a computer that works (and yes, despite the many issues with windows, it just works out of the box) to try figure out how to install + run linux, especially if they've just brought some prebuilt from [insert computer store]. The average person wants something that just works and is easy to understand.

 

[Arnox]

I don't think I've ever meet someone, who wasn't a car nut, that's ever changed the oil in the car let alone mentioned changing it.

And that's fine. In terms of computers, they can also ask a computer technician to do it for them, or, if they're lucky, ask a family member to help them with it. But, coming back to cars, regardless of if they get a mechanic to do it or not, they still KNOW that the oil needs changing. They know that the car needs gasoline (or diesel) to run. They know how to fill the tank. They know how to work the lights and read the gauges. They know sometimes the battery needs to be changed out and kept charged. Why do they know all this? Because these are basic freaking car skills. And if they don't know even those, then they have no business driving a car.

People are always so quick to disclaim responsibility for their own actions and choices. And hey, if you still want to deal with Microsoft after all their broken anti-consumer bullshit, cool. That's entirely your choice. It's your PC. You're free to do whatever you want to do with it. But do NOT come complaining to me or others when the anti-consumer company makes you go through more anti-consumer nonsense.

Oh, and by the way, Linux "just works" too or else I guarantee you I wouldn't be using it.

 

[Houseman]

I don't wanna buy a whole new computer (motherboard/tpm module, whatever)!
If I ever upgrade, it might be this way:

Use Rufus to Create a Windows 11 Install disk that bypasses TPM, Secure Boot requirements (How-to).

This guide shows how to use RUFUS to create a Windows 11 install disk on a USB, to bypass the TPM, Secure Boot and Microsoft Account requirements to setup Windo

www.wintips.org

Or I'll just quit gaming and get another linux laptop from System76

 

[gaijinkaiju]

Oh, and by the way, Linux "just works" too or else I guarantee you I wouldn't be using it.

Decided to take a look at some linux distros.
Decided mint looked the most pleasing to me. Now lets check game compatibility.
According to protondb most of my games should work. Okay, cool.
I might give this a shot then. Oh, first I better check some of my other software works. You know, just in case.

Vegas - nope, not supported
Paint tool sai - nope, not supported
paint.net - nope, not supported
Xara - nope, not supported
droidcam - yes, kinda
callibre - actually, yes
winamp - nope, not supported
OPL manager - nope, not supported
Battle.net - nope, not supported
Magic Set Editor - nope, not supported
CDisplayEx - nope, not supported

Okay, that's not great I guess I could try find and learn some other alternatives, but what about software that's actually important

Logitech hub (keyboard, headphones) - nope, not supported
Razer synapse (mouse) - nope, not supported
Corsair Icue (fans) - nope, not supported
Aorus (gpu fans) - nope, not supported
Ultramon (multi-monitors) - nope, not supported
Nvidia - yes, kinda

Hmm, I guess this is what "just works" means.
Sticking with your car analogy, since you keep wanting to compare this to cars for whatever reason, This is like buying a new car, finding out it doesn't come with the Steering wheel, accelerator, or brakes and that you have to go to someone else who might sell a steering wheel that might work, a different person who might sell an accelerator that might work, and a different person to buy the brakes only to find out they don't actually make brakes for your model.

 

[Arnox]

Whoops. Forgot to reply. Sorry.

Hmm, I guess this is what "just works" means.

I'm talking about reliability and ease of access, not compatibility. But even in terms of compatibility:

Vegas - nope, not supported

DaVinci Resolve or KdenLive

Paint tool sai - nope, not supported

Krita

paint.net - nope, not supported

GIMP (3.x just came out semi-recently too, so that's nice.)

Xara - nope, not supported

Never heard of this, but Inkscape or, again, Krita should work.

droidcam - yes, kinda

Just use OBS. Even if you were running Windows, why would you use an extra program for this?

winamp - nope, not supported

Strawberry works very good. I use it all the time.

OPL manager - nope, not supported

Yeah, this is correct. Sadly, modded console tools require Windows almost strictly, although you could try running it under Proton and see if that works.

Battle.net - nope, not supported

You can use Lutris to run that, it looks like, but even that aside, I would STRONGLY suggest avoiding live-service games now regardless.

Magic Set Editor - nope, not supported

It's supported. You can get it via Flatpak or by compiling it yourself should you so desire. https://github.com/twanvl/MagicSetEditor2

CDisplayEx - nope, not supported

As I recall, Calibre will open CBR files just fine. Even if not though, I KNOW there's other programs out there that will work for that.

Logitech hub (keyboard, headphones) - nope, not supported

GitHub - ysph/gHub-GUI: Manage your logitech device on Linux using GUI. Lightweight and user-friendly. (not yet)

Manage your logitech device on Linux using GUI. Lightweight and user-friendly. (not yet) - ysph/gHub-GUI

github.com

Razer synapse (mouse) - nope, not supported

GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.

🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices. - sezanzeb/input-remapper

github.com

Corsair Icue (fans) - nope, not supported

GitHub - ckb-next/ckb-next: RGB Driver for Linux

RGB Driver for Linux. Contribute to ckb-next/ckb-next development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Aorus (gpu fans) - nope, not supported

There might be something but... Why do you want to control the fans on your system? Are you doing major overclocking or something? Is the default fan curve borked?

Ultramon (multi-monitors) - nope, not supported

Ultramon hasn't been updated in seven years. (https://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/download.asp) This shit still works with modern Windows 10/11? Even so, try KDE just by itself for more extensive multi-monitor setups.

This is like buying a new car, finding out it doesn't come with the Steering wheel, accelerator, or brakes and that you have to go to someone else who might sell a steering wheel that might work, a different person who might sell an accelerator that might work, and a different person to buy the brakes only to find out they don't actually make brakes for your model.

lolwut? With that comparison, Windows is the exact same. You still have to rely on third parties for all of that shit you listed above, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Signa]

Whoops. Forgot to reply. Sorry.



I'm talking about reliability and ease of access, not compatibility. But even in terms of compatibility:



DaVinci Resolve or KdenLive



Krita



GIMP (3.x just came out semi-recently too, so that's nice.)



Never heard of this, but Inkscape or, again, Krita should work.



Just use OBS. Even if you were running Windows, why would you use an extra program for this?



Strawberry works very good. I use it all the time.



Yeah, this is correct. Sadly, modded console tools require Windows almost strictly, although you could try running it under Proton and see if that works.



You can use Lutris to run that, it looks like, but even that aside, I would STRONGLY suggest avoiding live-service games now regardless.



It's supported. You can get it via Flatpak or by compiling it yourself should you so desire. https://github.com/twanvl/MagicSetEditor2



As I recall, Calibre will open CBR files just fine. Even if not though, I KNOW there's other programs out there that will work for that.

GitHub - ysph/gHub-GUI: Manage your logitech device on Linux using GUI. Lightweight and user-friendly. (not yet)

Manage your logitech device on Linux using GUI. Lightweight and user-friendly. (not yet) - ysph/gHub-GUI

github.com

GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.

🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices. - sezanzeb/input-remapper

github.com

GitHub - ckb-next/ckb-next: RGB Driver for Linux

RGB Driver for Linux. Contribute to ckb-next/ckb-next development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

There might be something but... Why do you want to control the fans on your system? Are you doing major overclocking or something? Is the default fan curve borked?



Ultramon hasn't been updated in seven years. (https://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/download.asp) This shit still works with modern Windows 10/11? Even so, try KDE just by itself for more extensive multi-monitor setups.



lolwut? With that comparison, Windows is the exact same. You still have to rely on third parties for all of that shit you listed above, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

Yeah, this is why I gave up on Linux. Instead of committing to learning a new OS, I was also committing to learning an entire new software suite for my tasks. It was a lot easier to run a script and strip out all the garbage in Windows than do all this.

 

[Arnox]

Yeah, this is why I gave up on Linux. Instead of committing to learning a new OS, I was also committing to learning an entire new software suite for my tasks. It was a lot easier to run a script and strip out all the garbage in Windows than do all this.

But you are going to be constantly paying for it. With Linux, most all problems, if you're going to have them, will very probably occur right after install, but once that's finished, everything is smooth sailing.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-just-revealed-how-windows-11-is-evolving-into-an-agentic-os-finally-the-explanation-weve-all-been-waiting-for

 

[Arnox]

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-just-revealed-how-windows-11-is-evolving-into-an-agentic-os-finally-the-explanation-weve-all-been-waiting-for

This is not news whatsoever. Microsoft is desperately trying to ride the AI train like everyone else. It's also losing steady marketshare to Linux in the process. (Now at 5+%.)