Does anybody know if when using Windows on a computer but not paying for anything windows related: is windows/ Bill Gates profiting from it? Is it worth installing linux as a protest?
Currently using ubuntu, switched in January because my computer can’t swap to 11. I can still dual boot to windows if necessary, but so far it hasn’t been necessary.
So far, haven’t run into issues. Gaming through steam has been minimal effort. Gaming outside of steam a bit more so. VR has been somewhat persnickety, discord needs to be uninstalled and reinstalled to update.
I am in a very weird position because I use my PC on the couch with a 4k projector. Oddly enough linux has nailed the proper text sizing across applications better than windows ever did. Which is weird because my requirements for this kind of setup is kinda niche.
Mostly I swapped because I cannot upgrade to 11 without a hardware update, and new electronics are gonna be painful over the next 4 years.
If you aren’t getting a free update to windows 11, then it’s definitely worth as a protest. Even if you get it for free, it’s less of a stranglehold that windows has over the computer space, and it’s less data they farm off you.
People who are only now up in arms about Gates shedding hypocrisy on the climate crisis should look into the long history of abuses Microsoft have made on their way to near-monopoly, including the times when they lobbied and bribed governments, including here in Europe, to lock them and the educational systems into the Microsoft ecosystem. Instead of authorities saving money with Linux and FOSS in general, they spent public money on Windows and Office licenses! (Don’t get me started about how they shouldn’t have even been the benchmark for ECDL courses; having ECDL done should mean one can figure out how to use, say, a simple Linux distribution.)
It’s worth it for something more important than as a protest - it means ending Europe’s dependence on Silicon Valley. And in this, every PC switch matters.
(not to mention it’s a pretty good OS - and it’s only going to get better if we make it part of the European autonomy strategy and give it the support it deserves)
They still profit. Windows is increasingly an ad platform with ads delivered directly to your start menu.
You also get included in their user statistics when they report such things publicy, and therefore help toward selling their value as an investment.
Personally, I don’t think switching your OS “as a protest” is a good idea. Bill Gates is so obscenely wealthy that your protest will have literally zero impact. Not “very small” impact; actually zero. As in, the whole world could abandon all Microsoft products and Bill Gates would still be able to live exactly as he did before. It’s not worth your mental health to let his actions have that level of control over you.
All that said, you should switch to Linux because it’s a better OS (as long as it does what you need).
Linux is worth it as the greatest protest to everything that is wrong with technology.
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ZorinOS, stylish, modern and user-friendly check it out!
i just installed mint on my laptop and it runs way better than it ever ran with windows 11 plus it’s super user friendly :)
Wonderful. I’m considering Ubuntu. But I’ll give mint a consideration. Thank you for the tip!
I wouldn’t advise on Ubuntu, in the later years it has become more and more closed source and the company rep is in shambles. Go with LMDE -> Linux Mint Debian edition
Good thing is that mint is based on Ubuntu so you should already be familiar too :)
The amount of data Windows and microsoft in general collect is worth billions and going straight to the hands of the US govt. for a price obviously, so yes they are profiting from your use regardless of whether you pay for it or not.
There’s a reason they gave the upgrade to 11 away for “free.”
The secret word is “telemetrics”. Microsoft will track your actions and sells the data, just like Google or Apple.
Thanks. Was looking for something like this. Going forward with my decision to do the switch
Linux Mint is the most Windows-like regarding its user interface, so that one probably requires the least learning. Ubuntu is trying to work a bit like Mac OS X, and I actually like that.
And then there are distros that don’t try to be super easy but actively try to help you learn how to do the difficult things. Arch Linux is famous for that.
Ubuntu (and Linux Mint, which is actually just Ubuntu with a more Windows-like user interface) have the best app support, so that might be a factor.
During a public talk at the University of Washington in 1998, Microsoft founder Bill Gates admitted, “Although about three million computers get sold every year in China, people don’t pay for the software. Someday they will, though. And as long as they’re going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”
Not necessarily as a protest, but the answer is always hard yes.
The way I see it, using these software, even without paying anything and even if you could somehow shield your data from telemetry, strengthens their hegemony.
Growing the pool of users in Open Source project, talking about them, maybe filing bug reports if needed, helps make them more viable. The growing user count makes developers more enticed to release software for these platforms.
I don’t think Microsoft’s hegemony suffers a lot from losing a user … But they do suffer slightly more from Linux gaining a user.
If you’re using Windows, you’ve paid for it one way or another.
True. It came pre installed on my PC I bought 4 years ago. But yeah, you’re correct. This is the reason to why I was questioning the decision to install Linux. But I think I will install Linux anyway.
That’s great! It requires a bit of research and adjustment but it’s well worth it.
Nah there’s easyyyy bypasses. Takes more time to figure out which ones are legit than it does to unlock.
