Post #2404173

The news that Microsoft is going to start "fixing up" Windows 11 has been making rounds in tech news recently. And I thought about it... Obviously first and foremost, I simply don't trust Microsoft less than as far as I can throw them. But let's give them the benefit of the doubt for the sake of discussion: Even if they made Windows 11 a good operating system- that is, they remove all the bloatware, let you uninstall whatever you want, remove the ads, and remove the spyware, and improve the over-all performance, I wouldn't care. And I feel that says something; I wouldn't have to worry about game comparability (though I barely do anymore on Linux), I would have an easier time with VR, and I would get all the benefits that come with a uniform experience. Linux, for all it's greatness, is still often a rough, somewhat jank experience. And mileage varies from distro to distro and even something as simple as DE to DE. It's not uncommon that we fight to get a particular piece of software to work, modding games ranges from being more painful than pulling your own teeth out to being as simple as a drag and drop, and yes, there are still a handful of significant games that just don't and probably never will work on Linux (R6 Siege, anything made by Riot, and Fortnite). Regardless of how much I care about any of this, it matters. Those limit the digital fields in which I can interact with friends and loved ones. But I honestly can't bring myself to care. Linux is rough around the edges and sometimes jank and limiting in ways that matter, but at least my computer is *mine.* If I don't like something, I can change it. If I want to customize something, I probably can. It's made being on my computer nostalgic again. But more significant than that is the fact that Microsoft has lost my trust and they won't be getting it back. Even if they made all of the changes above with no strings attached, I have no assurance they won't make abusive, anti-consumer decisions again further down the line. I didn't have a digital ideology before Windows 11, but I do now. I've seen the abuse and the overreach, and I'm unable to trust big tech companies anymore, Microsoft least of all. I imagine they might win some people back, and half of them will quit when they see how much it fucking sucks trying to re-install Windows. But I also imagine there's a lot of people in my same boat for whom they also can't trust Microsoft again. Even the people who go back will be wary at best. And I think that cornerstone is obliterated; Microsoft can slow their decent, but I think the inability to trust them is going to erode their business and market dominance, piece by piece. It won't affect me though; I'll still be using Linux.