You can’t get rid of it, you can only hide it: Microsoft imposes controversial Windows Backup on users::Like it or not, the Windows Backup app installed in Windows 10 and Windows 11 is here to stay, with Microsoft calling it a “system component” that can’t be

  • Nindelofocho@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    coming soon: Monthly subscription to use windows with the justification that it uses an online service in order to work

    • georgette@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I can’t wait for the eventual warning pop-ups and emails, warning me that my onedrive is almost full (70%)

      • sock@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        what do you mean by this

        do u think a cloud pc (with constant server costs) shouldnt be a monthly fee?

        • Reygle@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I think this is likely the “new only Windows option” in the not so distant future. I think it shouldn’t exist.

              • OfficerBribe@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                Their primary use is enterprise not private consumers. Think of virtualized OS accessible over internet that you can manage/protect and provide for example to some random consultant. Or just provide more powerful PC on low end HW.

                It’s costly though and not sure it ever gained traction because there always were alternatives like Citrix Desktops.

                • Reygle@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Maybe there’s a use case, but I’m anti-cloud and always will be. I struggle to think of a situation I couldn’t do better with in-house (or even air gapped) VMs of my own.

                  Anyone who watches 365 uptime knows that Microsoft’s cloud is a fragile laughing stock. They use a Twitter account because their own status portal is so laughably trash and unreliable. If you don’t believe me I don’t blame you. Here it is.

                  The day I trust any cloud platform (Especially Microsoft) is the day I promise to jump off a cliff.

            • Reygle@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I have a confident guess about what Microsoft runs theirs on… it ain’t Windows.

              • OfficerBribe@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                Can’t imagine it being the case, thin clients have existed for a very long time and Cloud PC is nothing revolutionary just an additional offering from Microsoft.

                Not to mention private consumers will not pay subscription for OS that in long run is a lot more expensive and worse HW that they probably already have.

  • pirrrrrrrr@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    Holy shit. Just not “no” when it asks if you want to set up backup, and keep using what you already use.

    It’s less difficult than falling over.

  • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve been on Windows since 3.0 (not 3.1) and MS-DOS, back when DR-DOS was a thing and IBM’s OS/2 was a rising star, and the joke about how if operating systems were airlines, Linux would be the one where all the passengers bring parts and tools and build it on the runway themselves.

    Oh, how the turns have tabled. Today, I installed Debian 12 with GNOME DE on an old 2010 MacBook, and then installed Budgie Desktop on top of that as an optional profile. It fucking screams on 13 year old hardware, lol. I’m not even done trying out all the distros and DEs I want to try out; that’s just one. When I’m done playing with that I’ll blow it away and install a different distro instead. And I didn’t pay a penny for any of them.

    There is literally no reason for me to stay on the sick, bloated advertising delivery/data collection system that is Microsoft Windows.

    • 1995ToyotaCorolla@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’ve grown up with windows (started with windows 95 in elementary school) and have been a Linux user since 2009. Watching windows decline and the Linux desktop grow and mature has been quite the ride. I’ve been distro-hopping for years and have finally settled on Debian Testing. It does exactly what I tell it to do. It helps me accomplish whatever task I’m doing and then gets out of the way.

      Windows on the other hand is the polar opposite of that. Constantly nagging you to use OneDrive. New panels and “experiences” popping up out of nowhere. Unskippable OOBEs after a major update that force you to navigate some dark pattern if you have the audacity to resist using a Microsoft account. The telemetry that you know is running under the hood 24/7. Hands and knees begging you to use Edge to open PDFs?!?! Using windows today is like using Clippy - the operating system.

      Linux has come such a long way, and outside of some proprietary edge cases, I can no longer imagine using Windows as a daily driver

      • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yep.

        Windows 10 was the window into what was to come and how microsoft wanted to ruin windows in the future, Which was further ruined “refined” in 11.

        I’m on linux to stay now, now that I’ve ironed out most of my problems, the only issues I have anymore are manufactured and artificial issues, like Amazon refusing to stream in anything higher than 360p because my system isnt “secure”, or like AMDs stupid convoluted AMDRewards system not working.

      • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yes. When I first booted up Linux Mint – the first distro I had tried since Red Hat came on a dozen or so 3.5" floppies – I couldn’t believe it. I was expecting something a LOT less developed and shiny, but no – and Mint is one of the lighter ones. That’s why I’m trying so many, including ones I already know I won’t use as a daily driver, because they’re all fully fledged, completely operable computing environments.

        If it hadn’t been for MS Office I’d have done this long before now, especially when I got into a mandatory-Windows-Upgrade-and-break loop a couple years ago. But I absolutely despise the newer Office versions; they seem to break more with each release. If I have to go back to older versions to run it on Linux, that’s just one more favor the FOSS community will be doing for me.

        Clippy - the operating system.

        Jfc, lol. At least Clippy wasn’t all up in my shorts and sending the data back to the mothership. Gotta ask, though, given your age: did you ever get to use Microsoft Bob? You probably don’t remember all the commercials; it was Faith Ford hawking MS Bob every time you turned on the tv. But using it, omfg. You boot up into a “living room.” I shit you not. MSBob was a . . . really fucking weird five minutes, lol.

    • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Imagine how much better the computing landscape would be today if we actually prevented MS from doing anticompetitive and often straight-up illegal stuff in the 90s to gain their monopoly

      • rwhitisissle@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That would require government oversight and accountability. Best I can do is regulatory capture and the continued gutting of American anti-trust law.

    • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      I know everyone hates the automatic response of “just switch to linux” in response to Microsoft’s BS. BUT, it’s really so true - more people need to just do it and get over their fear of linux. It has been a totally stable easy option for a long time now.

      Install an easy distro like mint and you’re literally up and running in a gui environment in like 10 minutes. Your grandmother could run it no problem. For the gamers out there - a good chunk of your stuff just works these days, and you can always dual boot windows for that game that doesn’t perform well (even better just get a small cheap 2nd hard drive and you can’t screw it up).

      Thank you to all the people who contribute to linux and have given us a totally viable alternate.

      • Freestylesno@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s just not that easy for a majority of people. It still takes some work and knowledge to do just about everything. From picking an distro, installing it and then running different programs. And games are far from perfect.

      • voodooattack@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Linux has so many options it’s ridiculous. It doesn’t force you to use them or to upload sensitive data to Microsoft’s servers—and therefore the NSA’s—though.

      • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Linux can do literally any backup plan you want, to anywhere you want, with the click of a few buttons. You almost have too many options that all work great.

        Doesn’t r sync also ship with like everything? Ya I know - a scary command line - but anyone online could help you in one minute. Ask a few questions, ok here’s this crazy long command that looks scary, but it’s really not that bad. Just run this command when you want to do a backup and your good. Come back here if you need help restoring (hint boot into another live environment and swap the source and destination and run it backwards)

        Linux backups are cake.

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As a non windows user, can someone explain to be what all the fuss is about? It sounds like people are grumpy that they’re being shown a feature that they can’t use or don’t want to use, and MS is going to let people hide the UI for that.

    What is wrong with this solution? Are people not going to be happy until every spec of the feature’s code is stripped from the OS?

    • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s another way of trying to force users into using OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud service, and paying for the privilege. It’s not a big deal for the tech savvy, but it’s a great way to capture subscriptions from those that are not. Using it also requires a Microsoft account.

    • xuniL@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      The thing is, if you can’t uninstall it, then Windows will repeatedly try to shove the feature into your face, until you enable it again

      • pirrrrrrrr@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        I got a pop-up that said:
        “Hey we have backup to OneDrive now! Do you want to turn it on?”. [Yes/no/don’t ask again]

          • ByGourou@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Can confirm, I get that on my school computers everytime I boot. Even if I click 30 days. There are no never option

          • rodneylives@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Yes, it’s worth noting that some companies will do A/B tests, where one user is offered one choice, and another gets a different one. It’s possible for the two of you to have had a different experience.

        • computergeek125@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a backup software, but Microsoft has a terrible track record with every other “system component” that can push data to MS Cloud about making the software nag-ware to make you cave and buy more Microsoft products just to make the warnings go away, sometimes for an inferior product. See note at OneDrive, Cortana, Edge, and Bing just off the top of my head without doing any research.

          So for me, I have several computers all protected by Synology backup. It goes to an appliance I own and control, not the cloud. This setup can be used to completely restore the entirety of a computer with the exception of firmware even if the main operating system is so fried automatic startup repair doesn’t work.

          But, in the past, despite having a 24 hour recovery point with this system (every night it backs up any data that changed since the previous backup, including core OS files), Windows backup would be default still nag me about setting it up. It wouldn’t bother to even try to detect a third party backup tool in the same way that Defender does for third party security software. I had to run some specific setup options to make Windows backup go away (and I can’t remember since it was some years ago, but it may have involved removing the component). By comparison on my older Mac, when I turned off Time Machine to use Synology backup, I think I got one warning about shutting it down then it didn’t say anything else.

        • histic@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          I don’t keep important data on my PC and a back costs space for no needed reason and why add bloat if you don’t need it have it as an option great but forced why (edit also who knows what they are doing with the backup it’ll probably be rolled into OneDrive then guess what Microsoft has even easier access to your data)

      • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        But they said they’re going to allow the user to hide it.

        Are people grumpy about burning hard disk space for a feature they don’t use? Every operating system is littered with convenience features that not everyone enables. Why does this feature strike a nerve?

    • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      I think you’ll find a number of… specific OS users, let’s call them, who will tout that they can uninstall anything from their OS without complaint or warning. Same response as being unable to completely uninstall internet explorer back in the day.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I consider everyone still using Windows by now to be masochists of the worst kind.

    Who would want to have backups of important files on a Microsoft server? Probably located in the USA, where it’s contents are free game for the snooping agencies? If you are not a US citizen (and even that is no real protection) they will hoover every byte about you “just in case”.

    • pathief@lemmy.world
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      Not masochists, just people with very different needs, privacy concerns and overall tech knowledge than you. Not sure why this is hard to understand by some folks.

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yep. The general “I don’t care what I’m doing” crowd. Serves them well that they simply ignore the facts steamrolling them.

        • pathief@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I think you’re the one ignoring the fact that Windows is the right OS for some people. Everyone has different needs and limitations. There’s not one OS that is the right solution for everyone, just like there’s no Linux distribution that is right for everyone.

          • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            While it might be the right OS for some people, it is actually the worst choice for the majority. And I would say that for those people for whom it is the best choice, it just is for the wrong reasons.

            • pathief@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              From my personal perspective, the right way to steer people into Linux is to highlight the key features you feel are the best. You don’t need to say Windows is bad, only that Linux is amazing. If you just tell people they’re masochists and wrong they’ll just ignore you. Have a nice day!

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m waiting for the inevitable Lemmy comment from an engineer or sys admin that tells me to install Linux.

      • 0ddysseus@lemmy.world
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        Well I’m neither of those. I’m not a tech bro and I don’t really understand computers well or what a tick tock does. I’m just an old dude who’s been using standard desktop stuff since windows 3.1 and DOS before that.

        You should install Linux unless you absolutely need either commercial architecture software or Excel for specific things.

        MS is the devil and windows sucks balls. I use windows on a work machine and it is objectively worse than most Linux flavours.

        Start on Mint or KDE Neon if you’re coming from windows.

        As they say, don’t knock it till you try it.

      • DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Yup. $100/year for all the office apps/programs plus 1TB of backup for all 6 people in my family. Decent deal IMO since I’m paying at least that for PS+ yearly.

  • Draconic NEO@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    You can’t get rid of it, you can only hide it

    Not exactly true, there are ways you can remove system components, what they really mean is that Microsoft Doesn’t want you to and will fight you as much as possible to prevent you from doing so. The biggest barrier in doing it is that you’ll have to figure out your way through it on your own because it’s “not supported” and most people won’t give help or support for these kinds of modifications.

    • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
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      The new backup tool ONLY backs up to OneDrive, and you MUST use a personal Microsoft account, not even a work or a school account.

      Seriously, look at the link. If you want to use an external drive, for example, or a different cloud account, it’s a different process and the settings are buried several layers deep.

      If the new app were like the old versatile backup tool you picture here, there would be no issue.

      • SuperSpruce@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Wait, really? I’m currently using my university account to back up some folders to OneDrive (provided by my University), and it saved my butt last November when my SSD borked out of nowhere.

        • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          That’s what it says. From the same link as above, just below Step 1:

          Important: You must use a personal Microsoft account with Windows Backup. Work or school Microsoft accounts won’t work.

          I think it’s because to restore you MUST sign in with the same account you backed up with; if you drop out or get fired, you probably won’t have access to that account again. They may also be throwing back any email address with .edu, though that seems a step too far. I haven’t tried, that’s just my guess: they don’t want angry users screaming at them when they can’t get their shit back down from the cloud.

  • Chefdano3@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    And here is the CEO complaining that Google uses unfair policies to push it’s apps. Fuck both of them.