[Scottn1]

It really is sad! Truly

I've been a Microsoft user since DOS days and diehard Windows fan since it first came out. All through the years I've installed, ran, broke, reinstalled, tinkered and administered countless Windows PC's for myself and clients. Was even on track to be MCSE NT certified through my employer until the Internet bubble burst and got laid off. Played with so many others like Linux, BSD, Solaris, BeOS, etc as well but always at end the day just wanted my Windows and get stuff done. I was known as the "PC Guy" in my circles.

Where Microsoft is now and what Windows 11 has slowly become, I have really started to think their Windows division is just a nuisance for them and they don't care. Every month I seem to be reading another anti-user friendly decision and ANOTHER switch I have to find to turn off at every install or visiting family. A default install of Windows 11 is an assault of Constant locked-down install, forced account adding or worse grabbing it from Edge or where it can, ad-based data slurp with so much stuff running in the background and other enshittification of the OS. WHAT IS GOING ON??

Even the Pro version MEANT for business and domain PC's has Xbox stuff on it and game bar running by default, now CoPilot on as well by default, screen snapshots. Instead of a nice light install for business and hardcore users that you then ADD to to make your desired setup, it is the opposite of having it all installed and you spend an hour removing everything.

I am ready to jump ship for first time in my life.

[moepstar]

> business and domain PC's has Xbox stuff on it and game bar running by default

I know where you're coming from, however Win+G has _one_ use in the corporate world: give users the ability to record their screen without installing (and licensing) additional software to document breakage for support.

[JeanMarcS]

Agreed.

So it should be an independant app and not be part of a gaming system that have nothing to do installed by default on a pro computer.

When I needed this functionality and find out it was on the game bar I too was a bit shocked finding out it was installed !

[thewebguyd]

> I have really started to think their Windows division is just a nuisance for them and they don't care.

I think this is definitely part of it, but I also think Microsoft wants people to move to other platforms. Not because they want to kill Windows, but because they want to kill Windows on Hardware.

They've been talking about Windows as a Service for a long time, and now they have Windows 365 boot (hardware can boot directly into the VPC). Their new agentic stuff all oeprates inside W365.

That they renamed the remote desktop app to the "Windows app" is no coincidence I think.

Microsoft wants Windows to become an app that you can run from anywhere. Less of the OS on your hardware, and more a service you subscribe to. For their own suite of software, outside of some more advanced Excel features, there's little reason to run Windows now. Even PowerBI Desktop has had it's functionality included into the PowerBI service web app & fabric, and Microsoft has said that is where all new features will go.

Microsoft wants out of the hardware OS game. To them, it doesn't matter whether you have a Surface or a MacBook, it's likely you'll be interacting with Windows in some form on either platform, and if you work for any F500 company, you are certainly using Office/M365 anyway.

In fact, that's how it already is for me at my job now. I have a MacBook Pro. Windows is just another app on my laptop that I open when I need it, and close when I'm done.

[Scottn1]

> In fact, that's how it already is for me at my job now. I have a MacBook Pro. Windows is just another app on my laptop that I open when I need it, and close when I'm done.

How? Windows as a VM? Or is Windows VM hosted somewhere and you are connecting to it via RDP? Either way everything we mention with the dark-patterns and bloat still apply. Someone has to install and maintain the OS whether you in the VM or the host in your hosted elsewhere VM.

Or are you talking about hosted Microsoft apps on your Macbook? Where the icon opens the app elsewhere and you are just getting the interface?