I used to spend 2-8 hours in the group policy editor to disable things like bing search in the start menu, start menu access to internet, windows hello, onedrive, etc. etc.
The later versions of Windows 10 began to stray from the rules that I had placed with the official software tool Microsoft was recommending users/sysadmins use to lock things in (Group Policy Editor).
On top of that, the group policy editor stored changes in what is essentially a text file with very little protections. The security policies also were located here AFAIK, so simply spoofing basic text files could allow a perpetrator to turn the machine into swiss cheese in a matter of seconds.
Well today I have been in the receiving end of âWTF Microsoftâ. Hyper-V Runs, WSL-as-a-Server runs, everything works, except the fact that I NEED to connect to a machine that doesnât have any network connection and⌠I am unable to interact with it, it will not open a âVirtual Machine Connectionâ. Tried it all to repair, looked for logs (and as far as I can tell, the issue is with vmconnect), but still nothing works⌠until I gave up, asked your favorite AI of choice on what to do and it told me to do the one thing I didnât want to do - Uninstall Hyper-V and Install it again⌠which worked. If you ever see the error below, all you can do is to remove the Hyper-V role and install it again:
Cannot connect to the virtual machine. Try to connect again. If the problem persists, contact your system administrator.
I must say, Iâve found Zorin to be the easiest port for the ânormieâ Windows users around me.
The default BitLocker on laptops now (as well intentioned as it might be, it feels like a dark pattern), makes it a day long process compared to the hour long one it was eariler.
I have a gaming rig that is attached to both my tv and dual monitors, but 99% of use is on the tv.
If turn on the other computer connected to my monitors, my gaming rig freaks out and Windows can no longer detect which monitors it is outputting to, leading to the âdefaultâ monitor being one that is usually off (or displaying stuff from the non-gaming pc). Itâs annoying and requires me to get up and physically turn my monitors on and off. Sometimes Windows would even stop outputting to the TV (so itâs only outputting to monitors that are off).
The 4th virtual monitor for sunshine/moonlight probably doesnât help⌠but itâs more well behaved (always off unless Iâm streaming a game to my phone)
My companyâs head IT guy is crashing out very severely over microsoft everything, the last time we were at a bar together he legit cried and said ânot only is it all so stupid, itâs so, so fucking expensive you have no ideaâ
365 and powerapps is just such a helluva drug for these big companies it really is hard to overstate how powerful the hold seems to be at least from my not that educated perspective.
Soon theyâre gonna send a guy personally to your house begging you to use their trash AI tools
as someone who has people shook by seeing a research lab setup by me (windows-free) having only Linux, I can relate to that man. a noble man. I feel his pain
Only 5 bucks per month per user!
And 4000 bucks per 16 cores, minimum 16 cores, every other 4 cores is like 340 bucks on top.
Need some other app? $12 in the jar! (per month)
Want that app locally installed and not just browser? $30 in the jar (per month)
100 employees, 80 cores in various servers, that is all licensed?
WRONG!
You forgot to buy User CALs you idiot! Another 6 bucks per user please!
Edit: Also your Exchange online mailbox reaching 50GB? GOOD LUCK SON!
Speaking as someone who is usually pretty happy using OSes with probably less tweaks than the average IT professional, just how impossible itâs become to just make it yours. I have examples from the last month as I waited until the eleventh hour to go to Win11 on the 2 PCs that I wanted :
Open the start menu, itâs got recommended apps and the phone link interface. I disable both and wonder why it still says recommended, then I find out on a forum that thatâs as good as it gets. Huh. Well at least the group policy for disabling web search stuck.
I go into settings, just to tweak some sound stuff. I start looking through the menus, everything seems fine, but I canât find the sound theme setting. It takes a while but I find it eventually⌠and itâs the same UI from years gone by⌠even though the other 90% of functionality is in the new UI.
I go to launch apps and games, but a few of them are asking for location. I figure if they want my location they can use my IP like (I thought) everything had for ages, so I disable the notifications. Iâd expect it to be that if the location is off, then itâs off, thatâs not a switch to say âweâre gonna bug you nowâ. Now to play devilâs advocate here, I have the same gripe about Android, but it annoyed me more in Windows as this has historically worked without issue.
And after all this, seeing as Iâm the official Friend & Famiy tech support, the amount of times Iâve heard something like âI need help, I got that laptop you recommended but I donât want a Microsoft Account, why would I need all of my googlebits in the cloud?â before I make a house call is higher than Iâd like
Yeah, installing Windows locally is equally or more complicated than installing Linux (from Ubuntu to Arch, screw Omarchy). You need your own AD to deploy actively enforced GPOs in order to maintain your privacy, what kind of nonsense is this?
I do expect switching all of my household from Windows in the next couple of years. Windows Server + AD is fine, but I couldnât care less for Windows 11 right now. I will miss Outlook classic though
