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I recently got a new Thinkpad P14S. It is a nice computer for sure, but I think it is time to focus on the software side as well. Computers come with software and the software experience matters!

Some things I think should be covered in a review:

1. What OS does the machine come with? Having a choice would be nice, such as a Windows & Linux choice. Even better if you can test both before making a choice.

2. What software does the machine come with, both good and bad. If the machine comes with useful software, then that is great! Does it offer a choice of browsers?

3. Is it possible to get rid of all the bad stuff and how long does it take?

4. Does the machine allow local accounts? Does it force or trick you into using online services?

5. Does the machine have opt-in or opt-out of AI or does it force feed it?

6. Does the machine make it easy to switch OS after the fact?

I am sure I am not the only one that cares about stuff like this. When you buy a piece of hardware, it is to run software and making it easy to run the software you want should be what hardware makes should focus on, in addition to building great hardware.

#Windows #Linux #Computer #Technology #AI #Slop

Fazal Majid

@fazalmajid@social.vivaldi.net replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon Well, at least Lenovo gives you the choice to bring your own if you don't want to pay the Windows tax.

jcccb

@jcccb@mastodon.social replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon Agreed! For over two decades we get bloatware, scamy and even malicious software preinstalled on retail hardware. So best practice for every device with preinstalled software: Wipe and reinstall. Unfortunately that's often not an option for non tech savvy folks...

Jon S. von Tetzchner

@jon@social.vivaldi.net replied · 2 weeks ago

@jcccb

Indeed. Installing Linux should be a simple option. Currently it is not always trivial and for a lot of people installing anything is a step too far. Requiring changes to BIOS is many steps too far, but that is likely to be needed.

HW vendors can do something about this, but if reviews actually discuss the software side of things, they may have a larger incentive to do so. It would be great if HW vendors were to start trying to beat each other when it comes to the software side as well.

Federation Bot

@Federation_Bot replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon My Lenovo laptop came with Windows but somehow it locked me out so I installed OpenSuse and I am happy to be free of Windows. Everything is working and I can play some old games using Scumm.
#freesoftware #gnu

Guillaume

@guilg@piaille.fr replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon This is a nice checklist to describe windows

Jon S. von Tetzchner

@jon@social.vivaldi.net replied · 2 weeks ago

As a note, I sometimes help family members set up their new computers. It should be simple, but I am finding it takes hours to remove stuff and it is getting worse.

Sveinn í Felli

@sv1@mastodon.social replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon Lately there are more and more 'nasty surprises' when cleaning laptops of bugware like Windows; some hidden procedure to even shut down the OS, locked BIOS, hidden boot-partition on some onboard NVMe, SecureBoot, etc.
The easiest is generally to buy a computer without an OS, but that's always been an extra effort.

$D:\side\>:idle:$

D:\side\>:idle:

@dside@mastodon.ml replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon at this point the community is coming up with scripted solutions to remove the bulk of preinstalled stuff, going through which every time takes a while. I do this often enough that I keep copies of those on my "digital medkit" disk.

Those two, specifically:
- for Win10: https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater
- for Win11: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat
Decently simple PowerShell scripts that report transparently what they do as they do it.

It's still a hassle though. So I generally mention Linux as I go. And compared to 5-7 years ago people aren't immediately opposed to the idea anymore. I hear some even decide to make the jump; I only see hesitation so far, but it's still progress… kinda. Because yeah, dammit, it should be simple.

GitHub

GitHub - Sycnex/Windows10Debloater: Script to remove Windows 10 bloatware.

Script to remove Windows 10 bloatware. Contribute to Sycnex/Windows10Debloater development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub

GitHub - Raphire/Win11Debloat: A simple, lightweight PowerShell script to remove pre-installed apps, disable telemetry, as well as perform various other changes to customize, declutter and improve your Windows experience. Win11Debloat works for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

A simple, lightweight PowerShell script to remove pre-installed apps, disable telemetry, as well as perform various other changes to customize, declutter and improve your Windows experience. Win11D...

Curioso 🍉 🇺🇦 (jgg)

@jgg@qoto.org replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon

It's much, much faster to get rid of Windows and install Ubuntu than getting Windows clean and fit. And much easier, also.

A pity that's not always a viable option.

Jaycosm🔆

@jay@mastodon.gamedev.place replied · 2 weeks ago

@jon The thing I dislike about Windows is that Microsoft took all of the configuration parameters that were easy to access in the Control Panel and turned them into large font, big button, scrollable pages in the Settings window... why?! Sure, for a tablet, but not a desktop / laptop. And when you need to access the advanced stuff, it still opens the old configuration windows. A four trillion dollar company, a decade since Win8, and the settings windows still use different UI frameworks... ugh🙄

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