https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher
https://ramensoftware.com/7-taskbar-tweaker-on-windows-11-wi...
I've been using 7taskbar for years, it's rock solid. ExplorerPatcher is a new requirement, works great and adds tons of features.
I don't have these issues with my Linux installs.
And, besides, a lot of people don't run Ubuntu, perhaps to get away from snap, perhaps to get away from systemd, or perhaps just because they can..
You never install more software in Linux? I certainly do, it’s why I got it. You can use this to make Windows “distros”. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufactur...
I’m not a Windows user but it’s not fundamentally different, Linux can come bloated, Windows can be stripped or another version like LTSC can be used.
There's not a single popular Linux distro these days that isn't systemd by default. Even """hardcore""" distros.
I like systemd and those are the only cases I remember being surprised the usual commands didn't work.
Linux has various distros designed for specific professional domain (such as security, music, networking etc.). Windows doesn't have distros (unfortunately, it would be game changer if MS allowed for this) so you absolutely need to tweak it to your preference unless you use it only to for trivial stuff.
I customize the heck out of Windows with couple of PowerShell scripts. So to get my own "distribution" I need no more then hour or two wait and almost zero effort starting from default ISO install.
I usually have:
1. Recursive windows updater (handles updates and restarts until no updates are available)
2. 50+ Chocolatey packages ( cinst git pwsh vscode docker-desktop dbeaver dngrep everything doublecmd copyq signal slack viber autohotkey premotem flameshot paint.net krita conemu googlechrome thunderbird foobar2000 ... )
3. Run debloater that removes junk services and apps, everything from start menu and taskbar. This also kills Windows Defender.
4. I run ShutupW10 with almost all settings enabled.
Its basically done from there. Many of those tools also download their own settings on first run, such as vscode getting my config and extensions.
Such Windows environment is as productive as any Linux one for me. The only thing I really miss is decent window manager like i3 on Linux.
I'm realizing how detrimental this is to my emotional well-being, but I still genuinely can not imagine what would entice me back to the Microsoft stranglehold. The fact that you even need to run a debloater (that removes most of the user-facing crud), add a package manager, and empathically tell your OS to shut up... I just don't see the point.
It's adversarial.
Why do I want an enemy for an OS? and even if the OS was friendly, Microsoft certainly isn't, and so: why do I want an enemy's snitch for an OS?
I do this for almost anything. I was doing the same thing when I was actively using Ubuntu, Arch or MacOS as a daily driver. Only I can say what is the environment I work in and its by definition impossible for anybody else to get it right.
> Why do I want an enemy for an OS? and even if the OS was friendly, Microsoft certainly isn't, and so: why do I want an enemy's snitch for an OS?
Why are you skipping relevant bits to confirm your biases ? I was fighting all OSes all the time, I fight Windows only on initialization, and other OSes every freaking week. Why would I want that ?
You don't seem to have healthy thought process around big coorps - I don't work for them, and I don't care about ANY of them. When I switched from Windows to Linux it was because I couldn't see that direction where MS was going was good and OS sucked. I was happy with Linux and learned a lot, but I had frequently to do non-trivial job to get trivial things working (like USB). I returned to Windows few years later when they started their FOSS era, and I am now more than happy.
The truth is, I don't care for ANY OS. I don't care for their desktops, shiny init apps, stupid windows managers, control panels. Fuck all of that. Give me kernel, terminal and browser and let me be, I can take it from there. So basically any OS I use looks the same and uses the same x-platform tools.