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Start menu ads are officially here with the latest Windows 11 optional update
(www.xda-developers.com)
this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2024
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God, they're poison. I literally paid for Windows.
EDIT: Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”
Don't even have to dig into the arcane realm of the Group Policy or the Registry. It's incredibly straightforward.
Original comment: I would be surprised if this isn't easily toggleable through the Settings menu, Group Policy, or Registry keys.
Microsoft isn't going to pull this shit on their Business and Government customers without an easy way to disable it. 99% of the time those same options can be used on Pro installs through having the same Group Policy options. Maybe 80% of the time you can also just find what the Group Policy option changes in the registry and then apply it to Home installs as well, but I find that Pro license is worth the slight price difference (or slight effort to spoof your license for free).
With most of these sorts of articles, they're more interested in clicks than putting any effort into guiding people to the solution.
To be crystal clear, it is bullshit that Microsoft keeps pulling this shit. I've just also never encountered them doing anything like this without leaving a workaround or way to disable it.
Starts as proof of concept to get you used to it. Toggle it off, hide it, but it exists. It's there in the code. Next step is to gradually remove the option to say no. They already tried forcing people to upgrade to Windows 11. They'll just try harder. It's too much money for them to ignore.
Pro and Ent are way easier to "spoof"
The last time I paid for a Windows license was around 2012. I bought a Windows 8 Pro license for $40. I have been using the same one ever since, and it has never given me an issue. I even used it on a few friends' PCs.
My laptop is Linux, but my desktop is still Windows 10. My work laptop is Windows 11, and I even used Windows 11 on my desktop for about 6 months before I decided to wipe it and go back to 10. I have given Windows 11 a very fair chance, but when Windows 10 goes EOL, I will be migrating my desktop to Linux as well.
I just find things like modding games much easier with Windows rather than having to jump through a bunch of hoops to get them working in proton. Hopefully they can improve that in the next year before I switch.