Reminder: Windows 10 is malware

Was it only two days ago that I was writing that WX still had quite a way to go, in spite of its brand-new Diagnostic Data Viewer? How nice of monopolist Microsoft to provide me with a timely demonstration of exactly what sort of issues WX still suffers from, as reported by WindowsReport:

Many Opera users recently complained on Reddit about Windows 10’s pushy behavior when it comes to using the Edge browser.

More specifically, users reported that the OS opens a new tab on Opera aimed at advertising Edge. Using the browser of choice of many Windows 10 users simply to promote Edge is indeed a bit strange.

After unlocking my Windows 10 computer, I discover that Windows has decided to open a tab in my Opera browser solely to advertise Edge browser to me.

This unexpected Edge ad made many users angry. They asked Microsoft to stop telling them what browser to use.

MSFT need to stop this nonsense, no one should be forced to use edge period.

Yep... that is some bullshit.

WindowsReport describes "automatically opening tabs on third-party browsers in order to convince users to install Edge" as a "daring strategy," which is certainly one way of putting it. One could also describe it as irresponsible and reckless, especially at a time when even pro-investment outlets like VentureBeat are openly wondering if it might not be time to break up companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google/Alphabet:

If you want to get an idea of how quickly sentiment has shifted against U.S. tech giants, just listen to NYU professor Scott Galloway.

The marketing professor is a self-professed fan of companies like Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon. He’s made a bundle owning their stocks, some of them are clients of his, and he even wrote a book last year called The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.

Over the past two years, Galloway’s annual talks at the DLD Conference in Munich analyzing their prowess and success have gone viral on YouTube. (See his 2015 and 2016 talks embedded below.) This week, however, Galloway returned to DLD to give a talk called “The breakup of big tech” that cast the four in a very different light.

“This started out as a love affair. I want to be clear,” he said. “I love these companies.” He then shifted gears: “After spending the majority of the last two years of my life really trying to understand them and the relationship of the ecosystem, I’ve become 100 percent convinced that it’s time to break these companies up.”

It's difficult to imagine that any attempt to single out Microsoft's competitors, without subjecting Microsoft to that same anti-trust scrutiny, would face enormous push-back from AAPL, AMZN, FB, and GOOGL is, frankly, ridiculous, even if MSFT have spent years lobbying for exactly that outcome. And given MSFT's own history with monopolistic behaviour, it boggles the mind that they'd be pushing the envelope in new, abusive, monopolistic ways.

MSFT have yet to respond to this latest report of them abusively using the WX platform to push their own products, and I'll make a note of their boilerplate PR pablum response when they eventually push it out, but I'll just come right out and say it: bullshit like this is why I haven't switched to WX yet. And probably still won't, in spite of MSFT's recent steps in the right direction. MSFT really do need to stop this nonsense.