cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11483626
Here’s the detailed report from Mozilla Research: Over the Edge: How Microsoft’s Design Tactics Compromise Free Browser Choice (PDF, 5MB, 74 pages)
And the announcement post from Mozilla Research referenced in the The Register’s article is here:
Over the Edge: The Use of Design Tactics to Undermine Browser Choice
In order to be able to choose their own browser, people must be free to download it, easily set it to default and to continue using it – all without interference from the operating system. Windows users do not currently enjoy this freedom of choice.
To investigate Microsoft’s tactics and the impact on consumers, Mozilla commissioned Harry Brignull and Cennydd Bowles, independent researchers and experts in harmful design. Today, the researchers have published a report detailing how Microsoft prevents effective browser choice on Windows. In the report, they document how Microsoft places its own browser — Edge — at the center of its operating system and weaponizes Windows’ user interface design to undermine people selecting rival browsers.
In some cases, the use of harmful design tactics is contrary to Microsoft’s own design guidelines. In many cases, it can lead to (and exacerbate) consumer harm and undermine competition from rival browsers. This kind of behavior is particularly concerning for an independent browser like Firefox, which is reliant on the operating systems provided by companies who are also rival browser vendors.
Self-preferencing from operating system/browser providers is an area Mozilla has previously highlighted, for example, in the Five Walled Gardens report. Recently, details of many issues Mozilla experiences competing on major operating systems were published on the Platform Tilt dashboard.
Now, with the implementation of the Digital Markets Act in the European Union marking the start of a wave of global competition regulation, we hoped that the barriers to browser competition would be dismantled. However, even where there is movement in the right direction, improvements have been incomplete and are grudgingly offered only in markets where regulators have forced platform owners to make changes to respect browser choice. For example, Apple’s decision to allow alternative browser engines is only effective in the EU.
Similarly, Microsoft recently pledged to stop some of the actions it takes to force Edge on users who have selected other browsers. Unfortunately, these changes only address a small number of the tactics outlined in this report. And, to make matters worse, they will only be deployed to users in the EEA.
Windows users everywhere, especially in the rest of the world, continue to have their choices inhibited, overridden and undermined by Microsoft’s use of harmful design. Regulatory action around the world is needed to restore browser choice and competition across all of the major platforms.
Linux sucks.
There, I said it. And I use it every day
It’s as bad as Windows in its own way.
The reason windows is the de facto OS is it all works out of the box. Users don’t have to muck around with things.
One example of many: I need to remote into another machine… What do I use? RDP is available immediately on Windows and just works.
Fine, go find an RDP client. Which one? Well, fortunately my version of Linux (wait, “my version” of the OS? Oh, cause there’s a million flavors of Linux), anyway, my version has an app store, fortunately. Now, which RDP client? Well, Remmina seems prolific. Wait, which version of Rrmmina, there’s like 6 in the app repository. OK, fine, I’ll use this one.
Wait, there’s extensions for it. Do I need any of them for RDP? Hard to tell, because documentation is all over the place. Some things have practically no description, so I’m not sure what they’re for/if I need them.
OK, ok, got Remmina installed. Punch in the IP address of the machine I need to RDP to. No go - bad security. What? I RDP to this box 20 times a day. OK, fine, Google the error message. Oh, you need downgrade TLS in Linux, because current versions have deprecated TLS 1. OK, fine, I have a link to the repository for that package. Run it. Fails to install. Gotta go make another change to permit reverting to a lower security standard.
Walk away, got other shit to do.
Two days later, come back. Reboot, because it probably needs it.
Try RDP. No go, same TLS error. Start thinking about it… Wtf- RDP doesn’t use TLS. But Remmina defaulted to using TLS even though I selected RDP as the connection type.
Why would I even think to dig into sub menus to change security from TLS to RDP when I chose a fucking RDP connection type in the first place?!
This is one of dozens of issues I run into when running Linux. Fucking printer notifications with no way to turn them off short of a command line, wtf? And this is on a supposedly user-friendly version?
Note I had Unix classes 35 years ago… Before Linux existed. I’m no neophyte. Now imagine trying to help a regular user with shit Iike this. I can’t imagine.
This before we look at app/file compatibility. People don’t have time to play fuck-fuck with word docs getting whacked because someone uses open /Libre office. Then there’s Publisher, PowerPoint, OneNote and SharePoint. User management via the domain, Group Policy, Exchange, SCOM.
Since Linux lacks a single unified system, trying to manage it via something like SCOM is a nightmare, unless you build everything the same. And if you’re going to do that, may as well use windows where this all works right out of the box.
Linux takes as long to install as restoring a windows box. The difference is windows works on first login, even with the annoyances. And let’s not talk about video or sound drivers on Linux. People still fight that (it’s way better, but nothin like windows).
And THAT is why Linux can’t compete with Windows on the desktop, even with the current BS of Windows.
So please, stop with this simplistic, naive bullshit of “just switch to Linux”. It’s tiresome to hear, it’s unrealistic, it ignores real-world limitations, requirements, and concerns.
It’s different, not easier - it comes with it’s own set of issues.
TANSTAAFL
Edit: some more garbage from Linux. Grab any “easy” version today, put it on a laptop. What’s the power management look like? Oh, yea, it doesn’t. By default most Linux distros will hammer on cpu and battery, and even drive a laptop to ZERO PERCENT, with no shutdown or suspend at any point. Every Linux distro I’ve loaded runs like this. YOU have to manually make it not do this.
Windows is (annoyingly) super conservative on cpu and battery while unplugged, by default. You’ll never wake up to a dead laptop with windows unless you actively change power management.
Linux has its place, but it’s still got a loooooong way to go as a desktop replacement. Just the number of shells available makes it problematic for users. Imagine you have to ask a user which UI they’re using (this was a thing in the early 90’s, before MS developed Chicago, as other vendors offered better shells for Windows, like Norton. Doing support at the time, it made it challenging occasionally).
People are already busy getting work done. It’s our job to make sure their tools don’t get in the way of that.
It’s honestly not unrealistic though, I’ve used Linux for over 3 years as a daily driver for IT, software dev, and gaming. Only thing it struggled with with was gaming. I’m really not sure how you had so much trouble getting RDP to work, it was never that tiresome when I set it up. Linux does work out of the box on a wide variety of machines and it is gaining in popularity and ease of use. It does have limitations but they are quickly fading. Even then, from my experiences windows has more limitations. Windows can’t even use any file systems other than NTFS without WSL besides the most basic like FAT. It costs money to use and has meager customization at best. It’s bloated and barley runs on anything short for 8 GB of ram these days. It refuses to allow you to even have the slightest bit of privacy. That’s probably the biggest reason to switch. RDP does work great on windows. It’s their proprietary protocol. What else would you expect. Windows may be more “plug n play” but Linux just has more options for alot of thing and has more flexibility. It’s way more versatile as an os. If your looking for something plug n play just stick with Ubuntu