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Windows 11 Start menu ads are now rolling out to everyone

Microsoft is starting to enable ads inside the Start menu on Windows 11 for all users. After testing these briefly with Windows Insiders earlier this month, Microsoft has started to distribute update KB5036980 to Windows 11 users this week, which includes “recommendations” for apps from the Microsoft Store in the Start menu.

Luckily you can disable these ads, or “recommendations” as Microsoft calls them. If you’ve installed the latest KB5036980 update then head into Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.” While KB5036980 is optional right now, Microsoft will push this to all Windows 11 machines in the coming weeks.

Microsoft’s move to enable ads in the Windows 11 Start menu follows similar promotional spots in the Windows 10 lock screen and Start menu. Microsoft also started testing ads inside the File Explorer of Windows 11 last year before disabling the experiment and saying the test was “not intended to be published externally.” Hopefully that experiment remains very much an experiment.

TypicalHog ,

I'm on 10 still. (And if I wasn't a gamer and sucker for games that don't work on Linux - I would be on Arch)

Eximius ,

Proton works wonderfully these days.

Shape4985 ,
@Shape4985@lemmy.ml avatar

The cope iv heard from friends that this is okay behavior

BendyLemmy ,
@BendyLemmy@lemmy.world avatar

Fundamental error - as usual with Windows news.

These 'Start Menu Ads' aren't rolling out to everyone, I have zero 'Start Menu Ads'. In fact, I have Zero Ads in my operating system.

Why must Windows news always assume that everyone runs Windows? Isn't this the main bug with all operating systems?

CoolGirl586 ,

Then don't read Windows news.

psuresh ,

And they called Google scroogle😆

markpaskal ,

I just can't stand the lack of hibernation or hybrid suspend on laptops with Linux. Otherwise I'd much rather have a Linux distro on my nice laptop and windows in a VM if at all.

raptir ,

Both of those work on Linux.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Power_management/Suspend_and_hibernate

nexussapphire ,

I wonder if some distros disable it for some reason.

raptir ,

It is disabled in the default configuration because you need enough swap space to enable it - which is an overkill amount of swap for any other use case.

markpaskal ,

Most distros ship with hibernation disabled and they have since Ubuntu 10.04 or so if my memory serves correctly.

raptir ,

You just need to allocate enough swap space for hibernation.

kalpol ,

Running Opensuse, suspend/hibernation works fine. Older hardware though

BendyLemmy ,
@BendyLemmy@lemmy.world avatar

You're joking, right?

My computer is set to 1. Warn me at 9.25 to accept or cancel suspension at 9.30.
2. Set volume to 10% and suspend at 9.30 (just in case it gets woken up, I once woke it up at 4am and had a radio application wake up the family).
3. RTC Wake set to 5.59
4. 6.25am my wakeup music plays.

I have suspend, also hybrid - where it will suspend, and after a certain time (useful for laptops, mine's set for 12 hours so I never hit this unless I go on holiday) it'll hibernate.

markpaskal ,

I would be very surprised to hear that your distro does all that by default.

Sniatch ,

Think I will try Linux for real now

Regrettable_incident ,
@Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah I've been thinking that too. Not sure I have time to learn it though so I keep sticking with windows. But I really have to make the effort to switch.

Sniatch ,

I will just dual boot at the beginning and play around with Linux for a bit.

oatscoop ,
@oatscoop@midwest.social avatar

I'd suggest a cheap used or spare laptop/desktop with a beginner friendly distro like Linux Mint Cinnamon to learn on. Just use it for casual stuff -- you'll pick up what you need to learn as you go.

That way if something breaks or you don't know how to do something while you're learning you're not "stuck".

Tryptaminev ,

I just switched to Manjaro with KDE Plasma. The most complicated thing to set up was forcing steam to run games with the nvidia drivers, which took 5 minutes of adding a start parameter to my games.

From a consumer perspective i even find many things easier than in Windows. It works out of the box. The package manager provides every tool you need, and if you want to change a setting, it is as easy as typing the name of the setting into the start menu.

Seriously, if you do not want to dive deep, you can do everything without more complication than under windows, often even easier.

maeries ,

Come to the dark side. We have cookies no ads

cordlesslamp ,

Linux is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be.... unnatural.

therealspelly ,

DO IT

KomfortablesKissen ,

Try Mint, it's nice :)

WeLoveCastingSpellz ,

I reccomend fedora KDE

A_Random_Idiot ,
@A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world avatar

Nobara.

Its Fedora, but for gaming.

WeLoveCastingSpellz ,

That's what I am running! Just we don't know what the other comentors main intentions are and if they're gaming or not

A_Random_Idiot ,
@A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world avatar

Two big things to do before you decide that.

  1. Do you run nvidia graphics? cause they are a PITA and influence your distro choice (you'll want a distro that has nvidia drivers baked in.)

  2. If you game, go to https://www.protondb.com/ and check out a handful of the games you play. 99% of games work on linux with steams Proton (lets windows games run on steam), the only ones that dont are ones with invasive anti-cheat, so use protondb to see if any of your important games have issues.

and as a final note of encouragement.. I made the swap years ago, it was daunting..and there were a couple issues, but overall, far more easy than I ever expected it to be. (for me, cause I built the PC with the switch to linux in mind, so all my hardware is AMD). I am not a sysadmin or anyone who had any significant experience linux before my swtich, and I switched cold turkey after a brief weekend of basic researching. In other words, I'm a moe-ran. So if I can do it, pretty much anyone can. Good luck with it if you do try to make the switch :D

Sniatch ,

Thanks for the advice, my PC is already full AMD so I guess that makes it a bit easier? :D lucky

A_Random_Idiot ,
@A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world avatar

It does. AMD support is baked into the kernal.

graeghos_714 ,

I got my first notification on my Win10 Pro box today about support ending too

Aux ,

Enterprise editions exist, just saying...

Adulated_Aspersion ,

I'm calling it now.

Windows 11 will be the new Windows 8. Or NT. Or millennium.

theherk ,

NT? You mean Vista maybe? NT was a massive product line that was pretty popular, and the kernel touches most releases to this day.

scottywh ,

Yeah... NT was hugely successful and it's been the core of every Microsoft OS for over 20 years.

arin ,

There were no ads on Windows 8, NT, or ME

Wintex ,

I installed PopOS this week. Let's see if my experiment works better than this experiment from Microsoft.

Adramis ,

Is there a way to GPO this 'feature' off? Worried about some of our users getting confused.

ziggurat ,

Possibly, but these will change on the regular

Honytawk ,

Of course, all those things just have a toggle.

They get paid to implement the ads, not to enforce them.

And even if they hadn't there would be a third party program somewhere that turns them off.

purplemonkeymad ,

turn off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”

I turn this off anyway, as in Windows 10 it always kept pushing 3rd party apps. Is this ad any different to the Windows 10 "Suggested App" that was in the start menu for it?

NoFun4You ,

It's totally different because Linux!

merdaverse ,

Win11: less functionality, more ads

And what's with the weasel words like "recommended"? Just call them "sponsored" or "ads", like they really are.

Silentiea ,
@Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Are they sponsored? I was under the impression they were usually just Microsoft advertising their own shitty stuff? Ads, sure. But for it to be sponsored, someone else has to pay for them

merdaverse ,

The screenshot shows 1password, which to my knowledge is not affiliated to Microsoft, so I think yes, they are sponsored

NoFun4You ,

Maybe

lorkano ,

Might not be sponsored directly, meaning 1password paid Microsoft, but: even if Microsoft just uses it to promote apps in their store it leads to their profit eventually.

NoFun4You ,

Oh no! Lol

Sylvartas ,

Windows 11 (and how much I like my experience with the Steam deck, if I'm being honest) has me seriously reconsidering switching to Linux for my gaming desktop

merdaverse ,

I've only been playing games on Linux for the past year and it's been a pretty smooth experience. Go for it!

Sylvartas ,

I'm considering it even more seriously right now. I had my eyes set on Fedora, but apparently I shouldn't, because they are ditching official support for X11, and I need it because I have an Nvidia GPU ? I was also looking at pop OS, but I also saw people recommending against Ubuntu on Lemmy, I don't remember why though. Do you have a recommendation ?

Akasazh ,
@Akasazh@feddit.nl avatar

Do apps like classicshell still work?

ColdWater ,
@ColdWater@lemmy.ca avatar

I heard they disable update if you have it (if it true that's pretty scummy probably the scummiest of the scum)

NoFun4You ,

Except people go out of their way to disable updates anyways lol

CaptKoala ,

Yet another bullet dodged since my move to Linux, thank fuck. Fuck you cunts at Micro$hit.

GiddyGap ,

I like Linux, but I just use too many apps and programs that are only available for Windows. It's a no-go for me and, I suspect, many others.

NoFun4You ,

So angry

CaptKoala ,

Wouldn't be if they weren't constantly trying to load hardware I own with unwanted ads, software and unnecessary shit nobody asked for.

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