Genuinely, switching to Linux full time was amazing for my mental health. I didn’t have a feeling of dread every time there was a new update, wondering what settings would get reset or what new ways they’d try to fuck with me. I no longer felt like I was sharing a house with an abusive person who was going to try to hurt me the second I let my guard down. In the weeks and months that followed tension that I didn’t even know was there melted away.
Of course that was years ago, and Windows is even worse now.
Oh my gosh, the “abusive partner” comparison resonates so hard. I was helping a friend out with their laptop recently, part of which involved reinstalling Windows. Even in the initial configuration stages (before the stress of updates and resetting settings), I was incredibly skeeved out by the process.
“Do you want to turn on $thing? [Yes / Ask me later]”
I was surprised by how genuinely gross I felt to be clicking “Ask me later”. The next screen didn’t help matters
“Do you want to turn on $more_bullshit? [Yes / Not now]?”
“No.” is a complete sentence, but it’s apparently not one that Windows understands. Or perhaps it understands it all too well, because I expect that this coercive strategy works to push this bullshit onto some of the people who try to opt out.
The whole process was genuinely stressful, and I could feel that stress in the tightness of my chest by the end of it. At first, I felt silly that this had felt so invasive and weird (especially given that this form of asking for “consent” is everywhere nowadays), but my friend said that it made sense to them if we consider how tightly entwined our lives are with technology nowadays. I am not my body, but the degree to which I inhabit it is why bodily autonomy matters so much. Similarly, I am not my computer, but I spend so much time there that it does sort of function as an extension of me — it’s no wonder we take psychic damage from the kind of bullshit Windows pulls
I’ve been in IT since DOS 3.1 and one of the most annoying things is how installation used to be about choosing your settings and customizing your install. Now it’s just how much information you’re willing to give Microsoft, and which of its other products you’ll sign up for.
The world would be a lot different if we had broken up Microsoft in the 90s like we should have.
Genuinely, switching to Linux full time was amazing for my mental health. I didn’t have a feeling of dread every time there was a new update, wondering what settings would get reset or what new ways they’d try to fuck with me. I no longer felt like I was sharing a house with an abusive person who was going to try to hurt me the second I let my guard down. In the weeks and months that followed tension that I didn’t even know was there melted away.
Of course that was years ago, and Windows is even worse now.
Oh my gosh, the “abusive partner” comparison resonates so hard. I was helping a friend out with their laptop recently, part of which involved reinstalling Windows. Even in the initial configuration stages (before the stress of updates and resetting settings), I was incredibly skeeved out by the process.
I was surprised by how genuinely gross I felt to be clicking “Ask me later”. The next screen didn’t help matters
“No.” is a complete sentence, but it’s apparently not one that Windows understands. Or perhaps it understands it all too well, because I expect that this coercive strategy works to push this bullshit onto some of the people who try to opt out.
The whole process was genuinely stressful, and I could feel that stress in the tightness of my chest by the end of it. At first, I felt silly that this had felt so invasive and weird (especially given that this form of asking for “consent” is everywhere nowadays), but my friend said that it made sense to them if we consider how tightly entwined our lives are with technology nowadays. I am not my body, but the degree to which I inhabit it is why bodily autonomy matters so much. Similarly, I am not my computer, but I spend so much time there that it does sort of function as an extension of me — it’s no wonder we take psychic damage from the kind of bullshit Windows pulls
I’ve been in IT since DOS 3.1 and one of the most annoying things is how installation used to be about choosing your settings and customizing your install. Now it’s just how much information you’re willing to give Microsoft, and which of its other products you’ll sign up for.
The world would be a lot different if we had broken up Microsoft in the 90s like we should have.
somehow yes. it feels lik now - im not fueling som evil company anymor, but the peeps mekin the OS components n the community <3