Good news everyone: it has been spotted for the first time the edgenewly Windows Insider blog post It revealed that the Windows 11 beta channel will soon feature an opt-out of Recommended Apps from the Microsoft Store in the Start menu, effectively introducing ads to a new, previously unspoiled area of the operating system. Sorry, did I say good news?
“Based on recent improvements like grouping recently installed apps and displaying your frequently used apps,” the relevant section begins, “we're now trying to make recommendations to help you discover great apps from the Microsoft Store under Recommended in the Start menu.”
Aside from framing this as some sort of cool new feature for my benefit, my first thought was, “Wait, I thought the Start menu had already crammed ads down my gullet?” Well, dear reader, I was actually thinking about the search bar next to the Start menu in Windows 11, the bar where if you don't type in exactly the name of the exact file you're looking for, you'll get a bunch of Bing results that open in Edge instead of the stuff on your computer? Yes, the sanctity of the search tool has long been tarnished by “me-made games” like “Idle Mining Empire” and “Bubble Shooter HD.”
No, the Recommended tab in the Start menu currently serves as a home for a few of your installed programs and files, both new and old, that Windows algorithmically delivers. I disabled even the pre-ad version of this feature a while ago because it felt like it The mortal ordeal of knowledge: “Here you go, little pig, your favorites: Elden Ring, some RPGs from 20 years ago, and that notepad document where you paste the URLs for gadgets and games you want to buy for yourself, grown-up kid.”
You'll likewise be able to opt out of new recommended apps from the Store, but is it too much of a stretch to ask to not have an operating system I paid for to keep shoving this crap in front of my face? It's obnoxious and obnoxious, and an extension of that feeling that Windows is constantly forcing changes on users that no one ever asked for, all while basic stuff like HDR is still a huge pain in the ass, secret commands or not–the Steam Deck does that Just for you, man!
Just today, my partner dusted off his old Windows 10 laptop to print a few things, and before getting to the desktop, we had to click through a shameful series of offers to opt out of Microsoft services. Want to try cloud storage? No thank you. What about an Office 365 subscription, after you've already purchased one of the suites years ago? please stop. Could we interest you in some Copilot AI nonsense, perhaps? I'm begging you to stop.
Beta users will be our first line of defense as they are the first to be exposed to ads in the Start menu, and their negative reactions may be enough to stop them in their tracks. The blog post roughly reminds us of this possibility: “As a reminder, we regularly try out new experiments and concepts that may never be released to Windows Insiders for feedback.” Perhaps the recommended apps in themselves are not so bad, but in my opinion, every encroachment of such anti-user design should be responded to with extreme bias, lest things develop further.
After all, no self-respecting person can take too much, and you can only get away with chronic irritation if users have no alternatives. Apple always seems to promise to “get serious” about gaming every few years, but Linux isn't the poor gaming OS it was just a few short years ago – SteamOS and Wine have changed a lot already. I'll go back to my usual contract pattern of periodically threatening to become a Linux user for now, but I'll only be pushed so far!
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