These changes are only applicable to users in the EEA. For those outside the region, Windows will continue to function as it is!
The changes to Windows for DMA-compliance include:
- You can now uninstall Edge and Bing web search using the built-in settings. Earlier, the option was greyed out.
- Third-party web search application developers can now utilize the Windows search box in the taskbar using the instructions provided by Microsoft and choose any web browser to show results from the web.
- Microsoft will no longer sign-in users to Edge, Bing, and Microsoft Start services during the initial Windows setup experience.
- Data collected about the functioning of non-Microsoft apps, primarily bug detection and its effects on the OS, from Windows PCs will not be used for competitive purposes.
- Microsoft, from now on, will need explicit user consent before combining data from the OS and other sources. It will also deliver new consent screens where required.
About 20 years ago, Microsoft was found guilty and convicted, because they forced their browser on their users, driving out competitors by abusing their de facto monopoly on PC operating systems. These days, they are doing the exact same thing again, just on an even broader base. I don’t even understand how this verdict took so long.
“They” (collectively large lobbying corporations) own the US government.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture Read all about it
Demand reparations for Netscape Navigator!
Microsoft now permits
The benevolence! Letting people do what they want with their purchased software. wow!
You don’t buy the software. You buy a license to use their software.
Yeah and with Apple, it feels like we buy a license to use their hardware.
Right, and the consumer protections and ownership rights for that licence are grossly insufficient compared to what you would get if you bought a physical object.
We’ve allowed ridiculous compliance requirements and forced updates to become normalized when we never should have, and we’ve accepted the undermining of user authority because we refused to fight for it.
A license subject to the law. Which can easily say that “license” is no different from a physical object you buy.
That’s what it’s become. But, hear me out, what if I want the hardware without the software? Tough luck? Both are so tied together that if the company pulls the rug you don’t have reasonable access to the hardware.
You don’t need Windows to use a computer. There are tons of flavors of Linux among other options. There are plenty of manufacturers who sell Linux boxes and you can always build your own. Microsoft just pays a lot of manufacturers to bundle Windows in the cost, but not all.
I see hive mind stupidity is alive and well as your completely factual statement is downvoted by absolute morons.
I’m baffled by all the downvoting. It was also my first thought that we rarely own the software we use.
This need to be applied to smartphones
It takes the EU to force Microsoft to act reasonable.
And they will ONLY act reasonable when forced.
At least they are complying. Apple is being childish and throwing a tantrum.
These changes are only applicable to users in the EEA. For those outside the region, Windows will continue to function as it is!
You misspelled “Windows will continue to be as fucked up as it is!”
‘‘Software you can’t uninstall’’ should not be a thing.
Absolutely agree. Look at Linux. Want to uninstall the kernel? No problem! If it is a good idea you can argue about.
Does this EU’s Digital Markets Act also applies for Android and all the preinstalled apps by Google and the phone manufacturer?
It applies to all ‘Gatekeepers’, including Google.
how about fucking autopilot too instead of having to find a registry to disable it.
Edit: I’m dumb and don’t know what I was even being mad at. I should have said copilot, that’s what I actually meant. I didn’t realize autopilot was a thing.
Lol didn’t we do this 20 years ago?
One drive is the one that really ruffles my feathers.
It turns itself back on randomly, which wouldn’t be too much of a problem except for that it fucking remaps the desktop… a file that was previously located at C:\user\desktop\ is now at C:\user\One Drive\desktop…
Note the space in the path, they didn’t even have the decency to use an underscore… \one_drive\… even though it’s one of their own rules in powershell scripting.
For those of us using powershell to automate stuff this remapping is a nightmare and should be illegal.
Too bad I am in the US and will just have to continue to get support calls from time to time when a users desktop gets remapped behind the scenes.
Maybe there is a way using powershell and windows scheduled tasks to check to see if one drive turned itself back on, then auto turn it off and remap the desktop back to normal.
The absurdity of having windows check to see if windows screwed itself up, then if so have it fix itself is just laughable.
OneDrive redirection is hilariously bad. Official Microsoft documentation recommends against using it. Imagine having that little faith in your own product.
You know you can completely disable onedrive using GPOs?. I have done so on a DC i have but it shut also be possible using local GPOs.
Why aren’t you string quoting all of your paths anyway? I’m confused because the vast majority of paths wouldn’t work the way you’re suggesting.
Yeah, I reflexively double quote every path. It’s still stupid though.
Even something as simple as:
move-item “C:\Users\computername\Desktop\afiletomove.csv” (“C:\Users\computername\Desktop\destinationFolder\newFileName (0:MMddyyyy).csv” -f (get-date))
Stops working as intended when your desktop no longer resides at that path.
Also, I have the same functions running on multiple machines with different names so I have to dynamically resolve the path and piece it together using strings.
Okay, so if your source path changes, your script stops working? Who knew. Try ([Environment]::GetFolderPath(“Desktop”))
I am using that already, but if I recall, it’s the space in the path ‘\one drive\’ that makes that not work correctly.
Edit: I am actually using $Env:UserName
Yeah the deeper path might help.
Basically the thing to remember about powershell that separates it from other scripts is you want to pipe pipe pipe your data as far as possible so it stays an object, and then output a string at the very end - there’s no tons of awk sed string manipulation like in bash, partly because of what you pointed out with how terminal input is interpreted.
It’s only happened twice, after updates, that windows turned one drive back on and remapped my desktops. In those cases I have just turned it back off and remapped back to normal. Then env:username works again and I think the only difference is the space in the path with one drive, though it could be something else breaking when the desktop gets remapped.
I’m probably using powershell all wrong anyways because I am an amateur.
I use it to grab a file from an sftp by calling on winSCP, then convert from csv to xlsx using the excel module, then run a bunch of VBA to reformat the file, then save the xlsx with a date stamp. I use task scheduler to run it daily and I have it on like 10 machines.
Works great when one drive doesn’t mess with my desktop path.
That’s so weird. I was just praising M$ to myself because I noticed that they are using \OneDrive\ and \Documents\ now and no spaces to be found.
Nice that might have been something they fixed.
Being able to uninstall OneDrive is a game changer. That thing annoys me so much
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Today is a good day.
Awesome. How do I port this ability over to an American PC?
If I set my region to an EEA country is that good enough or do I need to reinstall windows to get this?
Asking the real questions.
Can I change my region on an existing install, or do I need to/should I do it on a fresh install?
Other comments have said it needs to be fresh
Thanks for letting me know.
