Microsoft is bringing annoying Windows 11 Start menu ads to Windows 10 - eviltoast
If you are sticking to Windows 10 because it has fewer annoyances than Windows 11, especially in the Start menu, we have bad news for you.

Let’s put it this way; when Microsoft announced its plans to start adding features to Windows 10 once again, despite the operating system’s inevitable demise in October 2025, everyone expected slightly different things to see ported over from Windows 11. Sadly, the latest addition to Windows 10 is one of the most annoying changes coming from Windows 11’s Start menu.

Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced a so-called “Account Manager” for Windows 11 that appears on the screen when you click your profile picture on the Start menu. Instead of just showing you buttons for logging out, locking your device or switching profiles, it displays Microsoft 365 ads. All the actually useful buttons are now hidden behind a three-dot submenu (apparently, my 43-inch display does not have enough space to accommodate them). Now, the “Account Manager” is coming to Windows 10 users.

The change was spotted in the latest Windows 10 preview builds from the Beta and Release Preview Channels. It works in the same way as Windows 11, and it is disabled by default for now because the submenu with sign-out and lock buttons does not work.

  • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    2031·
    4 months ago

    Buy an expensive license

    Install the software on hardware you own

    Company puts ads on it that weren’t there when you bought the license

    2024 is wild. Run Linux.

    • Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      73·
      4 months ago

      It’s kinda like AAA game companies waiting for a couple of weeks after a title’s release (and all the reviews are done) before rolling out the micro-transaction market (and the corresponding game-balance adjustments).

      Funny how when Windows XP had dial-in activation we warned that this would drift over to games if we tolerated it, and then it did.

      • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        40·
        4 months ago

        100%. Every time consumers tolerate something, it will get worse. On the other hand, it seems so simple to tell people “just don’t buy a product that does X”, but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get people to stop giving these companies money.

        • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
          24·
          4 months ago

          but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get people to stop giving these companies money.

          This is why consumer-protection regulations are necessary.

        • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          4 months ago

          People will yell, gnash their teeth, and greivously complain about terrible things and issues.

          but they, for the overwhelming majority of them, will refuse to ever give up their precious shiny and make a change, and will eagerly throw out money at every opportunity for it. If not directly at buying them, then at buying secondary related items, or by watching ads.

    • Scratch@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      16·
      4 months ago

      I jumped ship to PopOS a few months back.

      There are some issues, like Bluetooth not starting without some terminal commands, I think I have to wipe or otherwise mess around with my 1TB NTFS storage drive to mount it and stuff like that.

      But all the games I’ve tried to play work fine.

      CPU: 3700x GPU: 4090

      • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        5·
        4 months ago

        PopOS is pretty great. There is a polish to it that I haven’t seen in some other distros. Which is why it remains on my main gaming rig even though I have considered distro hopping for a while now.