this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Didn’t Windows used to have a browser selection screen already? What happened?
If you have use the one in windows 10/11 its a bit of a nightmare. You have to manually change the default browser for all file types from edge to your new browser. And there are about 20 options you have to manually change over.
Edge does a lot of things to annoy me on Windows, but this is not one. I do not think I had to change the default browser for every file type. Also the normal user would never notice this problem, as they rarely open HTML files directly.
In 11 changing the default browser does not change all the filetypes the broswer can open. Setting an alternate browser as the default only sets the new browser to open a few filetypes. Its why I see confused illiterates at my workplace with Chrome, Adobe, and Edge open.
Wow dude that's unnecessary.
What browser do you suggest for illustrator files? You photoshop directly in firefox? Adobe applications are a necessary evil for some people, and multiple browsers can be handy for sandboxing or separating user profiles, especially on public machines. People with multiple applications open aren't "confused illiterates" jfc. They just use their computers differently from you.
Rude.
They are confused when all 3 have PDFs open in them.
Oh. Oh my. I take it all back.
You're allowed to be a little bit mean on the internet.
Particularly when the most virulent word used was "illiterate"
I find "Rude." pretty virulent myself.
The latest trick is they ignore the default choice completely and open all links in Outlook in edge anyhow, also they are sending notifications saying to use edge or get less battery time.
I'm pretty sure that is no longer the case.
I haven't had any trouble switching my default browser around recently, at least.
That said, they still tried and showed the lows they're willing to stoop to.
I installed a brand new Windows 11 on Friday and it's still the case.
You can change the default browser with two clicks, but if you go to the default file type associations you'll find a ton of shit still associated with edge, so that Windows can force-open it if you dare to click on anything remotely link-esque anywhere in the Windows Explorer.
Edge is ingrained into the OS like a virus that launches itself all the bloody time.
To add to that, even once you have a different browser fully set as default, links within Windows itself (Search, Weather, etc.) still open with Edge
This no longer happens in the latest Insider Dev/Canary builds to an extent, but I make the point anyway to show how anti consumer Microsoft truly is.
Yeah just did a fresh install and once I installed Waterfox I just had to click a single button when prompted.
However this was Tiny11 so I am unsure if that applies equally to normal Win11.
And that's something that specifically got them in trouble with the DOJ in the 90s. The gall of them to do it again. Absolute scumbags.
Apple and Google should also be smacked down for their anticompetitive behavior.
If you're wishing for Windows XP, I've got some Linux distros to offer you. Actually only one because my sister said it looked ancient and that's Linux Mint.
As Barbarian mentions, a lot of the process of setting up Linux has been streamlined across distros by their creators.
The only one which can be considered quite scary is Arch but that's due to the philosophy behind it. The Arch developers don't want to constrain the users to what they like using so every decision is handed to the user to build the system as they see fit. It's not for everyone. I'm a control freak so I like it.
I can point you to a tutorial of someone setting up an Arch system in about 45 mins if you want it but there are many options like Mint, Ubuntu. PopOS is a fantastic one which I recommend to people who play video games. It has one of the most innovative launchers I've seen and System76 is constantly updating it. I've heard good things about Fedora.
Here's a little quiz you can do to help you choose: https://distrochooser.de/
The mainstream distros do not need any technical knowledge. Installing it requires a bit of knowledge (setting up a bootable USB stick and getting UEFI to boot from USB), but that's basically it.
The only wrinkle is making sure beforehand that all the programs you use in Windows either work on Linux or have an equivalent.
My very nontechnical gf happily used Ubuntu for many years. Switched her to Fedora about 2 years ago. She only really uses Firefox, torrents, VLC, and some Steam games (recently Witcher 3 and Tabletop Simulator), so it's all very straightforward.
I haven't used Windows since XP, but I'm interested in how that works. Do you have any link about this?