I am a long-time Linux user because I value not only the developer-friendliness, but the freedom of choice and customization as well. I have the impression that Microsoft is making Windows more and more annoying to users by removing this freedom. I have at least two examples for Windows 11.

Searching files on the whole Internet

Someone at Microsoft thought that expanding the file search to the whole Internet was a good idea, and there is no clear option to disable this stupid behavior. The only choice is to manually edit the registry like so:

1. Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.
2. If it doesn't exist, create an Explorer key.
3. Create a new DWORD under Explorer, name it DisableSearchBoxSuggestions, and give it a value of 1.
4. Reboot.

One of the sources: https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/disable-windows-web-search

Copilot active by default

I don't want Copilot. There are many reasons, but I don't like it being imposed on me. Again, the only choice (at least for the Home edition) is to do it manually with regedit.

1. Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.
2. If it doesn't exist, create a WindowsCopilot key.
3. Create a new DWORD under WindowsCopilot, name it TurnOffWindowsCopilot, and give it a value of 1.
4. Reboot.

One of the sources: https://allthings.how/how-to-disable-copilot-on-windows-11/

#windows #rant