The first thing I do when setting up new Windows environments (for work) is to install Notepad++. Fuck Microsoft.
this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
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Enshittification
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What is enshittification?
The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits. (Cory Doctorow, 2022, extracted from Wikitionary) source
The lifecycle of Big Internet
We discuss how predatory big tech platforms live and die by luring people in and then decaying for profit.
Embrace, extend and extinguish
We also discuss how naturally open technologies like the Fediverse can be susceptible to corporate takeovers, rugpulls and subsequent enshittification.
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good cause literally anything else is better than notepad so if this pushes people to download literally anything else instead it's a good development
This is why they got rid of WordPad.
And no, I don't want AI crap in my basic note-taking app.
I have been a Notepad ++ user for years. I sometimes forget that the Microsoft Notepad even exists.
How do I get started on Linux?
Choose an operating system (common choices for newcomers are typically linux mint or ubuntu, but your choice of OS really doesn't matter imo). Burn the OS image onto a flashdrive, and boot into the flashdrive. Then follow the install instructions onscreen.
Just download Linux Mint and don't look back. I knew I was done with Windows completely so I quit cold turkey. It forced me to learn how to use Linux instead of running back to a Windows partition. The only reason to dual boot in my opinion is if you need the popular CAD software, or the popular Digital Audio Workstation software, or software like photoshop. If you just browse and game, then you should be fine.
I believe Linux Mint is the oldest beginner distro so it has a wealth of forum posts if you ever have a problem. It also has a bunch of GUI progams included for getting stuff done without terminal, but make no mistake you will have to use the terminal to do stuff on occasion, it all depends how you use you're computer and how much you want to customize. Don't be afraid of terminal though, just start with basic YouTube tutorials.
The last piece of advice I feel I should give is when switching to Linux you'll have to get used to installing software in mutiple ways. Linux Mint is great because you have access to all the major ways software is direstributed on Linux. I use the apt package manager, sometimes by adding new software repos to it, AppImages, Flatpack, and .deb packages. I usually just use whatever method is recommended on a softwares website. For Appimages definitely use the AppImageLauncher manager software.
Last thing. I see a fair number of bad opinions of Cinnamon, the Desktop Environment that ships with Linux Mint, but I've never understood why. It's very familiar to a Windows user, has a simle UI, and has any feature I've needed.
That's my two cents from a relatively recent Windows refugee. I know distro wars can get heated, so remember this is just one opinion on what a good entry point is for the world of Linux.
What have you tried so far?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAA
HA
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AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHA
Will you need a subscription to turn-off the computer now?
I can hear this image
Can't wait for the task manager to get forced AI support that terminates processes automatically, so that they can paywall it, too...
Are you actually joking
At this point anyone that voluntary uses windows is just braindead. I love Linux but if you don't wanna use that then even Mac is better than that... For now
Did you mean to suggest that Mac is better than Linux? In what way?
They meant better than what MS is doing. Basically Linux would be choice one, but failing that get a Mac. Until they go the same direction.
Ye exactly
Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.
Notepad++.
That is all.
I don't want to get into a text editor war - because these are all good options - but it's definitely also worth giving the "Kate" editor from KDE a go, it's available as a native Windows app from the MS store and everything:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NWMW7BB59HW
I personally find it considerably nicer to use than Notepad++, and it means I don't have to give up 25 years of muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts when I have to switch to a windows machine.
Also some crazy how, it uses less RAM than Notepad‽ (With no files open, 61 vs 71MB) Not sure what Microsoft are up to, but it's definitely something strange.
Been using nedit for a long time, then medit aka mooedit. When that became abandonware, I switched to Bluefish. Even though it's 100% what I need, it's the best for me, for now.
To each their own for sure, but the takeaway here is that there are definitely better notepads than Notepad by now, especially since having AI baked into your plain text editor isn't something that anyone ever asked for.
At this rate you may a well use a slab of some granite and a chisel, or maybe even vim.
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I switched to Linux recently, you can too. It's easy and works well now. No more of this bullshit from Microsoft.
Can I build any custom PC and I have it run Linux ?
What if I need to have Adobe Pro and MS Word full versions for work ?
In regard to any custom PC, absolutely Linux runs on most hardware.
Adobe, and word aren’t written native to Linux, there are solutions such as wine that can help, or you can dual boot or use a virtual machine
Which version? And for those of us yet to switch, are there any handy guides that you'd recommend?
For new comers Linux Mint is a great out-of-the-box experience. You will find tons of info and guide on youtube, but it's pretty much as simple as installing windows now.
I personally like Fedora and Nobara but the latest sometimes break with updates so you need to handle this.
You can try most distros in a virtual machine before installing, to get a general idea of the look and feels.
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This is literally not an example of enshittification and the article is intentionally misleading.
First of all, all of the original Notepad functions are unchanged and still free.
Literally nothing got shittier.
Which is why describing Notepad as getting a paywall is quite frankly flat out disingenuous.
They are adding new, cloud running, AI features to Notepad that are locked behind a paywall. You can not like that for whatever reason, but that's not an example of enshittification. That's an example of them charging for new functionality.
The whole point of notepad is that it's a lightweight minimalist app that makes opening/editing text files as fast as possible while also being robustly reliable because of its simplicity. These are its core features. Adding pop-ups and more advanced features makes it slower to use and more complex, and with more complexity there is more chance for issues. Therefore the key advantages of notepad are shittier-->enshitificstion
Even if you're right, why the fuck add in unnecessary features to a simple word program?
the same reason why every program gets an ai feature: data farming, and reason to ask money for it
It's not even a simple "word" program - that's what write/WordPad was. Notepad is supposed to be just a bare bones text editor, like for altering an .ini file or writing a website in 1997.
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But the prompt to sign in is the default.
The only way to get rid of it is through Settings.
The popup is shittier, also takes a lot longer to open than it used to, but yeah, the article is definitely misleading clickbait.
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It boggles the mind the things MS does to their OS without any apparent shame.
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