A big change has happened to Windows in recent years. Some say it started during the development of Windows 11, Microsoft's newest operating system, while others say it started as early as the Windows 10, which Microsoft released in 2015.
This change, encouraged by senior Microsoft executives, appears to have changed the way Microsoft perceives Windows.
How; With the increasing use of the operating system as a panel for advertising and revenue. The reason is probably obvious. Microsoft has every right to change its operating system in any way it wants.
Of course these changes are most of the time annoying. Some cannot be hidden or removed permanently, while others appear at the worst possible time. In other words, this trend can affect your productivity.
It would be too much to list all of Microsoft's recent breaches, but to name a few, there are now:
Ads in the menu, on the user's login screen, on application λήψης βοήθειας, το Copilot εμφανίζει διαφημίσεις τρίτων, διαφημίσεις στην οθόνη locking ή στην οθόνη των διαγνωστικών δεδομένων.
Microsoft seems to have completely left the logic of Windows XP, or the Windows 7. An operating system every few years that had the obvious goal of serving the public and not promoting products. Right now the company is constantly testing changes and some of them may introduce new ads or offers. The Windows connoisseur, PhantomOfEarth, discovered that Microsoft is preparing to add offers for applications to improve the usefulness of the Recommended section of the Start menu.
Meanwhile Microsoft's recommended section doesn't have an option to hide it completely. Of course, Facebook's model, which essentially defines the customer as a product that consumes the ads "unchewed", is free. Recently and after the pressures of the European Union the Facebook also offers a paid version of the service, no ads.
Remember that Windows XP or Windows 7 were paid operating systems. The regime changed with Windows 10, which when they were released in 2015 the company made them available for free to legitimate users of 7, and 8. To date, this has not changed. The free upgrade offer has ended, but you can still use Windows 10-11 for free as an insider.
Windows 10: why are we all Insiders?
So at this time the company has the discretion to have paying customers, customers-testers (without paying them) and of course a consumer audience for its advertisements. But all this range of customers are forced to see Microsoft ads, pay or not.
Of course there are quite a few unhappy with the company's practices. But they can't do much because of the compatibility of the apps they use. Yes, there are applications that run only in the Microsoft environment, and sometimes also on MacOS.
The promotion of Windows (through compatibility) by several large companies (see Adobe) strengthens the monopoly and offers unlimited profits as it kills competitors with the gauntlet.
It seems we are going through a transition phase of Windows as we know it. Soon we may not need bulky PCs since Windows will "live" in the cloud and a connection will only need a smartphone.
Microsoft as a company seems to run several portfolios (Office, Windows, Cloud PC, Cloud, Azure etc) without promoting a clear vision.
