More Windows bloatware

[qizzy]

FWIW, there are plenty of good options for taking back control of the Windows 10 'package' that we are delivered as consumers. It's worth bearing in mind that Windows 10 itself is used by professionals in many sensitive and demanding environments - this is only possible because Windows' design allows Network Admins to configure and manage every aspect of the OS deployment centrally.

Microsoft's attitude to consumers, even those who buy the 'professional' package, is somewhat different. Everyone is signed up to the full consumer exploitation ecosystem business model by default - the reasoning being that if it means enough to you, you will figure out how to remove the intrusive cruft and bloat. Or employ an IT department to do it for you.

Fortunately the Windows enthusiast and administrator community overlaps, and that means there are solutions for the rest of us that don't require deep knowledge of Powershell, Windows Component Servicing and Group/User Policy.

https://github.com/farag2/Sophia-Script-for-Windows

is very powerful, and not unapproachable.

The easiest and safest option for most however would likely be O&O Shutup10.

Personally, I wrangle the image before installating afresh every so often.

Take the product key, get the appropriate ISO & updates from https://tb.rg-adguard.net/public.php, and then use https://forums.mydigitallife.net/thread ... 019.80038/ on it.

Re:Updates: The advice generally is strongly in favour of allowing all updates for any machine that isn't 'airgapped'... but you can easily justify limiting Windows to informing you when updates are available, and allowing you to download and install them at a safe time for you.

Finally, I'd say that Windows is fundamentally shifting towards virtualisation, and starting to overlap with Linux. The community is embracing open source methods. It's a good time to look into these things. As the PC continues to dominate studio practise, it'd be advisable to have some very basic knowledge of powershell, virtual machines and so forth. Engineers who have thus far satisfied their needs as consumers of MS's product might want to mix with the admin/enthusiast community before they are locked into a second class experience.