Not saying it's okay in any way but Google does this with Chrome all the time on Amy Google page
- Guys, I keep reading this, but it's not the same thing. At all. You don't want to get Google's crap? You don't visit their crap websites. There are so many websites in this world to visit to avoid Google's crap. You just don't type anything with google on it in your address bar. The only way to avoid Microsoft's crap is to install another operating system in your desktop or laptop. It's just not the same thing. At all.
  Microsoft should be forced to do what they have forced Google to do in Android. At least where I live, in EU. Ballon tips to have the option to use another browser and an option to disable Edge and all the crap asking all the time to use Edge. Like the android ballon tip and the option we have to at least disable Android Chrome.
  
  I fully agree, as a person who actually likes windows, and who's career it made in IT support, I'm sick of this BS they're pulling. I want people to like windows (except Win11, fuck Win11) because is some ways it's really awesome, but that'll never happen like this.
  
  Major difference: Android is open source and Linux-based. Everything is made up of components z which are quite close together, but can be separated. In Windows everything is glued together. You can't separate it. You can't remove explorer.exe (Windows' window manager) and replace it with another. You can replace your android Launcher, and you can replace your Linux desktop environment. Heck, you can even install a tiling window manager on the MacOS, Apple's locked down desktop OS!!!! But not on Windows.
  
  I am sorry but this doesn't make sense. Chromium is an open source software and in no way is glued together with any operating system. Unless you want to glue it. They can just have edge WebView2... glued with the os the same way google has to use android webview when a webview is needed.
  Microsoft back in the days was forced to... unglue... Internet Explorer. And they managed to do it in a browser that was.. glued in the first place. No OS has to glue anything no matter the source of it being open or closed. Unless they want to glue.
  Microsoft btw just.. managed to unglue... Teams from Office... this is way more difficult to do. They will find a way to unglue Edge lol.
  
  Let me send you to that:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pagfXnqOyOE
  
  And how painful it is to remove Edge:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xdFLL9f9sk
  
  Edge is made to be a part of windows, and difficult, if not impossible to remove. It is currently possible, but for how long?
  
  Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=pagfXnqOyOE
  
  https://piped.video/watch?v=-xdFLL9f9sk
  
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  
  I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
  
  @theshatterstone54 @olympus Yes, you can remove explorer.exe and run an alternative shell. I've done it.
  
  How? Please, please let me know. That sounds like a fun project, and I've already got a Windows VM I don't use.
  
  @theshatterstone54 It basically a registry entry that you change.
  
  superuser.com/questions/1016380/how-do-i-replace-the-system-shell-explorer-exe-with-another-process-in-windows#1016381
  
  I’ve used litestep in the past for about 10 minutes.
  
  litestep.net/
  
  But there are others:
  
  en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alternative_shells_for_Windows
  
  Okay, I was hoping this could pave the way to more tiling window managers on Windows, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
- It's a lot easier to switch internet browsers than it is to switch operating systems.
  
  Its really not though
  
  For you and me maybe. For most people it is. And even if we can do it, if we use specific software that work only on windows we have no option. Windows is a monopoly like Android is for a reason. Because most people for specific reasons can't avoid them. Microsoft should be forced to do what they have forced Google to do in Android. At least where I live, in EU. Ballon tips to have the option to use another browser and an option to disable Edge and all the crap asking all the time to use Edge. Like the android ballon tip and the option we have to at least disable the crap known as Android Chrome.
- But at least you don't pay chrome, with windows instead you need to pay a license to use it.
  
  need is an interesting word to use here
  
  Using windows without a license is illegal.
  
  This is like saying you don't need to have a driving license to drive a car because the car doesn't complain about it.
  
  Windows licensing doesn't have enforcement. If there weren't police plenty of people would drive without a license.
  
  Edit:
  
  Checks comments
  
  User posted in Piracy 30 minutes ago
  
  😐
  
  Commenting on c/Piracy doesn't exclude I pay for software, indeed I payed for 3 windows licenses two with the costs of my 2 laptop and one I payed my self in my custom built pc. (And I'm only counting windows 10 licenses because the count would be much higher if I counted windows xp,vista,7 and 8) and that was my only and one comment on every piracy related community.
  
  Edit: the same people force you to have a windows license and a driving license, but one get checked more than the other that's it.
  
  illegal doesn't stop a lot of people from doing a lot of things
  
  Illegal or not, most of the people out there never installed their os, because they buy a device with an os preinstalled and indirectly they buy the license for windows.
  
  Debatable, considering all that's stopping you from using it for free is a watermark and lack of personalization options.
  
  Plus, I'm using the Windows 10 Education key my college gave me, and my Windows 7 Home key from way back in the day would work too, as well as the Windows 8 key that came with my Surface Pro 3. The cost feels like a formality tbh.
  
  It's illegal to do soo, not that much debatable.
  
  Yes a formality that you pay every time you buy a pc with windows pleinstalled and it's an asshole to refund.
  
  While I agree with your general point, how is it illegal? If I download the ISO from windows, install and keep using it without activation? They aren't blocking me from using it and I haven't circumvented any prevention they have in place. What's illegal here?
  
  If they make it easy for you doesn't mean it's legal.
  
  It's illegal to use windows without a license. As even stated in the license you agree before installing the os, this one, on section 5 Authorized Software and Activation.
  
  You are authorized to use this software only if you are properly licensed and the software has been properly activated with a genuine product key or by other authorized method

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