[GoLUG] The idea of deterministic and terse is a good feature, said plummer

[Kyle Terrien]

On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 02:16:09PM +0000, David Billsbrough wrote:
> Retired Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer has waded into the argument over where Microsoft has gone wrong
>  with Windows, suggesting that perhaps the OS needs a hardcore mode to offset some of its fluffier edges.…
> 
> 'Windows sucks,' former Microsoft engineer says, explains how to fix it (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/windows-sucks-former-microsoft-engineer-says-explains-how-to-fix-it/ar-AA1Q074z?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=6911d5b8a5514596ab6d296be3b8cc66&ei=21)

I watched his video earlier.  He has some very good ideas.

https://youtu.be/oTpA5jt1g60

However, remember that Havoc Pennington’s warning about additional
preferences is still relevant in 2025.

https://ometer.com/preferences.html

> Reading dozens of GNOME and Red Hat bugs per day, I find that users
> ask for a preference by default. If a user is using my app FooBar
> and they come to something they think is stupid - say the app
> deletes all their email - it’s extremely common that they’ll file a
> bug saying “there should be an option to disable eating all my
> email” instead of one saying “your craptastic junk-heap of an app
> ate my email.” People just assume that FooBar was designed to eat
> your email, and humbly ask that you let them turn off this feature
> they don’t like.
>
> Fight the temptation! Admit the truth to your users - you’re a
> loser, FooBar just sucks and ate their email. ;-) This feature
> should be fixed, not made optional.

Pennington also points out how preferences increase the testing
surface exponentially.

The things Plummer proposes (one source for each setting, killing
kernel-level “anti-cheat” and “security software”, and removing ads
from the start menu) are things that should work out of the box.  It
is much better to eliminate dark patterns universally so that no one
is damaged by them.

Unfortunately, there is too much micro-marketing (no pun intended) in
the OS, so I don’t think anything will improve.

Side note about the kernel-level so-called “anti-cheat” software: it
is *always* malware because it serves someone else at your expense.
The people who accepted such malware are unfortunately getting the
leadership they deserve.  I have talked to people who were
automatically permabanned because they ran e.g. AutoHotKey while the
game was *not* running.  Usually, there is no appeals process for
these types of bans either, because the malware authors are too busy
doing other things.

Fortunately, nobody requires you to purchase such games.  :-)

-- 
[*] Kyle Terrien
    Terrenus => from the Earth, to the Cloud
    https://terren.us/

Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem.  -- Psalmus 44:8