Already has been. During the Snowden revelations of 2013, it was revealed that not only was Microsoft compliant with PRISM, audio and video from the Kinect’s microphone was included in the datasets stored and made available to the NSA and marketers.

I would not be surprised if the Xbox profiles and screen captures were included as well, just now repurposed for training data.

Just got two more people to switch to Linux today thanks to garbage like this. They’re doing my evangelizing for me.

I wish the EU would require Microsoft to release the latest desktop (no cloud subscription required) version of Office for Linux (and broad, open ended criminal liability if they try any tricks).

I cannot switch without a native, official supported version of Office.

Settings -> Gaming -> Game Bar

Set to “off”

It’s tough to remove the game bar cleanly (maybe impossible) because it’s hooked into a lot of the xbox crap now. Yes I still game on Windows and took the Win11 pill because I like MSFS better than X-Plane and the last time I tried to configure multiple controller setups in Linux I gnashed my teeth and rended my garments.

Here’s another signal that the AI bubble is desperate for new data. I believe AI is putting out more content than humans and so it’s eating its own slop. All these companies are going to want to see everything you do to gain lesser and lesser benefits in new models. There’s no way any of this shit scales.

It’s funny because it’s not like the game bar was useful anyway, what’s the benefit of “gaming copilot” let alone the game bar?

You could use a virtual machine or a compartmentalized solution like Wimboat.

The Snowden revelations are something I forgot about, this is a valid observation that you’ve brought back to the forefront of my mind. It was one of the many times that Microsoft was revealed to be an unscrupulous corporation.

Yeah, ever since I’ve never purchased a console (Only exception was a Wii and a 3DS, which I modded with homebrew and never connects to Nintendo’s servers), because they are completely unable to be audited. Personal computers (and certain smartphones) can.

What would that solve?

The EU would be the one to attempt to strong-arm Microsoft at any rate, since they care about their citizens. Making Microsoft create an Office version for Linux, is highly unlikely; as that isn’t in Microsoft’s best interests (despite it being beneficial for consumers). In my case, I can get by using open source software; LibreOffice Writer for general documents and Bibisco for creative writing.

You don’t have to ever fully switch, there is an option to create a dual boot situation; a distro and Windows can coexist on the same machine. Or you could use Windows via a virtual machine when you need Office.

Complete compatibility (because you are running office on Windows natively through a virtual machine rather than a translation/compatibility layer like Wine or Proton) with any of those tricky windows-locked programs that have intentional roadblocks to disrupt normal compatibility methods.

If it wasn’t Office, Adobe, or Autodesk, I wouldn’t bother, but those 3 are enough of a pain to run via compatibility layer that a virtual machine would be preferrable.

This might be my last time that I do buy a console for this reason; if I can’t audit it, there is no reason to possess it! Getting a new computer with higher specs would last me for many years, and my old PC can be used for a personal NAS.

Yeah but, at that point, why not just install Windows?

I will say buying older consoles that can be modded or don’t connect to official services anymore (7th generation and below) is a lot easier to justify and to enjoy, but do keep in mind a lot of those can be replaced with emulation unless you have a particular reason in mind.

You get the best of both worlds - you can keep all of your other programs, data, and activity off of Microsoft’s ecosystem and Windows, while still having access to crucial programs required for certain jobs or activities. The only downside is performance, because running a GPU passthrough for a virtual machine is a bit of a pain in the nuts, but that’s why I mentioned only using that solution for specialist programs that intentionally try to trip you over - use Wine or Proton for everything else.

Plus, it’s a bit defeatist to go “Fine Microsoft/Autodesk/Adobe, here’s my data” because they’re being a dick to you. Just flip them the bird and run a virtual machine or even a cracked version on the virtual machine.

Software emulation is where I lean, in terms of emulating games on my computer! That is a road that I will travel with older games, at least. Other games can be played via Steam’s Proton Compatibility Layer, my GOG games run fairly well using Heroic Launcher (barring exceptions like Daggerfall). I don’t have a real interest in deeper modding of consoles, it’s not all that appealing in my opinion.

There are some tough eggs out there (PS3, PS4, and XBOX360 come to mind) to emulate, so there are reasons to mod hardware even if you prefer PC. I helped contribute to the RPCS3 emulator back in the day by using my childhood PS3 to provide data dumps and testing my own game rips to give compatibility feedback

you can keep all of your other programs, data, and activity off of Microsoft’s ecosystem and Windows

How do you figure that? You’re just running Windows inside of Linux, along with all it’s cancer.

Any other suggestions for Windows 11 users that haven’t had to use it since 8? I want to kill as much of their garbage as possible, but I feel like I missed so much of their dastardly crap I could be missing something.