Computer Tidbits

Introduction

Oh how I could go on for days about everything wrong with modern Windows... Terrible design language made for old people and zoomers while eschewing computer-savvy people and power users, while simultaneously making neither of these groups happy. I'll try not to turn this page into a gripe session about how much shit one has to do to windows before it's useable, but it may inevitably seep in from time to time.

The Proper Way to Configure Windows 11

  1. Get a Windows Pro Image on a flash drive. Don't even Fucking think about hitting the upgrade button, or sticking with the trash you get from the OEM. Get ready to wipe that shit and start over. Sometimes OEMs burn the keys into the hardware though with no way to remove them, so if you buy a laptop from HP or somewhere your just stuck with Windows Home or whatever the hell they decide you deserve.
  2. When you boot into the login screen, you gotta do that oobe/bypassnro trick that keeps you from needing a Microsoft account to install the OS. IDK look it up online. Fuck you Microsoft.
  3. Turn off all that privacy garbage they ask you for
  4. When you're finally in Windows, don't touch shit yet. Breathe, collect yourself. Don't use Edge to check MSN News or whatever people read these days. Hit Windows Key +X, then A, and you're in the command prompt. type "winget". It'll install the package manager for windows. use "winget --list" and "winget --remove *package*" to remove all the bullshit from your computer you don't need. Yes, even Copilot, that "AI" trash is worth nothing to you or anyone around you. If you can't figure this step out you don't deserve to own a computer.
  5. Once you're done with cleaning you computer out of all the junk, align that taskbar left. This isn't a personal preference, it's required.
  6. Install Firefox. Yes, Firefox. You want internet AIDS from not being able to use uBlock Origin Manifest V2? go right ahead and download Chrome you pedestrian.
  7. When you do have Firefox get Ublock Origin extension. DO NOT RAW DOG THE INTERNET!
  8. Anyways, back to Windows. Use powershell and plop this in there: "Set-ItemProperty -Path HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search -Name "BingSearchEnabled" -Value 1 -Type DWord" This removes web search from Windows start menu. Unless you're unlucky enough not to have windows Pro, in which case go cry in a corner while taking delight that you can change your desktop wallpaper.

FAQ

Q: Why not just switch to Linux?
A: First of all, I respect Linux distros as a concept, I think stuff like KDE Plasma has come a long way to appealing to the average consumer. I actually tried switching to Arch running KDE a while back and generally, I liked it a lot. I like the modular packages and management tools, I like that it can detect unused dependencies for packages I no longer have installed (Looking at you Microsoft C++ Redistributables), I like the customization, I like the look, and it's generally a good system. However, when I can't find any good local music manger apps with device sync capabilities (like MusicBee) written for Plasma and I gotta download GNOME instead, when I gotta do voodoo magic in the terminal to get my audio driver to switch to my headphones from my speaker automatically when I plug them in, when WINE can't run jack shit even though everyone in the community pitches it as some miracle solution for cross-compatibility, when I can't operate VPNs via a GUI and have to download and swap config files for every region I want,when the open-source ethernet driver will just uninstall itself randomly and leave me pissed off to no end, then I find that Windows is a piece of shit worth dealing with.