Wanna bet that we’re going to learn at some point that the content of those files was being scanned for AI training and/or ad profiling purposes? The server upgrade they needed to make this possible must have been extremely expensive. They wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t going to make them money back somehow.

I wouldn’t be surprised that we also learn that some Microsoft employees had access to those files as well.

Let me fill in for them then: “We CoUlDn’T PoSsIbLy pReDiCt ThAt tHiS wAs GoInG tO hApPeN!”

That’s the usual typical Corporate bad faith answer to whenever a serious consequence that everyone could see coming but they kept ignoring finally happens.

I’m hoping that the trend will change by then. I’ve got about 10 more years. If it doesn’t happen? I have no idea what I’ll do.

Not all of us.

I’ll keep my manual transmission sedan that handles well and doesn’t connect to the internet to collect data on me until it collapses into a pile of rust.

And you’d see the line where the fake spray tan ends too. Looking like an upside down orange thermometer.

Is that an Indian mech in the middle?

Edge barrier! Finally!

Ah thanks, I didn’t know about that rule

It reads “In-sah-ee-deh a-oot” no idea why they decided to put an “s” at the end instead of a “t”.

There should be a legal requirement to call a targeted advertisement a targeted advertisement. Being allowed to call them “recommendations” only makes these assholes feel emboldened to push ads where people wouldn’t normally accept them. Microsoft is pulling that dirty trick as well.

“He’s not just a regular moron. He’s the product of the greatest minds of a generation working together with the express purpose of building the dumbest moron who ever lived.”

I always thought they did that to widen their stance so they can dart in any direction quickly.

The more plausible explanation: If you charge for the use of a bathroom in North America people will pee in front of your business out of spite… And necessity.

I was about to say that. The main reason why they can do it is that Aptera went great lengths to make their vehicle as light and efficient as possible so what little charge they get out of the panels will make a noticeable difference.

This is a stark contrast with the other EVs on the market that are just huge heavy bricks on wheels that compensate for their inefficiency with bigger and heavier batteries.

I uninstalled this crap the moment I saw it appear in Windows Explorer. I never knew it was that bad. It was the rule back when I was still using Windows. Whatever Windows Update installed without my consent, it got deleted immediately.

I occasionally use Autodesk Inventor and Photoshop still. I’ve got a Windows 10 LTSC virtual machine set up just for that. I don’t even let it connect to the internet. Any file I need to work on in there I just drag and drop them in and out of the VM. It’s like keeping a pet Windows that you can use whenever you need it but it’s kept confined in a vivarium so it cannot wander into your house and crap some bloatware on your carpet.

Another amusing analogy I have for it is that I’m keeping it locked in the Matrix. It thinks it’s enjoying a big juicy steak but really it’s locked up in a virtual world so it can be used by me without ever being able to seeing or affecting the outside world.

Do it. Earlier this year I was exactly at the point you are now, coming from using Microsoft since MS DOS days. I’m glad I did the switch and haven’t looked back since. It was far easier than I thought it would be. If you know how to uninstall Microsoft bloat you can easily learn to use Linux.

I was using Krita for almost everything anyway already. The only thing I still need Photoshop for is in the very rare times I need to add curved text to an image. And for that I have a Jack Sparrow edition of Photoshop that runs in a virtual machine that isn’t allowed to connect to the internet.

Putin’s war is bad for business. Maybe the oligarchs should do something about it.

Corporations must generate growth to please their investors no matter what. If the CEO doesn’t do it the board members will replace him with someone who will.

Microsoft cannot significantly generate growth by increasing their user base by making a more attractive product anymore. They have maxed out their share of the market. So they must pursue other ways to generate “growth”, like data mining their customers to generate an additional source of income.

In this kind of situation you will see all sorts undesirable behaviors emerge from corporations like that, like lowering the quality of their products or cutting down on their workforce to “reduce cost” event though they are already turning a profit.

We will see this shit happen over and over again until we come up with a solution to this “infinite growth” problem.