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It’s rather sad what’s become of Windows and of Microsoft that one has to “tame your operating system” or worry about unwanted/unneeded features like “AI” being added that are only an attempt to monetize you or your data. Microsoft has truly lost the plot of what an operating system is supposed to be.

I get to experience some of this at work with Office 365 where as soon as I start any Office application an “Artificial intelligence” process starts (seen via Task Manager) which I promptly end task. Thankfully the process does not come back unless all Office applications are closed/re-opened (Outlook is normally left open all day). Also while I never use Edge (Google Chrome is the primary web browser or I also use Firefox ESR) I still see numerous random Webview2 processes in Task Manager which I believe are tied to something with Office 365. It takes numerous attempts to end task them via Task Manager as they keep spawning over and over again like malware before they finally go away after repeated attempts to kill them. I miss the old Office 2016 (or older) as well as Windows 7 that we used to use and were much more stable and reliable without all these extraneous random processes always running in the background. It was also a lot easier for our IT department to setup and administer those older systems/applications.

Otherwise on my personal systems I no longer have to worry about or deal with any of this since moving to Linux Mint (also has LibreOffice). It’s a system that still respects the end user and does not attempt to monetize you in any way or add such superfluous features. There is also no need to “tame” the system or jump through a bunch of hoops to try to prevent changes or updates being applied. Instead the system respects your settings and stays out of your way and does not attempt to change anything unless you initiate it yourself. It’s quite refreshing and provides great peace of mind.

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windbg, GeeBeeDee, Charlie, Cybertooth

I agree with HP about wiping the hard drive and installing a fresh copy of Windows as something is clearly amiss with the existing Windows installation with no end in site of possibly getting it fixed after six days of troubleshooting.

Sometimes you just have to take the hard road and nuke it from orbit (it’s the only way to be sure) and start over from scratch. Chances are it works and you will have a functioning system again and know that it’s a solid foundation to build on and re-install all needed software. Worse case if it doesn’t work, restore your drive image and continue troubleshooting.

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SupremeLaW

I’ve been using the “Advanced users” option to get the latest version as soon as it’s released as referenced per Mozilla: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux#w_install-firefox-from-mozilla-builds-for-advanced-users

Using some of the steps from that page below is what I use to install/update ESR on my Linux Mint 21.1 systems.

1. Download the *tar.bz2 file for Firefox ESR from: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/ (ex. 102.11.0esr/linux-x86_64/en-US/firefox-102.11.0esr.tar.bz2 – 74 MB size)

2. Go to where the file was downloaded, right click on it and choose “Extract Here”

3. Open the /opt directory as root (right click it and choose “Open as root”)

4. Copy the extracted Firefox folder to /opt

Note: if updating an existing installation, delete the contents of the /opt/Firefox directory. Then copy the extracted contents of the Firefox directory into /opt/Firefox

5. Create a symlink to the Firefox executable:

ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/firefox

6. Download a copy of the desktop file:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla/sumo-kb/main/install-firefox-linux/firefox.desktop -P /usr/local/share/applications

Alternatively, if wget is not installed on your computer, go to the URL mentioned above, right-click on the page to open the contextual menu and select Save Page As. After you downloaded the file, move it to /usr/local/share/applications.

To verify that the installation was successful, you can open the Troubleshooting Information page. In the Application Basics section, the value of Application Binary should be /opt/firefox/firefox-bin.

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Slowpoke47, Bob99

Keurig K-1500 coffee maker, makes it quick and easy to get a cup (or two, three, four…) of my favorite brew to start the morning.

A very close second favorite that I need to mention are my two desktop computers each with two 27 inch monitors that make things a lot easier to see for the ol’ aging eyes as well as helps increase productivity and ease of use with the extended screen real estate to more easily use multiple applications at the same time. They are also invaluable for when I work from home (via Citrix) as it duplicates my work desktop computer environment that also has two 27 inch monitors. But also because I can use either system for work and still have the other available for anything personal.

It’s due to feature updates being included more often in the rapid release version after which bugs are discovered (from more wide spread use/feedback by general users after the release). So another small update is needed to fix those bugs. Whereas the ESR version does not receive feature updates as often, only security updates. So it’s much more stable and less likely to need such frequent updates to fix bugs. Below is from Mozilla regarding the two versions: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/choosing-firefox-update-channel

“Rapid Release: receives major updates every four weeks and minor updates such as crash fixes and security fixes as needed during those four weeks.”

“ESR: receives major updates on average every 42 weeks with minor updates such as crash fixes, security fixes and policy updates as needed, but at least every four weeks.”

Also see this thread with more info regarding the use of ESR: https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/why-use-firefox-esr/

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Slowpoke47

This link to the Warpinator Github may help to identify changes made for the version shown in your Update Manager: https://github.com/linuxmint/warpinator/commits/master

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Charlie

Below is from the linked article and can often be why wired (ethernet) is faster as well as more reliable (and more secure):

“Median Wi-Fi performance as measured by Speedtest will tend to lag behind median ethernet performance, depending on distance of the end-user device from the router, including any obstacles and signal interference the Wi-Fi signal needs to traverse to reach the device.“

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Fred

Completely agree and why I moved to Linux Mint on two Dell desktop PC’s almost five months ago now. No issues at all in applying updates over that time most of which do not even require a reboot (typically only kernel updates do). Best of all, nothing unexpected ever happens on the system and the configuration never changes unless I specifically make a change myself. Also a lot less worries about any kind of malware such as this BlackLotus. However still need to stay vigilant as the person sitting behind the keyboard is one of the most important layers of security. But the overall peace of mind now is priceless to no longer have to deal with Microsoft’s shenanigans and their lack of respect for the user!

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Cybertooth

I briefly tried/used touch with Windows years ago on a Surface Pro 3 that had Windows 8.1 (Pro). It was terrible to use as a tablet with touch and was much better and more productive to use it like a laptop with the type cover keyboard, especially once I discovered Classic/Open Shell to replace that horrible Metro interface. But even on a traditional laptop or desktop I have always preferred to use the keyboard in order to take advantage of various keyboard shortcuts that can increase productivity. But also because I have always disliked the glossy display that is often used for touch systems, I prefer a matte display instead.

As to smartphones I’ve been using the Samsung Note series since 2012 (currently a S22 Ultra) and use its S Pen 95% of the time instead of touch as it’s not only more precise but also helps to keep the screen clean of fingerprints/smudges.

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scoobydoo, Cybertooth

Thanks, the wording in the article is confusing as June 13, 2023 corresponds to end of service for only Home and Pro versions.

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abbodi86

“as June 13, 2023 is the last time Windows 10 Enterprise and Education, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, and Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session will get an update.”

Shouldn’t that be Windows 10 Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations? Otherwise the aforementioned versions of 21H2 will still receive updates another year to June 11, 2024 per the Windows 10 release information here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/release-information

I think the best tutorial (and source) for how to install Linux Mint is their own installation guide (link below). It also includes information where to find help if needed.

https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

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SueW

You may want to watch this video before continuing any further with the distro.

Proprietary Distro “LinuxFX” Has User Database Compromised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q8iy7yq6_E

Windowsfx is also known as Linuxfx. Each website URL below use the same IP address, the only difference between the two are the name and icon used.

https://www.linuxfx.org/

https://www.windowsfx.org/

Edit: follow up video to the one above – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqZc3JykCuc

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WSlloydkuhnle

Just another consequence of “Windows as a service” and Microsoft’s rules of the game where they constantly move the goal posts and change whatever they want with little to no regard for the end user who is only looked at as just something to monetize.

Not much you can do about it other than to stop playing their game and switch to a different OS that does not use such a controlling service model and where the end user is still respected and allowed full control over the operating system.

Otherwise expect more of the same in the future as Microsoft has truly lost the plot of what an operating system is supposed to be.

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Cybertooth

ESR can be used by anyone and is for those who prefer to receive major updates less often which can provide for more stability. Whereas the rapid release version receives major updates much more frequently which can introduce bugs and instability that require another update to fix. That’s why there are often numerous small point releases each month on the rapid release channel, whereas the ESR channel typically only has one.

Below is from Mozilla regarding the two versions: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/choosing-firefox-update-channel

“ESR: receives major updates on average every 42 weeks with minor updates such as crash fixes, security fixes and policy updates as needed, but at least every four weeks.

Rapid Release: receives major updates every four weeks and minor updates such as crash fixes and security fixes as needed during those four weeks.”

You can install/use both ESR and rapid release on the same system, even nightly, beta or developer versions. Each version just needs to be installed in a different directory. And each installed version uses their own dedicated profile. See this link from Mozilla for more info: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/dedicated-profiles-firefox-installation

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lmacri, Microfix, WCHS