• A Chrome extension called “Microsoft to Microslop” that renames Microsoft references in browsers as a protest against the company’s aggressive AI integration.
  • The extension reflects widespread user frustration with Microsoft’s Copilot AI, which faces extremely low adoption rates and growing privacy concerns among Windows users.
  • Many users actively seek ways to remove AI features from Windows, highlighting significant backlash against Microsoft’s AI strategy despite CEO dismissals of complaints.
  • Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip
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    23 days ago

    You can do this in uBlock Origin without having to install another add-on by adding the following to My filters and enabling Allow custom filters requiring trust

    *##+js(rpnt, #Text, "Microsoft", "Microslop")
    *##+js(rpnt, #Text, "microsoft", "microslop")
    *##+js(rpnt, #Text, "MICROSOFT", "MICROSLOP")
    

    This will probably break some things but I’m not sure I care enough to figure out what. Enjoy.

  • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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    23 days ago

    If you want to make Microsoft’s CEO cry then you install Linux and convince all of your friends to do the same.

    Using their OS, feeding them telemetry, being opted into their cloud storage but swapping some letters in your browser content is about as useless as mopping a sewer pipe.

    • phaedrus@piefed.world
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      23 days ago

      They’re also suggesting a Chrome extension, as if Chrome doesn’t also feed a fascist beast’s slop machine.

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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        23 days ago

        I can’t fault them, their heart is in the right place even if they don’t actually know what to do.

        Give 'em tips as you can and wait a few years, we were all idiots at one point

    • Sierk@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      I want to but i have no idea how. If it was simply installing ‘Linux’ I would have done it already. But there are many ‘versions’? I am unsure which and how to proceed.

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        I’d be happy to help (and if you run into problems going forward, just message me directly).

        Linux Mint is probably the most often recommended for new people coming from Windows. But EndeavourOS will let you tell everyone that you use Arch without having to install your system via the terminal (EOS uses a graphical installer also).

        For Mint, Choose the Cinnamon version (this can be changed later but this is a good default choice). KDE Plasma is the most popular DE and you can change to different DEs just by logging out and changing a dropdown menu.

        I linked the install guide above. TLDR - copy iso to usb stick, reboot, click through the graphical install process. If you’ve ever installed Windows, this will be very familiar (where do you want to install it, what username, where in the world are you, and login to wifi)

        It is much less complicated if you can have a Linux-only machine. But if you want to keep Windows around for a bit, you can dual boot: Mint

        All of the software is installed with the package manager from the official repos. Everyone is familiar with this method of installing software because smartphones use them but call them App Stores/Play Store. You don’t download executables from the Internet and just run them 😒

        There’s a lot of new terms and concepts so it’ll be overwhelming. Lean on the official Mint communitues, they’re generally helpful (there are assholes, like everywhere else of course), be prepared to read documentation and don’t be afraid to ask an LLM to explain concepts if you can’t get a community answer fast enough but don’t trust the commands that it gives you yet (you’ll learn how to do this safely but not at the start).

        If you game, Steam can be installed from the repo, via and Heroic Games Launcher for GoG, Epic Games Store and(???, there are more but you get the idea) make the process as simple as pressing Play.

        You’ll probably use different software to do the same tasks so don’t try to find ms-paint or notepad, but Krita and Kate do the same thing and there are many alternatives to those. If you can’t figure it out, dm me.

        Good luck. It’s a lot at first but it is 1000% a better experience once you become comfortable with the software.

        • Sierk@lemmy.world
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          22 days ago

          Wow, thanks for this elaborate explanation. This really takes a lot of doubt away. I’m not going to do this tomorrow or anytime soon. But chances of me actually going there have improved significantly!

          • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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            22 days ago

            You’re welcome. It is way easier than you’re expecting I promise.

            Not that you won’t run into problems, every OS including Windows has problems that require reading, troubleshooting and jumping through hoops. An example I love is that trying to create a local user account on Windows 11 has more steps than the entire Linux Mint install.

            The problems in Linux often come with logs, error messages and debug information which can make it a lot easier to diagnose correctly (instead of just changing random shit as dictated by assorted Googled Reddit posts from 5 years ago). It may look like heiroglyphics at first, but you’ll be able to see the matrix soon enough.

            If my account still exists, you can reach out if you have problems and I’ll point you in the right direction at least. Enjoy :)

    • Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      23 days ago

      Firefox isn’t in a much better state, and most Chrome extension users are actually Chromium browsers, e.g. Vivaldi, Brave, Cromite

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    23 days ago

    Chrome is not a solution, it is a major part of the problem.
    Switch to Firefox, and preferably switch to Firefox on Linux.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        Except it’s not, all the complaints about Firefox are moronic, none of them have any merit.
        Don’t fall for the false propaganda or morons who think they found a problem when they have no understanding of the underlying mechanisms.
        I’ve seen dozens of claims about bad things Mozilla does, and every time I investigate the issue, it turns out there is nothing there, or at most some sort of misunderstanding that is blown out of proportions.

        You can dislike Firefox as much as you want as a use case. But Firefox is still 100% above board with everything they do, there are zero shenanigans, but there is insane propaganda against them.

        Firefox has some crazy cool new functions IMO, and they are generally completely non invasive.

        • CheesyFox@lemmy.sdf.org
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          22 days ago

          Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software. Firefox will remain our anchor. It will evolve into a modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions.

          a quote from Enthony Enzor-Demeo, the current CEO of Firefox.

          I like how you treat any rumors you don’t like as propaganda, implying ill intent, as well as call people morons for not trusting yet another corpo.

          I personally use firefox for now, because i’m too lazy to set up synchronization between devices myself in an opensource browser.

          The fact that they’re slightly better than their competitors is not a reason to fanboy over them and put a blind eye over their slow but steady shift towards enshittification.

          • ADTJ@feddit.uk
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            22 days ago

            Whether you like it or not, some people want AI features and Firefox isn’t in a position to snub their users. At least they give you a choice of enabling/disabling that functionality

            • CheesyFox@lemmy.sdf.org
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              22 days ago

              Pardon, but some people want to eat shit and watch others do it. Some people still use facebook. I don’t judge them. But won’t be happy if they showed up and told me that i must do it as well.

              And those features being what exactly? A small chat window drop-out so your lazy ass won’t need to open an ai chat in a tab? This is absurd.

              At least they give you a choice of enabling/disabling that functionality

              lmao. That’s how we got Windows as enshittified as it is now.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            22 days ago

            Again, propaganda against Firefox with no basis.
            What is your claim? That because it uses AI, it inherently bad?
            The AI functions implemented by Firefox are generally run locally. They are NOT sent to some central server, and they are NOT stored, and they are NOT used for biometrics.

            You show NOTHING, and yet you act like you made a point???
            You are as much part of the problem as Microsoft and Google.

            • CheesyFox@lemmy.sdf.org
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              22 days ago

              lmao. You fail to beat the fanboy allegations with this comment. At this point you literally look like the guy from the meme in my eyes.

              and again with the misuse of the word “propaganda”, this time topped off with the most basic demagogic manipulation i’ve seen in a while, comparing me to corpos, trying to… What exactly? Is the last paragraph there to make me feel bad? Because it provides no logical counter-argument to what i said. Sorry, but i’m too autistic to be ragebaited.

              You’re the one, making claims without supporting them with any proof.

              My claim is that firefox gets worse by adding the features nobody asked for, spending time and money for their development, purely out of FOMO of the AI hypetrain, while struggling to implement actually relevant modern technologies such as WebGPU. AI can be a useful instrument, but if i ever want to use it, i’d use specialized tools for that, and look for them at specialized places.

              • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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                22 days ago

                My claim is that firefox gets worse by adding the features nobody asked for

                Most of those new features are absolutely amazing, like the instant translation of almost any page,
                Creating tags for images that don’t have them for blind people, is an amazing feature for blind people.
                If you don’t like them you don’t have to use them. You don’t get to dictate that others shouldn’t have them on false accusations.
                Some of us like a feature-full high quality browser, that respect our privacy.

                their development, purely out of FOMO of the AI hypetrain,

                OK and which functions are that?
                You’re just riding the AI hate train and think that’s the default correct position. And sometimes it is, but not in this case.
                And guess again, because Mozilla is actually using AI for things that are both useful and noninvasive.
                So why don’t you piss off and go use a terminal browser instead if that’s what you want.
                Alternatively there are a lot of decent open source browsers you can use, that don’t have the advanced features of Firefox.

              • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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                22 days ago

                the misuse of the word “propaganda”,

                No I use the word propaganda because the accusations are based on falsehoods.

  • Bruncvik@lemmy.world
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    23 days ago

    When I was your age, we called them Micro$oft. Too bad there were no extensions in Netscape Navigator.

    • multiplewolves@lemmy.world
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      23 days ago

      I dunno why the dollar sign version lost favor with anyone. It’s perpetually true, easy to type, and communicates far more succinctly than any screed about M$’s greed and enshittification.

      • shirro@aussie.zone
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        23 days ago

        It was (and is) spot on but Microsoft won the war for minds and lots of people in the Linux community started using Microsoft products like vscode and calling them good guys because they were running Linux datacenters and making kernel contributions. Microsoft employed some really good people working on some cool things. You were called out for being immature and holding outdated grudges if you used slang terms and you couldn’t participate in conversations and be taken seriously.

        Meanwhile Microsoft was still being Microsoft. They bought the defacto town square - github - in an attempt to control the platform. Then they mined the content to train LLMs. Now the LLMs bombard open source projects with crap. Even as Windows is dying they are trying to drag us down as well.

        They are a big company and big companies sometimes do good things. No hate on their engineers. But Microsoft have always been the enemy and they will always be the enemy. It is their nature.

      • kungen@feddit.nu
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        23 days ago

        Doesn’t work anymore because “money = good/powerful/special”. You use Linux because you’re a cheapskate, not because Microsoft is shit. Etc.

        • UnspecificGravity@piefed.social
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          23 days ago

          I definitely started using linux because I built an HTPC, realized I didn’t have a spare windows license and didn’t want to pay for windows.

  • wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    23 days ago

    I don’t get why these lazy one-off text replacement extensions keep making “tech news”. You can do this shit easily with a short userscript, and there are plenty of extensions for practically every browser that let you set your own text replacement settings. No need for individual extensions for each.

    • slams -> literally disintegrates the bloodline of
    • keyboard -> leopard
    • cloud -> butt
    • microsoft -> microslop
  • Artwork@lemmy.world
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    23 days ago

    It’s rather sad when such extensions don’t refer to their source code in descriptions.
    Meanwhile, Google Chrome extensions are to be updated automatically.
    Sorry, I won’t install it, since I have no trust in the source of it, and I care about my time to not re-check it on every update.