The micro distribution devs found that Replay is now a dependency for explorer. They have to install it and then disable it. Seems MSFT really wants those screenshots.
Or were they always like this, and the bar was just incredibly low when they were taking over the world?
Microsoft used to earn a lot of revenue from selling perpetual software licenses (like any software company in the 1990s). Now they've pivoted over to services, SaaS, and ad-driven freemium software (Windows itself). They're not seeing any growth in Windows installs (and haven't in years), so in order to continue growing they've got to enshittify the existing install base!
There needs to be a more professional-sounding, G-rated term that describes the degradation of quality of software services.
Nobody can use it in a TV ad.
Nobody can use it in political messaging.
Nobody can use it in G-rated settings.
Nobody can use it in a party platform.
Nobody can use it on the debate stage.
Nobody can use it in marketing on why they are better.
Nobody can use it in a courtroom without being accused of bias.
Nobody can use it who is generally soft-spoken or has strong cultural inhibitions.
The term itself silences speech. Anyone who calls this out is labeled a prude, which is perfect from a corporate planning point of view.
The only possible better outcome would be to use the term “assholeification” or something stronger. Call it “companies fucking with consumers” - that’s even better from a PR perspective.
Inventing jargon with the intention of being boring is just hiding the issue with euphemisms.
And since "enshittification" is applied to everything now, and no longer refers to the specific context for which it was coined, we can say we're witnessing the enshittification of enshittification itself.
“Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent a kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it.”
There’s a reason why clickbait is a thing, it’s because if you don’t find a way to punctuate the noise then people don’t pay attention, and people’s brains are affected by the things that grab their attention.
I mean, you accuse people of trying to "shift the narrative" if they don't like it. As if not using it is wrongthink to you. You frame "enshittification" in terms of class warfare and self-deception, and almost imply that using it is a revolutionary act. And that's weird. That's far too much emotional and political investment in what amounts to a poop joke.
It's done, please find another meme. I know you won't, but I wish you would.
It may be. The problem is that enshitification is much more than a simple degradation.
Think about why you dislike the word “enshittification”, it’s likely because the word is both very direct and is based on a swear word. These both give the word impact and switching to a word that doesn’t have these properties would likely have less impact and be less likely to catch people’s attention.
Digging even deeper there is also a class dynamic as swear words are considered lower class. I don’t want to write an essay so I won’t go in-depth but “adult” and “mature” could also be considered code for “imitating the upper class” as the upper class loves to protect its identity and uses these dynamics in their favor. Consider for example how, historically, dressing in a suit is both considered upper class and mature, but what function does a suit really have? The primary function is signaling to other people.
The point I’m making is that the upper class generally doesn’t want change, they want to keep their status and power. So many of the things we consider “adult” or “mature” tend to really be imitating the upper class and indirectly maintaining their power and the status quo.
Enshittification seems to have found resonance with the folks who engage with tech often, so I think it is a good term for us as. But maybe something like “abusive platform cash-in” would be a better name in other contexts.
we use them on a daily basis here.
vulgarity and or beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Fast forward 20 years later, Windows is a UX nightmare cramming in a barrage of user-hostile changes every month. It's the least usable desktop operating system out there. What the heck happened?
They talk directly to CEOs who have no idea about SW. The CEOs buy their crap and the employee must use it.
Last time i looked, you had to pay money for a Windows licence.
Is it? Or is it simply not the New Hotness with the biggest growth?
If this source is to be believed, Windows accounted for almost $25 billion in 2022, up from $20 billion in 2018.
To me, it sounds like the same problem that Microsoft has had for years: if it's not showing explosive growth, then it gets ignored.
But also, if you look at their 2023 report[1] it is contracting substantially:
Windows revenue decreased $3.2 billion or 13% driven by a decrease in Windows OEM. Windows OEM revenue decreased 25% as elevated channel inventory levels continued to drive additional weakness beyond declining PC demand. Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 5% driven by demand for Microsoft 365.
[1]: https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar23/index.html
Adjusting for inflation, that's still a two billion dollar increase. I wish I had problems like that.
As for the rest, you're demonstrating my point. GGP talked about Windows being a "distraction and an expense" when it's still generating tens of billions in revenue.
That's not a distraction and expense, that's a cornerstone.
I don't think Microsoft designed/tested Windows to run on anything other than MSDOS/PCDOS.
Personally, I think this has the same root cause as Microsoft trying to force everyone to log on to the local machine with an online Microsoft account, and telemetry that even the administrator can not completely turn off.
They want to gather personal interest data from your your computer use to fill out your online advertising profile.
They are looking to fully embrace the surveillance capitalism business model that has previously been so successful at Google and Meta.
People who are arguing for freedom to mess up their own computer and those of the tech-illiterate (the kernel access maximalists, the people conflating code signing with corporate oversight) are arguing for giving general computing to closed systems because a majority of users need protection from themselves.
Can you do real work on an iPhone ?
If this were the case, they wouldn't insist on making a "feature" like this uninstallable.
Occam's razor tells me that it is only worth forcing a universally reviled "feature" on everyone if there is a great deal of money at stake.
Blurb for Total Recall (2009), with foreword by Bill Gates.
https://www.amazon.com/Total-Recall-Memory-Revolution-Everyt...
I suspect Microsoft is looking for ways to extract value from Windows rather than thinking about the OS as the critical computing infrastructure that it is.
Who knows where this road will end up. Maybe EU regulators will ensure there is a clean build of Windows available for those savvy enough to install it?
Maybe international governments will deem Windows a liability/threat and investment in Linux will increase?
Microsoft have the enterprise space locked down with Windows, many of the enterprise architects I've spoken to know little-to-nothing about Linux and have high praise for Active Directory. A transition away from Windows feels impractical - which further justifies the risk
But I will say, this isn’t just a Microsoft phenomenon. Apple, Google, pretty much any company will pull sleazy tactics if it improves their bottom line.
It’s just more painful with Microsoft because their products suck. So you don’t even get a consolidation of buying into a great but flawed product. You just get crap piled on top of more crap.
The fact that Microsoft are even remotely successful is a testament to how you need a good businessman (Gates) and a lot of luck (IBM vs Kildall) rather than the best tech on the market.
Actually, they were even worse under Bill Gates, who was smarter and more ruthless than his successors.
[1] - https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 [freeware]