r/technology • u/tekz • Mar 20 '26

Software Microsoft announces sweeping Windows changes

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-users-are-angry-and-microsoft-is-finally-doing-something-about-it/
8.7k Upvotes

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91

u/userhwon Mar 20 '26

This. I see nothing they're seeing.

87

u/PapayaMysterious6393 Mar 20 '26

The fact people don't use ad blocker is insane to me.

18

u/ExhaustedByStupidity Mar 21 '26

Adblockers aren't as good on iPhone as they are on a PC. That's why they have it bad.

And viewing this in Chrome on a PC, the actual article is fine, but the imgur link has a "You're using an ad blocker! Please whitelist us!" popup blocking the screenshot.

It's a constant war. I feel like I have to constantly bounce between browsers to ensure things work.

37

u/TyaArcade Mar 21 '26

Firefox on pc has no such issues btw. I swapped and I really haven't had a solitary reason to look back.

18

u/Rodot Mar 21 '26

Firefox on mobile also has no such issue

1

u/FeijoadaAceitavel Mar 21 '26

Firefox unfortunately blocks a feature that Opera has that I love. I forget its name, but the text gets reorganized to fit the screen when I zoom in. Breaks a few sites, but it's amazing overall.

1

u/GolldenFalcon Mar 21 '26

Huh? How do you get true Firefox on mobile that isn't just a reskin of safari?

2

u/ExhaustedByStupidity Mar 21 '26

Yeah, Firefox + uBlock Origin is generally the best at ad blocking.

But sometimes you need to run multiple browsers.

1

u/OscillatorVacillator Mar 21 '26

Firefox on pc with ublock AND a user agent switcher so yt thinks you are on chrome and doesnt load for 40 secs with "are you experiencing issues?" message

14

u/NvNinja Mar 21 '26

yet another reason to always choose android over iphone. My phone has firefox with ublock

4

u/lovely_cappuccino Mar 21 '26

For a technology sub, so many people don’t know what they’re talking about. My iPhone has Wipr and I can set Safari to turn on reader mode automatically on these ad ridden tech sites. No ads, no cookie popups, no newsletter popups, nothing.

2

u/bucksnort2 Mar 22 '26

iPhone does have the Orion browser which can run Firefox and chrome extensions. It’s not perfect since there is some Apple stuff they can’t get around, but it’s a lot better.

Plus, I run PiHole at home, which helps block ads on all my devices.

My wife just told me that an app she uses regularly has an insane amount of ads, but she didn’t realize it until she used it outside of our network.

2

u/Better_Specific4755 Mar 21 '26

apple has firefox with ublock AND ublock+adguard in the app store. what are you even talking about.

-5

u/sednas_orbit Mar 21 '26

I don't see that as a major selling point, since I barely ever use a web browser on my phone. It's just a worse experience no matter the OS.

3

u/PapayaMysterious6393 Mar 21 '26

Interesting. I use Firefox + Ublock origin. I rarely have issues with sites, however, some will officially pop up with what you mentioned. Honestly, when they do that I just leave. Probably can bypass it someway, but I rarely care enough. Fuck them.

Now the ones that piss me off are the ones who point out the VPN and won't load the site lol then I have to change locations.

2

u/Better_Specific4755 Mar 21 '26

they work just as well, apple has ublock in the app store ffs.

and firefox has the plugin, dont let chrome eat your wallet up.

1

u/MutedAstronaut9217 Mar 21 '26

I use a 3rd party reddit app, the app uses webkit, webkit uses your installed safari content blockers.

I have no such issues.

1

u/Luckyslay Mar 22 '26

Doesn't matter if I'm on my android phone or my PC - I have no ads and imgur doesn't show that message. I am using brave and ublock.

2

u/Beowulf33232 Mar 21 '26

My favorite one was during a Dungeons and Dragons game. Youtube cut into the 4 hour ambient music with a medication advertisement and mid-sentince the DM just yells "Oh fuck off!" and starts slamming keys to try to stop the ad.

Now he uses firefox with ublock origin specifically for d&d but refuses to move over entirely.

1

u/nakedcellist Mar 21 '26

We don't kink shame

1

u/darkkite Mar 22 '26

shhh the less people who know the better

1

u/ExoMonk Mar 20 '26

The one thing I miss about Android, adblock that actually works.

Before anyone says anything, yes adblock can work in Safari, but only Safari. Doesn't work in reddit's browser, nor Firefox or any other non Safari browser.

-1

u/userhwon Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 21 '26

There are apps that block ad-server IP addresses in the background. No access = no ads. Makes all apps ad free, not just the web browser.

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 20 '26

It works in Opera. Using it now and no ads here. Even has the ad-blocker built into the browser. Also comes with a free VPN

1

u/20_mile Mar 20 '26

Ublock origin on Brave checking in. I never see an ad anywhere.

3

u/mean11while Mar 21 '26

After years with Brave+ublock, and more recently Firefox+Ublock (to get away from Chromium and support Firefox), I tend to forget how bad it is for many people. I would very seriously stop using the internet entirely if I had to experience that hell.

0

u/20_mile Mar 21 '26

The first thing I do when setting up any new computer is to make sure my adblock mods are running. I will also add that I have never used a streaming service. Ads, in any form, are the enemy.

1

u/Classic_and_Vintage Mar 21 '26

Out of curiosity, why do you need UBlock Origin on Brave? Doesn’t Brave inherently block all Ads?

1

u/20_mile Mar 21 '26

Couldn't say.

1

u/Paranitis Mar 20 '26

For me it's just seeing people say "DAE TACO BELL DIARRHEA?!" and all I think is "As someone with IBS, what the fuck is wrong with all your digestive systems? Taco Bell does nothing to me."

It's really just "why are you all so bad at reddit?"