Suddenly all Outlook Links open in Edge

[Zarathustra[H]]

Do you ever find yourself just wanting to stab all of Microsoft?

[Rant]
Like seriously, WTF?

1.) What's the fucking point of having a "default browser" setting in Windows if programs can disregard it? Did they forget about that little anti-competitive lawsuit in the 90's?

2.) What's with this side pa el bullshit in edge? I never asked for this. Go away!

3.) Default behavior of ANY aspect of Windows/Office should never change unless you are doing a major revision upgrade.

Microsoft needs to fucking learn it is MY computer. Not theirs. NOTHING should ever change unless I intentionally change it.

[/Rant]

 

[XJJack]

Ya, but security.... It's just keeping you safe.

 

[xx0xx]

Yes, I absolutely hate how pushy Microsoft is getting again with all of their own products inside their OS. I would not mind at all if the regulatory hammer came down on them hard again. I am using Windows on less and less devices now (at work because I have to, and then at home on a couple of secondary machines for software reasons), but in the times where I do have to use it, I still want it to improve. Amazing how many tech companies might actually build an okay product underneath- but then can't help but to ruin it with layers and layers of BS on top. Tons of tech products and services feel that way these days.

Most of the time there are ways to adjust settings or get around the various problems they've introduced for no good reason, sure (you can disable the Edge sidebar and button, and set an Outlook browser preference AFAIK)- but the point is that shouldn't be necessary- and especially need to stop changing things that are already custom and set by the user, with new updates, etc. Like you said, what's the point of setting a default browser if Microsoft software just gets to ignore a preference you've purposely set to be different than the default. Not respecting choices a user has specifically made, or reversing them, is absolutely user-hostile.

Even as a mostly Linux person now, I think other operating systems still have potential, and benefits, and various good things about them that I enjoy (whether that be macOS or Windows or whatever), but they're all ruined in their own special ways by the company that makes them, and as a "power-user" or whatever you want to call me, I have to do all sorts of customization and forcing to get the systems to work the best for me- and it just bothers me that all the non-savvy users have to deal with all the BS because they don't always know any better (nor should they necessarily have to...). It reminds me of the worst of the "malware bundled with your PC purchase" days (which aren't really over... tbh) where right out of the box, a person that has no idea they're being screwed over gets a subpar experience. But now, in addition to manufacturers being terrible, now the call is coming from inside the house Microsoft. Makes me angry on my family members' behalf...

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Yes, I absolutely hate how pushy Microsoft is getting again with all of their own products inside their OS. I would not mind at all if the regulatory hammer came down on them hard again. I am using Windows on less and less devices now (at work because I have to, and then at home on a couple of secondary machines for software reasons), but in the times where I do have to use it, I still want it to improve. Amazing how many tech companies might actually build an okay product underneath- but then can't help but to ruin it with layers and layers of BS on top. Tons of tech products and services feel that way these days.

Most of the time there are ways to adjust settings or get around the various problems they've introduced for no good reason, sure (you can disable the Edge sidebar and button, and set an Outlook browser preference AFAIK)- but the point is that shouldn't be necessary- and especially need to stop changing things that are already custom and set by the user, with new updates, etc. Like you said, what's the point of setting a default browser if Microsoft software just gets to ignore a preference you've purposely set to be different than the default. Not respecting choices a user has specifically made, or reversing them, is absolutely user-hostile.

Even as a mostly Linux person now, I think other operating systems still have potential, and benefits, and various good things about them that I enjoy (whether that be macOS or Windows or whatever), but they're all ruined in their own special ways by the company that makes them, and as a "power-user" or whatever you want to call me, I have to do all sorts of customization and forcing to get the systems to work the best for me- and it just bothers me that all the non-savvy users have to deal with all the BS because they don't always know any better (nor should they necessarily have to...). It reminds me of the worst of the "malware bundled with your PC purchase" days (which aren't really over... tbh) where right out of the box, a person that has no idea they're being screwed over gets a subpar experience. But now, in addition to manufacturers being terrible, now the call is coming from inside the house Microsoft. Makes me angry on my family members' behalf...

I'm unfortunately stuck with it at work, because I don't make those decisions, but my daily experience with Windows and Office just reaffirms my decision that using Linux at home is the way to go.

There are quite a few PC's in my house. Only two of them actually have Windows used on them anymore. My stepsons machine (since it is essentially dedicated to games) and the secondary boot on my desktop, which I only use for games. Everything else is Linux.

I just can't take this bullshit anymore.

 

[xx0xx]

Yeah at home, I'm all Linux (main gaming PC, living room PC, lightweight laptop, servers, etc) except for two PCs- one for music production and another (gaming laptop) as basically a catch-all for software that won't run on Linux (Affinity Photo/Designer, games that won't work on my main gaming PC in Linux, etc). And, on the ones that are Linux, I'll never go back to Windows.

With Proton though, I've been able to switch my main gaming machine (which is also my daily driver PC) and not feel like I've really "lost" any games in doing so. That said, that's not true for others that play games, really depends on which games and which anticheat, and etc. The few multiplayer games I play all work on Linux and I'm mostly a singleplayer gamer at this point with hundreds of games in the backlog, and most just simply work. A few require tweaks, and the rare few can be annoying to get working (protondb is a big help). So I don't necessarily recommend everyone switch their gaming PCs to Linux, but I think there are a lot of instances now where that can be an option. Proton and Valve's release of the Steamdeck really seem to have accelerated that.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Yeah at home, I'm all Linux (main gaming PC, living room PC, lightweight laptop, servers, etc) except for two PCs- one for music production and another (gaming laptop) as basically a catch-all for software that won't run on Linux (Affinity Photo/Designer, games that won't work on my main gaming PC in Linux, etc). And, on the ones that are Linux, I'll never go back to Windows.

With Proton though, I've been able to switch my main gaming machine (which is also my daily driver PC) and not feel like I've really "lost" any games in doing so. That said, that's not true for others that play games, really depends on which games and which anticheat, and etc. The few multiplayer games I play all work on Linux and I'm mostly a singleplayer gamer at this point with hundreds of games in the backlog, and most just simply work. A few require tweaks, and the rare few can be annoying to get working (protondb is a big help). So I don't necessarily recommend everyone switch their gaming PCs to Linux, but I think there are a lot of instances now where that can be an option. Proton and Valve's release of the Steamdeck really seem to have accelerated that.

I keep trying proton once every year or two. Last time was probably 8 months ago.

I find that the experience is still a little too janky for me. That, and I wind up losing lots of performance, which just isnt acceptable when in many newer titles I am struggling to try to maintain a minimum of 60fps at 4k Ultra settings, even on a 4090.

Once there is a rough performance equivalence, and there is less trial and error and random crashes with different proton revisions, I hope to ditch Windows once and for all, and never have them piss me off again. At least outside of work.

 

[MrGuvernment]

Same box here, been primary linux for over a year now and same, boot to windows if I want to game once in a while, or i just run a windows VM when i need something windows based. Next is to shift the wife over, but she is so dam used to outlook and I do have onedrive for her to backup her stuff so I dont have to worry about it, even thought i back it up, back down to my NAS but she literally uses her computer for email, web browsing and logmein to remote to work on WFH days....

Does drive me nuts. What I hate more is Edge for Business includes this crap to and is on by default, so then you have to go through GPO policies to try and turn the new crap off...MS, this is a Business offline install in a non-internet connected device, like piss off!

 

[ThatITGuy]

I keep trying proton once every year or two. Last time was probably 8 months ago.

I find that the experience is still a little too janky for me. That, and I wind up losing lots of performance, which just isnt acceptable when in many newer titles I am struggling to try to maintain a minimum of 60fps at 4k Ultra settings, even on a 4090.

Once there is a rough performance equivalence, and there is less trial and error and random crashes with different proton revisions, I hope to ditch Windows once and for all, and never have them piss me off again. At least outside of work.

Starfield has run pretty nicely for me.

My favorite is opening a link from an email in Outlook and now the browser has a side-pane with the email in it.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Starfield has run pretty nicely for me.

Most of it runs OK for me, despite it looking like a 10 year old game, while at the same time using the resources of the Crysis of 2023.

Some areas in cities dip down to just barely about 60-65fps (Akila City is the worst, at least for me)

I can't afford to take a 10-20% performance hit, just so I can run it using Proton under Linux. I need every ounce of performance, and likely always will.

My favorite is opening a link from an email in Outlook and now the browser has a side-pane with the email in it.

I hate that. The merging of everything. Jet let the browser be a goddamn browser, and outlook be Outlook.

I hate desktop real estate wasting UI designs (like side bars) with a passion. I wish every single program were written from a perspective of making the most out of desktop real-estate, and not wasting as much as a single row of pixels.

 

[cpufrost]

Edge always defaulting to PDFs is the worst.

 

[michalrz]

Just stopping by to offer some emotional support.