Microsoft is starting to enable ads inside the Start menu on Windows 11 for all users. After testing these briefly with Windows Insiders earlier this month, Microsoft has started to distribute update KB5036980 to Windows 11 users this week, which includes “recommendations” for apps from the Microsoft Store in the Start menu.

Luckily you can disable these ads, or “recommendations” as Microsoft calls them. If you’ve installed the latest KB5036980 update then head into Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.” While KB5036980 is optional right now, Microsoft will push this to all Windows 11 machines in the coming weeks.

Microsoft’s move to enable ads in the Windows 11 Start menu follows similar promotional spots in the Windows 10 lock screen and Start menu. Microsoft also started testing ads inside the File Explorer of Windows 11 last year before disabling the experiment and saying the test was “not intended to be published externally.” Hopefully that experiment remains very much an experiment.

    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      7 months ago

      Honestly the best solution is to find alternatives

      If the audience stays on Windows then there is no incentive to support Linux

    • xthexder@l.sw0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      7 months ago

      As far as I know, pretty much the only anti-cheat that doesn’t work on linux is the kernel-level malware kind. I personally avoid those games at all costs regardless. That’s easy for me to say though, since I barely play any competitive games…

    • httperror418@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      7 months ago

      Hopefully those games go to steam deck as that seems like a way to have a market share they might then cater for (I can’t play BF on Linux due to the antichear requirements)

    • EngineerGaming@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      7 months ago

      Another option is playing not on your hardware entirely - at least where I live, there are computer clubs where you can use high-end gaming computers for a small per-hour fee.