Spent the day setting up a Windows 11 test device, including Chrome, WSL, and Docker Desktop. Every step of the way involved opt-outs, for privacy, tracking, and larded, unnecessary AI. The defaults were all set to benefit the vendors instead of the user.

It wasn’t just Microsoft. Everyone else wanted their pound of flesh.

So damn exhausting.

I’m sitting here reading these comments as the low-end Dell laptop I just picked up for software testing is booting up and updating Windows. For logistic reasons, had to pick one up today, so had the pleasure of dealing with Best Buy sales staff 🙄

From powering it up, it’s been 1.5 hours with updates and multiple restarts. Half of it was spent showing a progress indicator with a carousel slideshow of all the great AI tools I have no interest in using. Then it insisted on signing in with a Microsoft cloud account.

It’s been eons since I actually ran a fresh copy of Windows. Amazed people still put up with all this nonsense.

Tney handed out ChatGPT accounts to all California State University students and actively encouraged them to use it.

Surely NOBODY would imagine students would use it to cheat?

If you assume Level 5 autonomy exists, you don’t really need ANY control surface inside the car. Those just become useless artifacts. Steering wheels, gear shifters, gas/brake pedals, turn-signals, or rear-view mirrors.

Really, even map apps. Those just convert to glorified ToDo apps, where you say where you need to be at what time and the AV figures out how to get you there. Showing your position on a map is just more of a curiosity, like the airplane in-flight scenes, giving you a rough sense of place and calmly reassuring you that you are on your way (instead of, say, plunging into the sea).

You don’t really need car windows either. Could be replaced with screens that show idealized imagescapes to enhance the transportation experience, or a movie.

Not requiring brake pedals is just the first logical step, if you want to let a machine drive you.

For those who actually enjoy the driving experience, AVs are stupid wastes of effort and tech.