I heard Windows 11 has been updated to take screenshots of your computer. Is it theoretically possible for them to delete content from your PC or external hard drives if they can determine that you have pirated content on them? Can they theoretically report you for it? I know it’s unlikely but is it still possible? I’m thinking of switching to Linux and this may be the reason why.
Edit: Thank you all for your educated answers. I really appreciate y’all!
First of all, you should definitely switch to Linux for a whole bunch of reasons, not the least of which is that Windows is a privacy and sovereignty disaster.
That said, copyright is a legal concept, not a technological one. There is no algorithmic check to know if content is pirated or not because the computer can’t know what legal rights you have. The file could be identical to one that can be obtained through BitTorrent, but maybe you have a license or are using it in such a way that is Fair Use. No way for the computer to tell.
Microsoft does have the technological capability to make Windows delete your stuff (and the possibility does make using Windows untenable), but they would definitely be wrong to do so.
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I read all of this and totally agree. I got a good laugh out of the snippet of the comment you pulled about making a radio out of coconuts on a desert island example. Because you know that’s pretty damn true.
What I find obnoxious with Linux and always had to this day, was the pretentiousness of some users that will spend any waking minute to browbeat anyone into using Linux. They always show up whenever someone has something to complain about with Microsoft Windows, big or small. Never fails, both ironically and unironically.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, THE moment people realize how much tinkering they’ll have to spend time at the terminal for, will turn them away from Linux. Yeah sure you’ve got the software library manager which is leaps and bounds an improvement. But by and large, you will still do a lot of installing, configuring, troubleshooting and more with the terminal. You’re going to be required to know commands and it’s going to require a lot of time at the search engine.
And nearly nobody has the patience for that at all. They want a computer and they want the operating system to do everything they want it to do for them. Windows just does that for them and more.
Linux to me, will always be a OS of choice for any laptop new or old that I get. It will never have a sniff at taking over my desktop because I just know that if I ran a Linux OS full-time everyday, that my limits will have been exhausted and I’ll be running back to Windows in no time. All because Linux can’t do everything I would want it to do, despite the progress it has made and it’s progress that shouldn’t be scoffed at either considering the long way it has come to be where it is today.
People who proudly proclaim they’re going to Linux whenever MIcrosoft shoots their feet off, is just making a rebellious statement. Who knows for real as to how comfortable they’d really be if they were using Linux 24/7.
While I agree with you, I think Microsoft as a giant corporation could still go for the “shoot first, ask questions later” approach, and delete your content and make you appeal if you disagree.
Yeah, that’s the “(and the possibility does make using Windows untenable)” part.