Microsoft sneaks ads into the new Outlook for Windows (www.ghacks.net)
from throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to technology@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 10:31
https://lemmy.nz/post/6366155

#technology

threaded - newest

SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works on 02 Feb 2024 10:33 next collapse

Email spam is already bad enough I don’t need that shit built in

SamsonSeinfelder@feddit.de on 02 Feb 2024 11:43 collapse

Hi @SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works, we are sorry to hear you are not satisfied with our ad service. We always strive to bring you the best user experience on the web and in your Windows Operating System. We want to offer you a 10% discount on your next purchase for a 24 month Office365-VPN Home Suite: [STAYSAVE10]. We hope you like us more now. Thank you for reading this ad.

TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 10:43 next collapse

Of course they have. MS are putting ads everywhere in Windows. The revenue potential is huge and they have more than enough private information on everyone to do targeted ads.

Microsoft would be insane not to go down this route. It’s inevitable.

We need more devices for sale that don’t use Windows, because this won’t stop. Microsoft is a publicly traded company and their stakeholders demand infinite growth.

The only way to get away from this is to use some kind of FOSS operating system

Pantsofmagic@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 11:35 next collapse

Someone there wants to go back to 20+ years ago when your friends mom’s Internet Explorer windows included 75 different toolbars and there was only a little bit of browser space left. The hayday of “Buddy Bar” is returning for your Edge, Outlook, and Taskbar. Next will be explorer and Excel. The future is looking bright.

pete_the_cat@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 12:23 next collapse

Also, Bonzai Buddy.

4am@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 13:00 collapse

Man, I had a girlfriend once like 20 years ago who’s dad knew I was into computers and he was so proud to show me this neat Banzai Buddy software he found, he thought he was so cool.

That was the moment that I realized that, actually, something was wrong with all the adults on this planet.

ares35@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 16:14 next collapse

the little purple desktop buddy could come back now.. powered by ai

pete_the_cat@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 04:29 collapse

Parents loved that little purple fucker.

HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works on 04 Feb 2024 09:06 collapse

so did I but I was 10 years old

rottingleaf@lemmy.zip on 04 Feb 2024 16:32 collapse

It wasn’t official right from MS then. Some stupid people even behaved as if MS were the good guys (who’d also never do something like this).

RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de on 02 Feb 2024 11:57 next collapse

The Grand Nagus advocating for free and open source software… there must be a novel rule of acquisition I have not heard about yet!

borf@lemmynsfw.com on 02 Feb 2024 11:59 next collapse

Rule of acquisition number 1,337: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.

griD@feddit.de on 02 Feb 2024 12:37 next collapse

It’s in the revised “wormhole aliens” edition .

Krzd@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 13:04 next collapse

Rule 69420: You shall sell the product, not be it.

Taleya@aussie.zone on 02 Feb 2024 13:19 collapse

Sounds pretty on-brand for Rom

1984@lemmy.today on 02 Feb 2024 12:09 next collapse

The only way to get away from this is to use some kind of FOSS operating system

Been doing this for like 10 years now. It was easy to see the future of windows when windows 8 and 10 started sending user data to their cloud. Next step is always serving ads.

And people pay for Windows too. :)

It’s not too late to switch to Linux but you are very late if you haven’t done it.

f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 07:27 collapse

You can turn off Microsoft’s ads, browser nagging, and data faucet, but as long as you are dependent on them for Windows Updates, that gives them an opportunity to undo your fixes and turn them back on.

FOSS has a similar problem in which the program author can sell out to a less-friendly entity, and when you update the software it starts misbehaving (see Audacity, Simple Mobile Tools, etc.)

This is why I use Debian stable branch. Disadvantages: outdated software (but still get security updates) Advantages: outdated software (but still get security updates) 😅

1984@lemmy.today on 04 Feb 2024 08:23 collapse

The thing is, people have been saying “you can turn off feature x” since at least 10 years now, and while that is true for a while, the operating system keeps getting shittier. There is no reason to keep using something like that unless you have to. :)

f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 09:35 collapse

Agreed. I dual-booted years ago; start menu ads made me wipe the Windows, and Edging their way into people’s computers made me realize how meaningless the antitrust lawsuit was.

It’s a slow march toward subscription OS and when it’s their computer, people probably won’t be able to use the nice one-click registry hacks to remove the ads and spyware.

If there’s anything particular about your Linux OS that you don’t like, there’s likely a different distro that does it the way you want, or dig in and learn how to change it.

Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 14:45 next collapse

The problem is the alternative is Google who is already worse. Linux is needed but until mass consumers reject ads it will never go mainstream.

demonsword@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 15:48 collapse

but until mass consumers reject ads it will never go mainstream

Cory Doctorow said that half of all Internet users use adblockers (dunno where he got that statistic but I tend to trust that man)

Gork@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 16:41 collapse

We’re all living through the enshittocene, a great enshittening, in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit.

lol

mmagod@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 07:49 next collapse

i feel like i’m not actually against ads. i’m against the abuse of ads, that take away from the user experience…

i won’t mind seeing an ad if it doesnt get in the way of what i need to do on the pc. i don’t need an ad popping up when im trying to work on something, launch an application, download a file, etc. an ad in the corner, big enough for me to be aware of it, but obscure enough to not interrupt me will serve its purpose.

problem is, ad exposure is non-regulated and i can’t believe how the constant ad spamming doesn’t seem to phase a lot of people.

TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 08:39 collapse

I don’t think there should be any ads in a paid OS.

linearchaos@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 08:01 collapse

The bane of the public company. Once you get big enough that you’re no longer able to sustain 20% yoy growth your investors will force you to leave no stone unturned.

They’ve already put in telemetry

Next they’ll put in ads

Then they’ll sell subscriptions to get rid of the ads

Then the subscription will become the minimum viable product

Then they’ll put ads back in

HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works on 04 Feb 2024 09:05 collapse

Then they get Premium subscriptions

Then they put ads in there and release the Ultimate subscriptions

etc etc

Petter1@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 10:43 next collapse

Nice, now you have to pay for giving your data to Microsoft, lol. Who would do that?!

Diplomjodler@feddit.de on 02 Feb 2024 10:47 next collapse

Just a few hundred million people, I guess.

Petter1@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 10:50 collapse

One must consider all who use outlook for business, there is no ads and I believe the say even no tracking. 🤷🏻‍♀️ so yea, I use outlook as well, but not because I want and not with ducking ads.

nightwatch_admin@feddit.nl on 02 Feb 2024 11:43 collapse

Just to clarify: there’s Outlook (M365) which is just the old Outlook, both as an app and webapp. Then there’s New Outlook, which looks like old Outlook but is a different, incomplete and hot garbage replacement for Windows Mail, Calender etc. …microsoft.com/…/e367b524-b637-49ac-8405-3d801af3…

Petter1@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 12:23 collapse

Well the “old” outlook included in M365 has now the option to „try new outlook“ which I activated. It looks like the Outlook in the screenshot (and like the web version of outlook) How many versions of outlook are there now?! 🤣

kringkastingssjef@lemmy.ml on 02 Feb 2024 12:44 next collapse

It actually is the web version, iirc

nightwatch_admin@feddit.nl on 02 Feb 2024 21:38 collapse

Ahhh I forgot about that other New Outlook, which is still mostly old M365 Outlook with just lots of new bugs because the interface has changed and some functionality removed, it is sorta the same binary executable… so I think the list is:

  • Windows Mail
  • Windows Calendar
  • Windows Contacts
  • New Outlook (replacing the above)
  • Old Outlook
  • Old New Outlook (being modified Old Outlook)
  • Consumer Webmail Outlook (being counterpart to New Outlook)
  • Business Webmail Outlook (being counterpart to Old Outlook)
  • … did I miss anything? Will there be a Business Mail New Outlook Webapp?
w2tpmf@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 12:30 collapse

No one is paying for it. It’s a free app.

This isn’t Outlook from the paid Office suit. This is the shitty free “Mail” app that has been renamed to also be called Outlook because Microsoft sucks at naming things.

4am@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 13:01 next collapse

You pay for Windows.

Rentlar@lemmy.ca on 02 Feb 2024 15:32 collapse

Outlook itself is aka Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, MSN mail, and so on and so forth.

w2tpmf@lemmy.world on 03 Feb 2024 01:16 collapse

No that’s still not the Outlook this is talking about.

They use the name Outlook for THREE things now…

Outlook - the application from the Office suit

Outlook - the email service

Outlook - the shitty free email client

DirkMcCallahan@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 11:08 next collapse

This is basically “dog bites man” territory at this point.

the_q@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 11:14 next collapse

Thunderbird is a great alternative to Outlook.

Hexarei@programming.dev on 02 Feb 2024 11:28 next collapse

As is Mailspring

nicetriangle@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 11:59 next collapse

Really? I've heard it kinda sucks these days. I used to use it years back though and am a big Firefox supporter.

PlasmaDistortion@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 12:36 next collapse

I recently switched to it from Outlook and while it lacks some of the features of Outlook, it’s not a bad replacement.

agent_flounder@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 12:36 next collapse

I have only used it briefly but it seems decent at first glance. On par with any other major client (MacOS mail, outlook etc)

Though I tend to only read email on my phone, these days. That’s why I haven’t used it much.

trk@aussie.zone on 02 Feb 2024 13:00 next collapse

I’ve used Thunderbird for years, and still do. I love it.

IMAP, 30GB account, contacts and calendar synced with our Nextcloud server. Can search for a term and receive a list of emails going back years instantly.

I can open Thunderbird, search for an email from 2016, and be replying to it faster than my wife’s identical PC can even finish loading the Outlook splash screen (may contain traces of hyperbole).

nicetriangle@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 13:02 next collapse

Huh good to know. Thanks for the details!

fluckx@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 14:31 next collapse

Holy shit. I just googled Thunderbird and it is looking sleek AF.

I couldn’t use it in the past at work since they only supported “modern” auth methods and no IMAP/pop3.

Firefox didn’t support it back then and I was stuck with evolution. Which isn’t bad functionally. It just still looks like it was designed in the 90s.

I’m not using any email client privately atm. But it’s nice to see the UI also got some love.

rottingleaf@lemmy.zip on 04 Feb 2024 16:37 collapse

I’ve recently set up Mutt with Fetchmail and Procmail. Getting mail over IMAP (with keeping those on server), putting it into one mailbox, archiving read, segmented by year and zstd-compressed, with macros for switching between outgoing SMTP accounts.

Takes little space, works fast and is very convenient once set up.

It’s a very different taste from what you are describing, though.

dan1101@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 13:36 next collapse

It has been working great for me for years. I do turn off automatic updates because occasionally they release a buggy version, but it gets fixed.

gedaliyah@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 14:15 next collapse

No. A year or two ago they did a big redesign and added a lot of functionality. Of course, whenever you have changes to a software there will be some stuffy old dudes crying about it. So everywhere you look there are people who are upset because the interface is different from what they were used to even though it is way more modern and much more useful, and better for users - especially new users.

nicetriangle@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 14:24 collapse

Appreciate the insight, thanks

ares35@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 16:09 collapse

the recent changes to thunderbird are welcome improvements. you should give it another shot.

Corngood@lemmy.ml on 02 Feb 2024 12:26 collapse

And when they figure out how to serve ads on IMAP, you can take thunderbird to another provider.

I don’t think it’ll actually come to that, due to popularity, but I can see them blocking IMAP access on new accounts due to ‘security’.

4am@lemm.ee on 02 Feb 2024 12:56 next collapse

Exchange was always the EEE to standard mail/calendar protocols. They have a path towards that.

They’ve already moved Active Directory to the cloud, they’re normalizing “Microsoft owns your accounts, even business ones”. All the content on Teams lives on Azure, and I believe SharePoint is doing the same.

Microsoft is EEEing the Fortune 500.

orwellianlocksmith@lemmy.world on 03 Feb 2024 09:13 collapse

What is eee?

jas0n@lemmy.world on 03 Feb 2024 11:03 collapse

Embrace Extend Extinguish

[deleted] on 02 Feb 2024 14:31 collapse

.

Quicky@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 11:45 next collapse

This was always the case in the web version of Outlook, and the mobile client. If you subscribe to 365, ads are removed.

I noticed this last year when I moved away from 365 and started getting ads on the Outlook mobile client. I ended up binning it off and just used the default Mail app on iOS, which is a shame because the Outlook app on phones is actually superb. Not good enough to put up with ads though.

fuzzzerd@programming.dev on 02 Feb 2024 17:02 collapse

In app ads are removed, but what about the tracking and then showing you ads on other sites and services is that also removed when you pay? I can say that uBlock still killed hundreds of trackers on my paid outlook premium account.

Zellith@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 11:49 next collapse

I saw these adds ages ago when they first let me try it out. Immediately reverted. Ill stop using it once it stops working.

Zidane@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 14:32 collapse

Also saw ads when it was in beta. Switched to Thunderbird that same day. When support for Windows 10 dies I’ll be switching to Linux on my desktop. Ads are stinky

clark@midwest.social on 02 Feb 2024 12:48 next collapse

Oh! Horror show.

avapa@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 14:57 next collapse

The article only seems to mention free consumer accounts, if I didn’t accidentally skip a section. Does anyone know how this will affect M365 subscribers (both consumer/enterprise)? I use Outlook every day at work and the lack of features in the web app make it basically unusable for me.

ares35@kbin.social on 02 Feb 2024 16:07 collapse

the standalone office application called 'outlook' is still existing.. (for now, and until microsoft comes up with a way to fk that up too)

some moron at microsoft just decided it would be a good idea to dilute the strength of the outlook name by using it on webmail and the new (cr)app version in windows.

fuzzzerd@programming.dev on 02 Feb 2024 17:01 collapse

It’s already on the way, the office app “outlook” has a “new outlook” mode, which is this same web based version that only talks to Microsoft servers, so even if you use a non Microsoft email account, Microsoft takes your credentials,syncs your email to their server and then shows it to you through the web outlook.

SatanicNotMessianic@lemmy.ml on 02 Feb 2024 17:54 next collapse

Oh, that’s bad. I’m not a Microsoft user, but one of the reasons I avoid third party mail apps is that I don’t want them to hold onto my mail on their own servers. That a $3T company is doing it is really disturbing, because it’s something I have only associated with slimy startups.

wosat@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 19:34 collapse

Microsoft tried to shanghai me to the “new outlook”. When I realized the scope of what they were trying to do, under the guise of a simple software update, I was floored. I don’t even think Google, with all of their Borg-ish tendencies, would attempt such a blatant hijacking of user data. The privacy implications are profound.

abcd@feddit.de on 02 Feb 2024 15:11 next collapse

A couple of weeks ago I tried Outlook 365 when Windows Mail made me mad for the 1000th time because it has issues to actually send the E-Mails from one of my accounts…

Anyway, outlook started and of course just added my Microsoft Account ignoring all other accounts that could’ve been imported from Windows mail. There was a new mail so I clicked it. Although Firefox is my default browser, edge opened and there was a website. It took me multiple seconds to realize that Microsoft just baited me to click an ad and earn a couple of cents.

I got so angry that I installed thunderbird. If I compare it with older releases from a couple of years ago it did get a whole lot better. I’m very happy.

Windows gave me so many reasons in the last months that I also ditched it completely. Running Linux Mint now and just like thunderbird it is so much more refined if I compare it with the past…

Paying money for crappy subscription based software like office (need it for work) and still getting ads was definitely the no 1 reason to switch.

Squizzy@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 20:25 collapse

The windows mail was a really nice UI, thunderbird doesn’t look nice to me.

Outlook sucks though

uninvitedguest@lemmy.ca on 02 Feb 2024 15:39 next collapse

At least running Pihole eliminates these ads, same for the Android outlook app.

The constant shitty changes that I have to combat are enough to make me explore other options, however. I don’t want to have to fight against the software I use.

I’ll give Thunderbird another go (used it years past and bounced off), and failing that maybe I’ll pick emClient back up (used to use it for managing multiple Google work accounts).

My difficulty is that I use a Microsoft hosted email, and integration with third party applications for contacts & calendar has always been an issue. Maybe it’s time to move those to my Nextcloud instance?

clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works on 02 Feb 2024 16:08 next collapse

There’s a School of Rock musical!? Awesome. Gotta look into tickets.

Engaged 2019 apparently. Oh well.

FatTony@discuss.online on 02 Feb 2024 17:45 next collapse

So protonmail is pretty cool.

PiJiNWiNg@sh.itjust.works on 02 Feb 2024 19:32 collapse

Made the switch last year from Gmail and I love it. I set up a custom domain and a catch all address as well, so I can give out whateveriwant@mydomain.com as an email and it gets to me. Particularly nice for finding out who’s sharing my information, as well as picking out phishing emails. Banking coming in from amazon@mydomain.com? Immediate red flag.

RubberElectrons@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 20:33 collapse

Forgot about the catchall, but the realPart+fakegarbgae@myDomain.com trick works great for filtering stuff.

E: on protonMail, that is.

GoosLife@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 21:19 next collapse

You should note that this was a Gmail feature that is now made available by a bunch of email providers, but you might wanna check that you do indeed get your emails delivered to plus addresses before you rush out to change your contact info everywhere. Some providers have lacking support and sometimes emails may fail to send to plus addresses even if your side does support it. Using a catchall will always work because you know, that’s just how email works.

Adanisi@lemmy.zip on 03 Feb 2024 10:31 collapse

Some sites also reject the + emails.

I wonder why…

debil@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 07:28 collapse

My current provider supports @somegarbage.mail.domain.com style which is a good alternative to the + sign thing.

asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world on 02 Feb 2024 18:10 next collapse

Vermont can outlaw billboards across the state, but when it comes to everything digital, it seems like nothing’s safe. We cannot even check out email on a dedicated email client application without being subjected to ads, both in the form of spam emails, marketing lists, and now even ads from the program itself.

IMO the government should be stepping in to regulate where ads can be placed, just like Vermont did with billboards.

Philippe23@lemmy.ca on 03 Feb 2024 10:06 collapse

I’ll just leave this here: www.thunderbird.net

JDubbleu@programming.dev on 04 Feb 2024 09:27 collapse

Damn, this looks WAY better than when I used Thunderbird in 2020. Gonna have to give it another try on my work laptop since I use Outlook there.

ZooGuru@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 06:03 next collapse

Yeah this was an immediate no from me on my home PC that I run windows on so I went and downloaded Thunderbird and have been happy ever since.

sugartits@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 07:09 collapse

Why was that the red line for you, given all the other shit that’s already in Windows?

ZooGuru@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 15:09 collapse

Well no. It was the red like for outlook though. I already used Thunderbird on my Kubuntu setup. Outlook was fine before the top email became an add. It was also easy to integrate with my work email.

sugartits@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 16:29 collapse

I see. I misunderstood your comment.

What’s keeping you on Windows given you know “how to Linux”?

ZooGuru@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 17:17 collapse

Honestly convenience. It’s easier to use for work. Also just found it easier to for gaming. At least that was true when I first started using Linux 5 or so years ago. I was dual booting on my old build and haven’t taken the time to partition a Linux distro on my new build. I run Kubuntu on a 2011 MacBook Pro for a smart home setup and I love it. The machine was almost useless and now runs about as well as any other laptop I’ve got. So I guess the short answer is I need/like having the option.

ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 04 Feb 2024 07:36 next collapse

The moment I saw them trying to do this, I switched to Thunderbird.

thorbot@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 08:40 collapse

You were using it before? Why?

Edit: yeah, fuck me for asking a simple question

kylian0087@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 09:04 next collapse

The biggest reason i think. Is because it is used in most buisnesses. So it is easy to use the same email client at home for most folk.

ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 04 Feb 2024 09:58 collapse

Because I had been using MSN (which became Outlook) since 2001 and didn’t really have a reason to switch.

Anti_Face_Weapon@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 08:58 next collapse

I do not understand why anyone would use Outlook when thunderbird is free and, in my experience, much more functional.

EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 09:03 next collapse

Prior to this new version of Outlook, Outlook was much more functional than Thunderbird and it wasn’t close. That being said while a year ago I’d say you were smoking dope, as of right now you are correct, new Outlook sucks.

Anti_Face_Weapon@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 09:10 collapse

Ah, I have only used both a relatively small amount, and from my experience I think thunderbird is more functional, flawed though my perspective may be. In what ways has outlook been more functional, from your perspective?

camelbeard@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 09:59 next collapse

I pay for a plugin so I can use Thunderbird with the exchange server (and 2FA) my office has. Best purchase in a long time, I think it’s like a dollar a month or something, pretty cheap.

Anti_Face_Weapon@lemmy.world on 05 Feb 2024 08:00 collapse

What do you like about thunderbird?

camelbeard@lemmy.world on 05 Feb 2024 17:44 collapse

One thing I like is that it runs on Linux, so outlook isn’t an option for me anyway.

I tried other mail clients but most of them don’t work with exchange servers (and 2FA)

skeezix@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 11:13 collapse

Does thunderbird still look and feel like it was designed in 1998?

Anti_Face_Weapon@lemmy.world on 05 Feb 2024 07:59 collapse

Maybe not 1998 but it definitely has a particular look. I like it though, it’s utilitarian.

baltakatei@sopuli.xyz on 04 Feb 2024 09:26 next collapse

Donate to Mozilla Thunderbird. Free software isn’t free.

Xenxs@lemm.ee on 04 Feb 2024 09:50 next collapse

I have to use Office 365 for work so there’s no alternative but I think these ads are just for the non-enterprise version? I use Thunderbird for private use but tbf, I send like 2 emails a month at most. Are there many people that use outlook daily for private use?

MadBigote@lemmy.world on 04 Feb 2024 11:37 collapse

I saw an add just last week asking me to install Outlook on my phone. I use Outlook for work too, so I just dismissed it.

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 04 Feb 2024 14:08 collapse

After a while after you switch to Linux, the Microsoft headlines start getting funny instead of infuriating. 😂