I took off my computer for dinner, halfway through writing a story for the edge. When I got back, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Windows 10 restarted my computer without permission again – to install another forced operating system update on my solid state drive.

The craziest part: when my device finished restarting, it now contained Exactly the thing that I was writing about Before I rudely stopped. Microsoft installed unwanted and unwanted web application versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook on my computer.

A screenshot of the web apps Microsoft has imposed on my computer.

Seriously, the story you are reading now started as a news post about this happening else Persons.
Screen capture: Sean Hollister / The Virg

Well, it’s not as bad as if your computer screen is completely taken over by an unwanted copy of Microsoft Edge. That was really terrible.

No, this time Microsoft is just infiltrating unwanted web apps on my computer – and using the Windows 10 Start menu as free ad space. Did I mention that Microsoft Office app icons magically appeared in the Start menu, even though I didn’t install Office once on this computer?

My new Start menu contains shortcuts for Microsoft apps I have never installed
Screen capture: Sean Hollister / The Virg

These aren’t full free copies of Office, by the way. They are just shortcuts to the web version that you can actually access in any web browser of your choice, which doubles as ads to pay for a more premium version.

Since they are web applications, it’s not like they take up any space on my computer, and I really wouldn’t mind using them in the Start menu. It’s among the least offensive bloatware I’ve seen, and I’ve never looked at the Start menu anyway – the taskbar and search bar were enough for me for a long time.

However, it is the most recent proof that Microsoft is not respecting your ownership of your computer, the latest example of Microsoft installing anything you love about Windows Update. Link to and include bloatwareAnd the latest example of Microsoft being more interested in the bottom line than a few people They may lose their job When Windows shuts down their computers suddenly. Thankfully, I didn’t lose a job today, but a friend of mine did recently:

Microsoft seems to think our computers are free ad space, and a place where it can promote its other products selfishly – despite telling them completely in the ’90s that even compiling a web browser wasn’t good. Now, they compile a browser that you cannot uninstall, and a bunch of PWA web applications that run in the same browser. (Yes, Edge runs even if you set a different browser as the default.)

As I previously argued, such decisions undermine the decision Hassan The argument Microsoft actually has about mandatory updates – they provide important security patches that keep computers safe (for you and others). This is a tougher argument when the most obvious difference after the new update is trying to make more money!

Such as ZDNet Notes Mary Jo Foley, veteran Microsoft reporter, This isn’t just an experience happening to some Windows Insider users. I am not enrolled in the Windows Insider Program on this computer. The company hasn’t accommodated Foley’s requests for comment yet, but let’s see if that changes next week.