> What should Windows 11 users do to let Microsoft know that such behaviors are intrusive and offensive?
Leave it for a proper OS.
It might not be possible for your company issued computers if they don't allow you to use something else[1][2] but for your personnal uses it is fairly easy.
[1] I doubt it would be configured to receive popup ads in that context anyway
[2] Having a toxic work environment is a good reason to change job. I personnally count being forced to use Windows as a toxic env.
Microsoft is enrained in industrial and businesses because of legacy. Example is that number of industrial sensors need an application to configure their operating parameters, Often they only run on Windows OS. The need to run legacy prevents moving to an different OS
IT is often engrained in Microsoft's environments. It is by no means easy to walk away from Microsoft unless it is personal computing.
At least now at work, I was given a research ticket to find out which legacy Windows OS applications are viable to run in WINE. And how viable it would be move our main product application away from Windows.
PS. You have to pay me to engage with Microsoft and run Windows OS.
> It might not be possible for your company issued computers if they don't allow you to use something else[1][2] but for your personnal [sic] uses it is fairly easy.
It's not that easy, unless you're willing to make a bunch of sacrifices for the sake of using a different OS. Windows is by far the dominant desktop OS, and there's a lot of software people need and want to use that's available only for it.
> there's a lot of software people need and want to use
This is mostly a mindset issue.
A bit more than 2 decades ago I would have said you would have pried photoshop from my cold dead hands.
Then I got fed up by a lot of things in this ecosystem, and I left it completely. I may not have access to the same applications, but I have access to decent applications that allows me to get the job done. And it applies to a very broad range of domains.
There are a few exceptions of course, but rarely ones you encounter in a non professionnal setting. In these very few and rare use cases there are options:
1. wine if it works would be the preferred one
2. accessing an app running on a windows through rdp, either as a full desktop or as a standalone window.[1] OK granted you are still using windows in that case, in the background, but you can do that only sporadically by launching a cloud windows vm instance for the small amount of time in a year you definitely need that dirty OS for personnal use.
Obviously YMMV but the barrier is mostly psychological imho.
[1] I think there was a project to facilitate that for office, adobe applications called winapps, see the different active forks here:
It used to be that way, but now Linux has really good application compatibility. You can run the majority of apps using wine/proton, and ironically old hardware tends to be better supported in Linux.
> You can run the majority of apps using wine/proton
I've heard that, but I'm skeptical. I'm assuming "most apps" don't include MS Office. How much wrestling is involved? Can you just run a Windows installer and have it work? Do updates break things?
Leave it for a proper OS.
It might not be possible for your company issued computers if they don't allow you to use something else[1][2] but for your personnal uses it is fairly easy.
[1] I doubt it would be configured to receive popup ads in that context anyway [2] Having a toxic work environment is a good reason to change job. I personnally count being forced to use Windows as a toxic env.