Bonum Certa Men Certa

Windows and XBOX’s Greenwashing Tactics Fail to Address Real Energy and Security Issues: Why GNU/Linux and Nintendo Offer Better Alternatives

Reprinted with permission from Ryan

microsoft-greenwash

As much as they’d like to project themselves as environmentally conscious, it’s evident that Microsoft is more interested in maintaining their profit margins than conserving resources.



Windows has always been notorious for its resource consumption, poor design, and bloat, making PCs less energy-efficient and contributing to e-waste. Instead of addressing the issue, Microsoft has opted to promote its “carbon awareness” initiative for Windows Update, which doesn’t solve the problem, but merely shifts the time for checking for broken updates to nighttime.



(I mean, who hasn’t experienced the frustration of a Windows update breaking something that was working perfectly fine before? Don’t you love spending hours of your life that you’ll never get back trying helplessly to whack the Troubleshooters, which don’t work?)



To make matters worse, since Windows 10, Windows Update has been transformed into a botnet that siphons off electricity and bandwidth from unsuspecting users worldwide.



So what can users do? They can take control of their PCs and fight back against this bloat and the broken updates that just shift problems around randomly by switching to a GNU/Linux distribution. GNU/Linux distributions are more secure, robust, performant, and energy-efficient than Windows.



With GNU/Linux, there are choices. If the operating system vendor angers you, you can choose a different distribution that doesn’t do those things. If you don’t like the decisions made about the way your desktop shell works, you can change the desktop with extensions or get a different one. Nobody is “on high” telling you how this is going to be. With Windows, in all ways big and small, it is a manipulator.



When I went to try the new Taskbar, in one small annoyance, I even found out that the icon for “Teams” is no ordinary icon. You have to go through some menus and change the Taskbar settings to make the icon go away, and it doesn’t go away just by uninstalling Teams. In fact, it will reinstall it if you’re not careful.



As an example, in my testing, a GNU/Linux system running powertop autotune as a system service is significantly more power-efficient than Windows. On my laptop, which runs on a Core i7 Skylake, Windows 10 hardly ever got deeper than PC3, while GNU/Linux spends time in all of them right down to PC8.



Another problem that has gained attention in recent years is the company’s extensive use of telemetry, a form of spyware that collects data on users’ activities and sends it back to Microsoft.



Not only is this a blatant violation of privacy, but it’s also a significant drain on power and resources. Michael Larabel at Phoronix conducted benchmark testing on Windows 10 with telemetry both on (default) and off, and found that it had a significant impact on the system’s performance.



Why are such basic operations slowed down so much by Telemetry? Because it’s watching and reporting on damned near everything you do with the computer, including your typing, which programs you use, and the contents of your hard drive.



This is bound to have more impact on carbon emissions than Windows Update.



It’s time for users to take a stand and demand better than Microsoft. They should not tolerate this Windows mess any longer. Instead, they should embrace alternatives that are better for the environment, more secure, and efficient. Users should say goodbye to Windows and hello to a brighter, cleaner future.



In addition to their Windows operating system, Microsoft’s XBOX division has also been promoting “carbon awareness”. While this may seem like a positive step, it’s worth noting that gaming consoles in general are notorious for their energy consumption.



It’s difficult to take this “carbon awareness” campaign seriously when the products they’re promoting are contributing to the very problem they claim to be addressing.



It’s worth remembering that this is the same company that has a history of creating poorly designed and unreliable products such as the XBOX 360, which was plagued (to the point of overflowing) with issues like the notorious Red Ring of Death, which rendered the console unusable.



(Humorously, an entire cottage industry went up to make adapters like the Nyko Intercooler 360 to try to add extra fans, but these themselves sometimes caught fire or overloaded and scorched the back of the console, voiding the warranty.)



As someone who personally experienced eight failed consoles due to this issue, I can attest to Microsoft’s inability to create products that work reliably. Even after sending in my console for repair, I would receive a new unit that would soon overheat and fry itself.



It’s clear if you simply watch them and cut through all of the bribed media, that Microsoft has no idea how to build products, and instead tries to brute force their way into markets. Efficiency and sustainability are simply not their forte.



In contrast, companies like Nintendo have always been known for their efficient and conservative engineering. They don’t rely on raw processing power as a crutch and instead focus on innovative game design. Nintendo products have a reputation for being more energy-efficient and reliable than their competitors.



Perhaps it’s time for Microsoft to follow in Nintendo’s footsteps and prioritize efficiency and innovation over excessive resource consumption.



The truth is, however, that they are not committed to the future of the XBOX division.



It’s been less than a week, as of this writing, since they sacked basically the entire XBOX marketing division the same day that they gutted the marketing division of Azure and LinkedIn. When you give up trying to convince people to pay for your products, how much time can you really have left?



It’s in light of the bloodletting at Microsoft that the continued pursuit of Activision almost seems like some sort of Kabuki Theater from another dimension.



Users who care about the environment or just having reliable software and gaming machines should consider making the switch to GNU/Linux and Nintendo and embracing the ethos of efficiency and innovation, rather than Microsoft’s empty lip service.



Windows and XBOX are carbon bombs, and in the case of Windows, version 11 is the worst yet. But first and foremost, they’re just awful products.



Saying you’re addressing the Windows carbon problem with the updater is like saying you’re going to eat three plates of dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet, followed by three slices of cake… and a Diet Pepsi.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better
 
5,600 Pages/Articles Per Year
So far this year we've kept all the promises
BetaNews Beginning to Show What Its True Goals Are
The 'new' BetaNews won't be about journalism. It's trying to sell things.
Microsoft Has Lost "The War"
We'll soon see the 9th or 10th wave of Microsoft layoffs in 2025 alone
Slopwatch: A Wreck and a Dreck, "Flooding the Zone With Dreck" or Flooding the Web With Junk
"Slopwatch" continues today because we have many new examples
Links 25/06/2025: Thwarting More Software Patents, Overlap Grows Between EPO Corruption and Illegal Kangaroo Patent Courts in EU
Links for the day
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
statCounter Estimates Only 1 in 300 Iranians Would Use Microsoft for Search
Iranians don't quite trust Microsoft
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: ftpd on FreeBSD and Online Small Web Magazine
Links for the day
Google News Does Great Harm by Promoting Slopfarms as Legitimate News Sites
Slopfarms are sites which are 100% LLM slop
Links 24/06/2025: Trouble at "Open" "AI" and ‘Siarhei is Free’
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore