this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2026
753 points (98.5% liked)

Technology

78393 readers
4212 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
L4s@hackingne.ws
753
Microsoft kills official way to activate windows without internet (www.neowin.net)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by 1984@lemmy.today to c/technology@lemmy.world
155 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Now when trying to activate the OS by attempting to call the phone number for Microsoft Product Activation, an automated voice response says the following: "Support for product activation has moved online.

Linux is this way, guys.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] tehn00bi@lemmy.world 20 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I had a copy of windows Xp that I used to call to get activated.

[–] PlasticExistence@lemmy.world 25 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The moment I needed Microsoft’s permission to use my computer after installing a graphics card, I made an image of the drive, wiped it and installed a Linux distribution. That was 2008, and I’ve been a very happy computer user since.

I know not everyone can make that switch, but it’s easier than ever before, and Valve has really changed the calculus with Proton. Gaming was the biggest thing holding back Linux adoption (IMO).

[–] metodisto@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I’ve gone back and forth between Linux and Windows as my daily driver- biggest problem for me was and still is lack of Adobe Creative Cloud support/good photo editors. Wound up switching to Mac for work stuff but use a SteamDeck and run Bazzite on a gaming rig hooked up to TV.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Adobe is sadly the only thing that still requires windows.

Fuck Adobe and everyone there, they were the OGs that started the subscription bullshit for software and they had such dominance no business could say no, thus no schools could say no.

And they've just been buying up competition since, so no one can challenge them.

Adobe and Oracle are the software equivalent of cancer.

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 days ago

Fuck Adobe and everyone there, they were the OGs that started the subscription bullshit for software….

For home use, sure. For business use in a business that’s regulated, it’s a godsend. No longer do I have to fight with management about why we need to upgrade Adobe Acrobat even though we “just” bought it 5 years ago.

You pay and it stays up to date. No more vulnerabilities that go unpatched because “we just bought the software” (5 years ago and it’s out of support).

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 days ago

All we need for the year of the linux desktop is Adobe, Autodesk and Outlook :)