Idk, maybe it’s cuz I’m on the same windows install I’ve been on for a few years, but there are things I dislike, but I’ve changed them, long ago. And occasionally I have to disable another taskbar thing, or well… that’s basically it.

The privacy element is legit, and I do what I can to reduce the amount of tracking they can do. But I game, I play games that don’t run on Linux. Well, the anti cheat doesn’t run on Linux. I check back frequently, because I do see the appeal of Linux. But windows just isn’t as bad (for me) as people make it out to be, and definitely not enough to deal with dual booting or virtualizing windows to maintain access to the games I play most.

Jesus, just take a moment to realize how insufferable you need to be to have people defend Windows. Privacy issues are the only valid argument at this point for Windows and a really good argument so just harp on it.

Edge isn't a new concept, it's just replaced IE. Also I don't get the want to remove it entirely, try removing libcurl and see how functional Linux is for a daily driver. Just set Firefox as your default browser and call it a day, you'll never see Edge again.

The search bar is one click to hide. Also several distros ship with a search bar.

Ads don't appear with Windows Pro

Not really sure what setting you're having trouble getting to, everything's roughly the same between 7, 10, and 11 for power users.