How I set up my Windows 10 environment (FIRST ARTICLE!)

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE IS INCOMPLETE

Introduction

Hey! What's up, guys? My name is DraKul78 and today I will be showing you how I exactly set up my desktop environment on Windows, the most popular operating system on the computer market! Now, before we jump into this, please leave a thumbs up and tell me down in the comments below (don't, there's no comment section) what you like about Windows, what kind of content you want to see on this channel, etc.

(though this isn't a Yout00b video script but rather a mere guide article, the fact that so many incels use such an interpersonal and overused style of an intro is a little hilarious and weird at the same time in my opinion)

There are many default Windows settings that don't quite please me, such as telemetry, applications, and the appearance. The light theme is making my eyes strain, the taskbar on the bottom edge of the screen makes the window space a little too wide proportionally, and certain background applications are a waste of my broadband and my computer resources. This is bothersome! Like every human, they indulge in clandestine pleasure. The eye loaded with a weep against the big tech companies using telemetry to make delicious money out of their data against their will, they dream of a way to mitigate some of these problems while navigating countless pornographic websites. You know them, reader, this delicate monster - hypocritish reader, my like, my brother! Whether this is true or not, you have now read this far. I should instead tell you to install Linux Mint or something, but if you want to use Windows then it's your choice.

All you need is a computer and (optionally for step 1) a Windows installation medium on a DVD or a USB stick.

1. During the Windows installation (optional)

Note: I don't come across this step when setting up my desktop environment on a college computer. Also, you most likely don't need to reinstall Windows. In this case, move on to step 2.

What I would like to do here is first shrink the Windows system's partition by deleting every partition and then adding one that is, say, around 100 gigabytes out of 512 GB of the free space (it's probably sufficient, and I'd slap a Linux system next to Windows anyway (my guide on that coming eventually!)). Then I select that newly-created partition and I wait for the Windows installation medium to do its thing until the next prompt. As usual, I'd select every least invasive option: "I have no Internet", no location access, no targeted advertising, no Cortana, only the necessary data sent to Microsoft, etc. It's an easy part.

2. Before setting up an Internet connection

Note: bypassing this step is tricky on Windows 11 as long as your computer (especially if it's a laptop) detects any wireless connection nearby. There are a few tutorials on YouTube that might allow you to do that, but, if all else fails, get outside of any Wi-Fi access point range.

The first thing I change is the appearance of my desktop environment.

• Instead of keeping a wide desktop area, I try to make it look more square by snapping the taskbar onto the right edge of the screen.
• Then I use the dark theme with an accent color of teal (my favorite color).
• After this, I change the mouse cursor to one with inverted colors so it's more visible on both saturated-color, dark and white backgrounds (though not on greyish backgrounds).

I'm not done here though. Of course, before connecting to the Internet, I should change some Windows settings and policies with the help of a program called ShutUp10++ to strengthen the "privacy and trust" sense expected by the user (Microsoft generally trusts that you don't change the Windows settings and policies in favor of protecting your privacy; ShutUp10++ aims to fix that). I carefully read every option to see what I want and what I don't, then I make my selections according to my needs. Make sure to make a backup of the configurations so you can undo unwanted changes made by Windows itself.

[wip]

3. Selecting applications

Now is the time to connect to the Internet. You may want to apply security updates and driver updates if you want. There's a reason I completely ditch Microsoft apps, and it's that they're just not perfect and too user-friendly to me. I love to spend time minutiously configuring apps that I install and I dislike limitations.

Want free and open-source shit? Then go to linuxlinks.com. Mind the misleading URL: while this website primarily curates Linux programs, most of them are also supported on Windows. You might even find something useful for your productivity.

Internet browser

I've grown to like Firefox over the years because at the time it was similar enough to Google Chrome. I choose LibreWolf for my daily tasks. LibreWolf is a fork of Mozilla Firefox whose goal is to focus on user privacy.

A second option I could consider is Tor. However, I've never seen myself regularly using this web browser for anything.

E-mail clients

Blindly following DigDeeper's recommendations, I chose Claws Mail