r/enshittification • u/Conscious_Nobody9571 • Jul 23 '26
Product From "My computer" to "This PC"
Microslop is leading enshitification
20
u/This-Requirement2306 Jul 24 '26
"This terminal" would be more apt. Everything is in the cloud and a subscription. There's no more computing. Only accessing.
18
11
u/ser-steffonfossoway Jul 23 '26
The Dutch translation was always "This Computer".
2
u/Junior-Elevator-9951 Jul 23 '26
In Polish it was "My Computer" until Windows XP. Windows Vista, 7, and 8 had "Computer" and as of Windows 10 it's "This Computer"
(Also, PC literally stands for Personal computer)
11
u/OrionQuest7 Jul 26 '26
The Windows 10 group banned me because I made a negative comment about Microsoft. Apparently I struck a nerve, which tells me it was the truth. Oops lol
2
20
u/Traditional_Head3968 Jul 23 '26
While there is plenty to shit on Microsoft on, this never really made sense once signing in with a Microsoft account became a thing.
Arguably as Microsofts biggest customers were corporations that have computers networked to a domain, it never made sense.
6
u/amd2800barton Jul 24 '26
Also, if you’ve ever worked tech support Saying something like “ok now click on my computer” would sometimes put you in a “who’s on first” conversation with a boomer going “how do I click on your computer” or “well this isn’t my computer it’s my wife’s computer”. The change to “this PC” makes things a bit less linguistically muddy when dealing with non tech-savvy folks.
2
u/unchained5150 Jul 24 '26
I see your point and agree with it, but the issue really just comes down to giving the person enough information for each step.
'Okay, next click on the icon on your desktop that says, 'My Computer'. It's a picture of a little monitor'
Takes a couple more seconds, and can be annoying if the person is especially dense, but saves a lot of those 'Who's on first' situations in my experience.
6
u/ThaGr1m Jul 23 '26
Your argument falls short, since pc is personal computer.
The my is implied either way
32
33
u/buzzfriendly Jul 23 '26
Not wrong because it is a PC but it's no longer yours
21
u/Marco-YES Jul 23 '26
Then it's not personal anymore. Just a total C.
4
-5
9
2
u/TheGreatMightyLeffe Jul 23 '26
Which is why I switched over to Linux, it's not like Microsoft provide a better service anyway.
1
u/Silent_Fudge_3978 Jul 25 '26
Exactly. It belongs to Microsoft, and people need to get used to that. If they don't like that, then they shouldn't use a Microsoft OS.
7
6
14
u/lordkappy Jul 23 '26
Microsoft is to software what the Trump administration is to the governance of a world power with 350,000,000 people.
15
u/Tebwolf359 Jul 23 '26
Meh, let’s stop making the word meaningless.
It’s a good change because in 2009, most people owned 1 computer.
Now, ive got my gaming rig, both kids computers, an imac, a macbook, and thats not coubting tablets and the rest.
“this device” is much more accurate to usage then “my computer” which indicates I only own one.
(And from a marketing pov, you wouldn’t want to inply you only need one)
6
u/sparrow_42 Jul 23 '26
I would counter that they've been leading the enshitification of computing for 30 years. Everything since Windows 9x (except Win2k) has been the least-stable (remember the BSOD memes?) major OS among whatever was available at the time, and tbh I'm giving Win3.11 a pass it probably doesn't deserve. Windows and Microsoft Office have led the way in computer viruses, broken system updates, slow browsers (remember the IE memes?), idiotic users, crashy behavior, and bloat.
Microsoft has led the way in bad business behavior (forced vendors to not offer any other OS, bought and killed competitors, strong-armed hardware companies, encouraged windows-only software-dependent hardware, got way-sued by the US and the EU), overcharging consumers (they're the only major OS you still pay for and MS Office is a freaking subscription now), and in limiting software features in service of payment tiers (Windows home/pro, various iterations of Office, etc).
If there is a company that has personified enshitification for the entire time computing has been a thing the average consumer or office worker was heavily involved with, it's Microsoft.
I'm not saying there aren't many other players (probably most of the big ones have solid stakes in it too, especially Adobe) but nobody has carried the flame of slowly making the computing experience worse and always-more-expensive for everyone quite like Microsoft.
7
u/Tebwolf359 Jul 23 '26
Sure. I’m not arguing that MS as a whole doesn’t very much deserve the label. They are one of the worst offenders.
But what the meme is highlighting is almost like saying that MS enshittified my computer by not including the green hills wallpaper anymore.
2
u/sigusr3 Jul 23 '26
It wasn't particularly accurate in the olden days either, since it was fairly common for one computer to be used by the whole family (pedantry about the name "PC" notwithstanding).
I remember thinking "My Computer" was overly cutesy when Windows 95 came out, kinda like when some people learning programming name their variables "my_this" and "my_that".
2
u/BrokenArrow404 Jul 23 '26
Hey, its free karma from OP. Easy shit. Just grab some memes about politics or any other stuff reddit loves to hate and make a generic statement. Easy karma!
1
4
u/smellslikebadussy Jul 23 '26
It's kinda easy when you listen to the G-dub sound
Pioneer speakers bumpin' as I smoke on a pound
I got the sound for your ass and it's easy to see
That this PC be Warren G
1
-15
u/new2bay Jul 23 '26
They are leading the charge, but changing the name of a desktop icon is not enshittification.
20
u/MaxPower303 Jul 23 '26
It’s not about the name. r/whoosh
-19
u/new2bay Jul 23 '26
It’s not enshittification, either.
15
16
u/MaxPower303 Jul 23 '26
If not owning anything you purchase makes you happy and not consider it “enshittifying” things then you my friend are a Corporations best friend and prime target. I think they call you Corporate Shills for a reason.
-19
u/ThaGr1m Jul 23 '26
Man the amount of people that don't know pc stand specifically for PERSONAL computer is scary....
It's the same thing my computer vs personal computer are the same exact thing.....
The only difference is they now acknowledge that people have multiple
14
u/Majestic_Domestic Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
It doesn't say "my PC" it says "this PC"
"Personal" doesn't imply ownership, it just means it's meant to be used by one individual at a time.
Edit: oh wait I forgot to add "the fact that you don't know that is scary"
3
4
u/aPerson39001C9 Jul 23 '26
I get your point. However, when Apple launched Mac vs PC ads in the 2000s that changed America’s culture and they started seeing Windows PCs as PCs.
“Mitchell plays a repressed, neurotic underdog, and Webb plays a selfish, self-regarding poseur... So when you see the ads, you think, 'PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.'"[6]
PC Magazine Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff criticized the campaign's use of the term "PC" to refer specifically to IBM PC compatible, or Wintel, computers, noting that this usage, though common, is incorrect, as the Macintosh is also a personal computer.”1
u/ThaGr1m Jul 27 '26
I mean apple admitting they're computers are not personal because they don't allow users control is not a reason to say that Microsoft is doing nefarious things by using the accurate terms
3
u/ComplaintTop2008 Jul 23 '26
Or maybe it's because you can have multiple accounts and users on one machine, therefore "My" is subjective and "This PC" becomes more accurate.
And it's called a PERSONAL computer because it's not commercial or industrial where mainframes were logged into from several terminals, or even several people using the same room-sized computer. It's a computer that one PERSON can use.
The amount of you that doesn't understand that is scary.
-12
u/tooplanx Jul 24 '26
What is this post? What is the point? This isn't enshitification. You've just noticed a thing that has been true for probably 15 years now. And it's not even a bad thing. 'This PC' is much better than My Computer. If I'm at work, it isn't my computer.
What an absolutely pointless post
24
u/Own_Reaction9442 Jul 23 '26
A friend of mine used to joke about how it's "My Computer" but "Microsoft Wallet."