Nitin Ahirwal | Engineer, Developer & Tech Enthusiast

The Display Settings Incident

Look, I've been using Windows for over two decades now. I've defended Microsoft through thick and thin, survived Vista, celebrated 7, tolerated 8, and actually liked 10. But something's changed recently, and not in a good way.

Last week, I tried to adjust my dual monitor setup. You know, the kind of thing you do without thinking—right-click desktop, display settings, drag some rectangles around, done. Except now Windows wants me to talk to an AI about it. Co-Pilot pops up like an overeager intern: "Hi! I can help you with display settings!"

No thanks, I just want to... wait, where did the old menu go?

This got me thinking about Valve. Yeah, the Steam company. They're doing the exact opposite of whatever Microsoft's doing right now, and honestly? They're winning hearts and minds while Microsoft seems hell-bent on losing them.

🤖 The AI Nobody Asked For

Here's the thing about Microsoft's AI push—nobody woke up and thought, "You know what my computer needs? A chatbot that interrupts me when I'm trying to work."

Co-Pilot is everywhere now:

Settings? Co-Pilot can help!
File Explorer? Co-Pilot's got suggestions!
Just trying to exist in Windows? Co-Pilot would like a word!

I get it, AI is hot right now. Every tech company needs an AI story for investors. But there's a difference between useful AI (like GitHub Copilot, which actually saves developers time) and AI that's just... there. Taking up screen space. Collecting data. Suggesting Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Because that's what this is really about, right? Every Co-Pilot interaction is a sales opportunity. Need help with a document? Maybe you should upgrade to Microsoft 365! Looking for a file? OneDrive has a great plan! It's like having a salesperson living in your computer.

The Efficiency Illusion

I timed it once—using the old display settings took me 15 seconds. Using Co-Pilot to "help" me took over a minute because it wanted to explain things, suggest optimal configurations, and oh by the way have I considered a Microsoft account?

This isn't innovation. This is making things worse with more technology.

😤 When Did Software Start Working Against Us?

There's this moment that happens to every Windows user eventually:

The forced update - You're trying to do something straightforward, and Windows decides to update. Right now. In the middle of your workflow. "We'll be done in just a few minutes!" it cheerfully lies.

The search that doesn't search - You're searching for a file on your own computer, and Windows Search decides to show you web results instead. Because why would you want to find things on your own hard drive?

The Edge addiction - You try to change a default app, and Windows hits you with "Are you SURE you don't want to use Edge? Edge is great! Please try Edge!"

It feels adversarial. Like your operating system has forgotten it works for you, not the other way around.

🎮 Enter Valve, Stage Left

Meanwhile, over in Valve's world, something completely different is happening.

You probably know Valve from Steam, or maybe from Half-Life and Portal. But here's something wild: Valve has spent the last few years paying developers to make Windows games run on Linux. Not Windows—Linux. The open-source operating system that makes up like 2% of desktop market share.

Why would a gaming company do this?

Because they're playing a different game entirely.

The Steam Deck Philosophy

Valve released this handheld gaming PC called the Steam Deck. It runs Linux. And instead of locking it down like every other gaming console, they made it completely open:

You can install Windows on it if you want
You can install games from Epic, GOG, wherever
You can plug in a mouse and keyboard and use it as a regular computer
You can repair it yourself without voiding warranties
You actually own the device you bought

They're not trying to trap you. They're trying to give you options.

The Proton compatibility layer they funded? It's open source. Anyone can use it. All those improvements to Linux gaming? They benefit everyone, not just Steam users.

This is the opposite of Microsoft's approach. Where Microsoft sees users as a resource to monetize, Valve sees them as, you know, actual customers to serve.

💰 The Subscription Trap

Let me tell you what happened to Microsoft. They figured out that subscriptions make way more money than selling software once. Office 365 brings in billions. Azure prints money. Wall Street loves predictable recurring revenue.

And that's fine for enterprise software! Companies get centralized management, regular updates, support—it makes sense.

But then this subscription thinking infected everything else. Now Windows itself feels like it's trying to become a subscription service. Not officially, not yet, but you can feel it in every design decision:

The constant upselling
The telemetry you can't fully disable
The push to put everything in the cloud
Features hidden behind Microsoft accounts
Services that used to be free now requiring subscriptions

Your computer stops being a tool you own and starts being a platform you rent access to.

🎯 What Valve Understands (And Microsoft Forgot)

Valve takes a 30% cut of every game sold on Steam. People complain about this sometimes, especially indie developers watching their margins.

But here's the thing—most developers choose Steam anyway. Not because they have to, but because Steam actually provides value for that 30%:

Rock-solid download infrastructure
Automatic updates that just work
Cloud saves
Workshop for mods
Community features
Controller support
Family sharing
And now, the ability to run your games on Linux/Steam Deck

That 30% isn't extraction, it's payment for genuine services. Compare that to Microsoft's approach: take your data, complicate your workflows, then charge you subscriptions to fix the problems they created.

🔓 The Open Source Investment

Here's where it gets really interesting. Valve has poured millions into open-source projects:

DXVK and VKD3D - Translation layers that make Windows games run on Linux

Proton - The compatibility layer that makes Steam Deck possible

Linux kernel improvements - Actual core operating system work

Mesa graphics drivers - Critical infrastructure for Linux gaming

They're not doing this out of charity. It's strategic. By investing in open platforms, Valve ensures they're never at the mercy of a single vendor. If Microsoft decides to lock down Windows further or take a bigger cut from the Windows Store, Valve has alternatives.

This is the smart play. Build on open foundations that you can control, improve, and share. Contrast this with Microsoft's approach: own everything, control everything, monetize everything.

🤝 The Trust Problem

You know what's valuable? Trust. And trust takes years to build but seconds to destroy.

Microsoft's Trust Erosion

Microsoft has spent the last decade systematically eroding user trust:

Forced Windows 10 upgrades that ignored user preferences
Telemetry that's impossible to fully disable
Privacy settings that reset after updates
Aggressive Edge browser nagging
Ads in the Start menu (remember that?)
The whole "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows" thing before releasing Windows 11

Every time Microsoft prioritizes their business goals over user experience, they burn a little more trust. And trust, once gone, is incredibly hard to get back.

Valve's Trust Building

Valve, on the other hand, has spent years building trust:

Proton is open source
Steam Deck is unlocked and user-repairable
They fund Linux development with no strings attached
Refunds actually work
They don't lock you into their ecosystem

When Valve launches something new, people give them the benefit of the doubt. When Microsoft launches something, people's first question is "How is this going to screw me?"

👨‍💻 What Developers Actually Want

I write code for a living, so I pay attention to what fellow developers think about different platforms.

Microsoft has great developer tools. Visual Studio Code is genuinely excellent. TypeScript solved real problems. GitHub (which Microsoft owns) is mostly still good. Azure has its fans.

But you know what developers constantly complain about? Being locked into Microsoft ecosystems. Telemetry in their tools. Constant platform churn. Having to adopt new frameworks every few years because Microsoft pivoted again.

Valve's Simple Developer Promise

Valve's approach to developers is simpler: "Here's our platform. It reaches millions of gamers. We'll provide the infrastructure. You make great games. We both profit."

No lock-in. No forced adoption of Valve-specific technologies. No bait-and-switch where the terms change after you're committed.

It's a relationship based on mutual benefit, not control.

🔒 The Privacy Nightmare

Can we talk about how much data Windows collects now?

Even with all the privacy settings maxed out, Windows 11 still phones home constantly:

Telemetry everywhere
Diagnostic data
Usage patterns
What apps you use, when you use them, how long you use them
Search queries
Voice recordings from Co-Pilot

Microsoft says this is to "improve the user experience." But it also coincidentally enables incredibly targeted upselling and advertising. Funny how that works out.

Steam collects data too—they have to, to run the service. But the scope is limited to... the service. They're not trying to know everything about your entire computing life. They stay in their lane.

This is the difference between a company that provides a service and a company that views you as the product.

🏢 Why Microsoft Can't Help Themselves

So if all this is so obvious, why does Microsoft keep making these mistakes?

Because they're a public company optimizing for quarterly earnings calls.

Every feature needs to demonstrate ROI. Every decision needs to support the stock price. You can't justify "make Windows simpler and less annoying" on an earnings call. You need:

Growth stories
Engagement metrics
AI initiatives
Subscription revenue
Cloud migration numbers

Valve is private. Gabe Newell owns it. They can make decisions based on what's actually good for the platform long-term, not what looks good in a PowerPoint presentation to investors.

This isn't a small difference—it's everything.

🌍 The Cultural Divide

At the end of the day, this is about culture and values.

Microsoft's Culture (as expressed through Windows):

Users are metrics to optimize
Engagement is more important than satisfaction
Data collection is the price of "free" features
Lock-in is a feature, not a bug
AI everywhere, regardless of usefulness

Valve's Culture:

Make great products, profit follows
Give users freedom and control
Invest in infrastructure that benefits everyone
Trust is more valuable than temporary extraction
Technology should serve users, not manipulate them

One of these approaches builds loyalty. The other builds resentment.

💡 What This Means for Regular Users

If you're frustrated with Windows, you actually have options now:

Linux is genuinely viable - Thanks largely to Valve's work, gaming on Linux actually works now. Ubuntu, Fedora, Pop!_OS—these are polished, user-friendly systems. I've got friends who switched and never looked back.

Vote with your wallet - Every time Microsoft sees someone choose Linux or Mac, it registers. Market share matters. Your individual choice contributes to larger trends.

Support companies that respect users - When you buy a Steam Deck or support open-source projects, you're voting for a different kind of tech industry.

Be loud about what you want - Companies track sentiment. Reviews matter. Feedback matters. Complaining on Reddit actually does filter back to decision-makers eventually.

🔍 The Bigger Picture

This isn't just about operating systems or gaming platforms. It's about what kind of relationship we want with our technology.

Do we want computers that work for us, or computers we work for?

Do we want tools that respect our agency, or platforms that manipulate our behavior?

Do we want companies that earn our loyalty, or monopolies that exploit captive audiences?

Microsoft and Valve represent two different answers to these questions.

🌟 Some Hope, Maybe

Here's the thing that gives me hope: Microsoft is capable of better.

Visual Studio Code is open source and beloved. TypeScript is genuinely great. Their Azure team does solid work. Even Windows has its moments—WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) shows they can embrace openness when they want to.

The company contains multitudes. There are talented people inside Microsoft who care about users. The problem is the corporate incentive structure that overrides those good intentions.

Maybe market pressure will change things. As Linux gaming becomes more viable and Valve demonstrates that a user-centric approach can be profitable, maybe Microsoft will take notice.

Or maybe not. Maybe Windows will continue its slow slide toward being a glorified browser for Microsoft's cloud services.

Either way, it's good that alternatives exist.

🛠️ What I'm Doing

Me personally? I'm keeping Windows on my main machine for now, but I've started exploring Linux on my second computer. Steam Deck showed me that Linux gaming actually works now. That's huge.

I've also started paying more attention to where my money goes. Supporting Valve feels good because they're making the kind of tech industry I want to see. Supporting Microsoft feels increasingly like paying someone to make my life harder.

And I'm trying to be less tolerant of dark patterns and manipulative design. When software tries to trick me or waste my time, I'm calling it out and looking for alternatives.

Small actions, but they add up.

🎯 Key Takeaways

Microsoft's AI integration often complicates simple tasks instead of solving them
Co-Pilot feels like a sales tool disguised as a helpful assistant
Valve invested millions in open-source to ensure platform independence
The Steam Deck is completely open - you actually own what you buy
Microsoft optimizes for shareholders, Valve optimizes for users
Trust is everything - Valve builds it, Microsoft burns it
Public vs. private company structures create fundamentally different incentives
Linux gaming is now viable thanks to Valve's Proton project
You have choices - and using them sends powerful market signals

🔮 The Road Ahead

Microsoft keeps losing because they're playing the wrong game. They're optimizing for shareholder value and quarterly metrics while their users are optimizing for computers that just work without hassle.

Valve keeps winning because they remember that their business exists to serve customers, not extract value from them.

It's really that simple.

You can have the biggest market share in the world, the most resources, the smartest engineers—but if you lose sight of what actually matters to users, someone else will figure it out and eat your lunch.

Valve's not trying to destroy Microsoft. They're just building better relationships with gamers and PC users, one open-source contribution at a time.

And apparently, that's enough.

📝 Bottom Line

The future of computing depends on which approach we collectively reward.

Microsoft has the market share and the resources, but they're squandering user goodwill with every Co-Pilot prompt and subscription upsell.

Valve has something more valuable: they have the hearts and minds of their community. They've proven that respecting users isn't just ethical—it's good business.

For us users, the message is clear: stay sharp, keep learning about alternatives, and remember that you have choices.

The market will fluctuate, companies will pivot, but those who vote with their wallets for user-centric technology will eventually shape the industry we all deserve.

Choose wisely.