I recognize this post is mostly about windows, but I’d like the feedback of some Linux users who use windows, have had similar issues or can reproduce it. If nothing else, if anyone has seen this issue before, this thread will show the rest of how bad things have gotten.

TLDR: You can’t install Firefox on certain windows versions unless you use the store, and even then, it’s very difficult to find. I’m installing Mint on my friend’s laptop Monday.

This all started with my friend having issues logging into a web portal on her personal computer. She was unable to do so on any browser on her home computer, and only on Firefox on her office computer.

When I tried to download and run the installer myself, windows refused, telling me something called s-mode was preventing me. Progressing through the dialogs, I realized the way to disable s-mode was in a greyed out foot note link a few pages back. Fuck you windows.

I go back, click the link, and I was redirected to the store with a prompt to disable s-mode, but the button to do so was greyed out and can’t be clicked. It mentions you can do so by getting windows 11 pro. Fuck paying. I’ll install Chocolately.

This is where it started to get REALLY. Press win key. Start typing powershell. It shows a link to me some automation app with the powershell icon. I must have mistyped something. I did it again. Powershell pops up. I wasn’t convinced I typed it wrong, so I did it again. BACK TO THE AUTOMATION APP. I do it again. BACK TO POWERSHELL. I do this five or 6 times before I asked her to watch so I can confirm I’m not losing my mind.

So I click on the correct admin powershell and paste the chocolately install command. I didn’t expect it to work at this point, and my suspicions were confirmed. Once again, I was redirected to the windows store. I look at the settings and several other things. Nothing. This was the point I said fuck it, I’ll install it from the store. She’s upset and needs it to work remotely.

I type in the search bar “firefox” and I am given 3 results: “firefox”, “firefox browser”, and “mozilla firefox”. None of which have an icon. Everything below it, safari, chrome etc have icons! I look at every of the ‘firefox’ results. None actually have Firefox. But now their’s Vivaldi and Duck Duck Go. It fucking had Thunderbird!

Ok. Now I am PISSED. There is only one thing left to do. Alphabetic lists. I am scrolling down the F’s the rest of the day if I have to. I am finding this shit. But no alpha lists. My last hope is ‘Free Apps’ And I FINALLY found it!

Does anyone have any idea at all what the fuck is going on? Have you seen this or anything remotely close? Has the hive mind awoken? I do recognize this is version-dependent, and Microsoft does distributed versions and telemetry to test prereleases against hardware. I’ll get her version number on Monday. And then I’m installing Mint.