There are ads for Microsoft products in the app store and ads for Office on the start menu in "stock" Windows (installed from MSDN ISO - not from a hardware vendor). The lock screen has an (optional?) theme which displays high-res photos from Microsoft. Some of those photos have been game ads.

I personally think it's unobtrusive, but the ads are there.

The lock screen is especially annoying. They can show ads fine but it takes several seconds to start accepting input from my keyboard.

I don't see the logic of a lock screen. Why doesn't it directly enter my password? Why must I swipe away the wallpaper to access the password box? I mean it's not like my phone that I wake up the laptop just to look at the lock screen notifications. If I wake up my laptop, I'm gonna unlock it! Really dumb ui.

Probably because it is the phone UI.

I agree. Additionally (at least in my experience) - the steps to go through to show the password box are maddeningly different. Sometimes moving the mouse works, sometimes typing on the keyboard works, sometimes neither work and I have to use ctrl-alt-delete.

I have seen both, once or twice months ago on my W10 Pro. [0]

Now they just have new and ever updating artwork on my login screen and it is actually really nice. Often there is a link to "see more" or something in the top left corner and very often I click it and spend up to two minutes looking at nice photos on bing[1]. Yep. I know I have been binged, but i kinda like it, just don't try to search for programming questions, those belong on ddg, worst case with a !g appended.

[0]: this is a bit shameful IMO, pushing ads on paying customers. Please Microsoft employees who hang around here: spread this inside MS, - don't spam paying customers!!!

[1]: this is totally OK with me as long as you do it like you do today with a bit of taste. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. Hopefully it is easy to turn off for those who don't like it.