Been using the smith machine for years, first thing I do is putting the safety stops in place before touching a single plate. it also gives you the ability to bail out at any part of the movement unlike free bar squats that not only cause injuries but can actually kill you.
To each their own but I can't wrap my head around people talking of the smith machine let alone getting injured in it.
@soyaakinohara6 Can bloatware be removed without having to reinstall windows? I've been delaying the update to 26H2 precisely because they always break things and introduce more useless garbage to the system.