*** Microsoft Windows 11 Thoughts & Discussion Thread ***

Rroff said:
I think this is one of the things which is hurting them the most. It is kind of painful though to see them increasingly stumbling over issues which were well understood as far back as stuff like Windows 3.1 though.



Being able to use the Start Menu kind of like a mini home screen IMO is one of the advantages over Windows 7 but the implementation is laughable - how have we got to 2021 and there are still no proper group management features for it let alone proper visual customisation options.
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The management features is where you've hit the nail on the head there. I feel for anyone who has to manage the dogs dinner that is group policy and whatever the other half cocked newer implementations of that are. It's a nightmare if you want to deploy a standard start menu since you've got traditional executables, PWA's, you can't limit access to the MS Store other than deny all together unless you have some other business licencing to create your own curated MS Store entries.


I do mine like this now, since you can switch off the full application list so it becomes a toggle option instead. Not finished installing everything I want yet but this full screen start basically just splits productivity and entertainment.


https://imgur.com/a/xbsq6nl
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OverDrive said:
Windows 10 seemed like bliss after the disaster that was WINDOWS 8!!!!
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No idea why people say Windows 8 was 'a disaster'. There was nothing wrong with it, and (if I still used Windows) I'd use it over Windows 10 any day of the week. Just because Microsoft tried something a little different, removed the default start menu and added an interface that tablet users could use does not make it a disaster. It was stable, functional and faster than Windows 7 with enhancements over its predecessor.
 
Infidelus said:
No idea why people say Windows 8 was 'a disaster'. There was nothing wrong with it, and (if I still used Windows) I'd use it over Windows 10 any day of the week. Just because Microsoft tried something a little different, removed the default start menu and added an interface that tablet users could use does not make it a disaster. It was stable, functional and faster than Windows 7 with enhancements over its predecessor.
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At least 8/8.1 allowed you to control Windows Updates like Windows 7. You could hide updates you felt you weren't ready for and to research them before installing.
 
So I decided to tidy up the mess of folders on the left side start menu and this is what I have to do, manually organise the folders in both the roaming area in AppData and the Program Data area... Sigh. At least it will be clean in this column on Start menu now lol.

I4hwGRh.jpg
 
They havent said anything about what it'll be called yet, however telling the world there wouldnt be anything after windows 10 was a silly mistake to make. Really boxed themselves in, there. But regardless, it's just a name. It's hard to get excited about whatever they end up calling it lol.
 
Infidelus said:
No idea why people say Windows 8 was 'a disaster'. There was nothing wrong with it, and (if I still used Windows) I'd use it over Windows 10 any day of the week. Just because Microsoft tried something a little different, removed the default start menu and added an interface that tablet users could use does not make it a disaster. It was stable, functional and faster than Windows 7 with enhancements over its predecessor.
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V F said:
At least 8/8.1 allowed you to control Windows Updates like Windows 7. You could hide updates you felt you weren't ready for and to research them before installing.
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Funny thing is I hate 8 but it doesn't seem so bad after 10 - I end up using my Windows 8 tablet far more than my nicer newer 10 ones as it is always ready to go, the OS never gets in my way when trying to do things, etc.

The lack of the traditional start menu though is a big reason to hate 8 - personally I think a range of options is required in this respect as everyone has something that works better for them like thenewoc above where that kind of thing works better and for others a decent search/key press based approach is preferable. Personally I like the traditional start menu but enhanced a bit like they've tried to do in 10 with tiles, etc. so it is like a mini home screen but doesn't interrupt me when I have half a dozen application on the go at once.

Windows 8 under the hood to be fair is pretty decent - the kernel itself is faster and more stable than 7 and due to all the rubbish 10 has going on it often outperforms 10, though if you go to town on 10 and manage to cut out all the background rubbish, etc. it is faster. But the UI for 8 leaves a lot to be desired, file explorer for instance is a messy abomination where the only good thing is the advanced file copy dialogues, etc.

james.miller said:
They havent said anything about what it'll be called yet, however telling the world there wouldnt be anything after windows 10 was a silly mistake to make. Really boxed themselves in, there. But regardless, it's just a name. It's hard to get excited about whatever they end up calling it lol.
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Yeah my problem isn't with MS in this respect just kind of funny after some of the posts from a small number here who were coming out with stuff like "get used to it there isn't going to be another version of Windows after 10" etc. strangely enough they've been quite quiet lately.
 
Windows 8 was a great os, it was fast and stable but without the classic start menu I hated it. Did fix that quickly with a program called startisback and I still use it on Windows 10 now as its still updated regularly. I use both the classic menu and 10 menu equally though, left click for the classic, wheel click for the 10 version as both have their pros and cons.

Would be nice to have a new version of Windows though under a new name with a UI that doesn't mix old and new designs as it just looks unfinished.
 
Rroff said:
Yeah my problem isn't with MS in this respect just kind of funny after some of the posts from a small number here who were coming out with stuff like "get used to it there isn't going to be another version of Windows after 10" etc. strangely enough they've been quite quiet lately.
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yup and one of those guys called me a troll for telling him no windows 10 is not the last windows lol
 
Rroff said:
The lack of the traditional start menu though is a big reason to hate 8
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This is exactly the thing I never understood - hating the whole OS just because it didn't have a start menu. I agree it would have been nice if there was a, maybe hidden, option to enable it, but personally it didn't bother me in the slightest. I installed 8, set it to boot to the desktop straight away and pinned my most used applications to the quick launch. The only time I ever saw the tablet interface was if I was searching for something in one of the menus.

Even if I had hated the lack of inbuilt start menu, there were, as mentioned in this thread, replacement menus available. Just seemed mental to me to hate Windows 8 for that one feature.
 
Windows 8/8.1 was alright. Don't use the start menu though.

What annoys me about Windows 10, professionally more than personal computing, is the schizophrenic control panels and system menus. I don't mind change but I do mind two menu screens with mostly, but not quite, the same settings
 
I wish they would fix fonts in windows in terms of all the absolute useless tat of Chinese fonts etc etc that no one uses and they Only serve to make font lists completely unusable.

there should be a simple setting in the font control panel to say ‘don’t show’ and whilst it can still be installed and displayed where explicitly asked for by programs, it doesn’t appear in font lists.

It’s been years and years that I’ve thought this and it’s only got worse rather than better.

those issues and things like ancient dialog boxes are what really holds windows back and makes it a mess.

I think it needs a ground up re-write to clear the clutter.
 
I haven't used the start menu for years now. I just hit the windows key and fuzzy search for the app I need. Same with Spotlight on the Mac. It just looks like the old Win7 menu when I open it, none of the pointless tiles on the side. Always hated those and all the usless weather & news nonsense.
 
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