Windows 11 - what went wrong?

[Deleted User]

Thankfully Microsoft don't listen to users that want everything to stay the same forever otherwise we'd still be looking at screens like this.



I've been using Windows for 30 years along with other operating systems and I can't say I'd ever want to go back to a previous version right now.

Windows 11 is probably the smallest incremental change from the previous version so I can't understand why there are any complaints about it. 

Not all versions have been good, Vista and 8 notably being very poor so I'm not just defending Windows for the sake of it, I hung on to Windows XP and skipped to 7 then 10 to avoid the aforementioned so I do agree that some have been abysmal.

But Windows 11 is just a polished Windows 10, there aren't massive changes, it has just been visually re-designed which I think has been a success 

As for this toolbar issue - I really don't understand it, I never used it in Win 10 because there are much better ways of navigating the file structure through the search or File Explorer which is designed to do exactly what is required.

Sometimes people just want to do thing their own way, and that's fine but the taskbar is for applications only now and there are a few different ways of quickly navigating to folders as mentioned in my earlier posts on this topic. The new taskbar and start menu is perfect - it is far less cluttered and much easier to use in my opinion.

Pinning quick access in File Explorer is far more efficient to use than toolbars for folder access - it is literally just a right click on the icon on the task bar and it does exactly the same job:



Really can't understand why the above is so difficult?

prowla

Deleted_User said:

...
Really can't understand why the above is so difficult?

Dunno - I can't install it on my PC.

t8769

There are some rude, snarky and condescending messages here.

It seems that pointing out a problem with Win11, is a problem for some.

I'm looking at some apps to bring back the better Win10 Start menu and Taskbar.

Carrot007

[Deleted User] said:

Windows 11 is probably the smallest incremental change from the previous version so I can't understand why there are any complaints about it. 

Not all versions have been good, Vista and 8 notably being very poor so I'm not just defending Windows for the sake of it, I hung on to Windows XP and skipped to 7 then 10 to avoid the aforementioned so I do agree that some have been abysmal.

But Windows 11 is just a polished Windows 10, there aren't massive changes, it has just been visually re-designed which I think has been a success 

Possibly, have been using win myself for ages now. I am on ther beta channel though did not get it right away as I had to enable tpm in the bios!

Yes not all versions are good but vista and 8.1 were just fine. XP was bad, I stuck win 200 until they stopped updating DX. And ran from XP as soon as possible becuase hey a 64 bit os might actually use my available ram and xp 64 was a bad joke (and never updated). Windows 7 was just a bad press rename and would probasbly have been a vista service pack otherwise.  Yes 8 was bad 8.1 fixed most of that, certainly enough to ditch the mediocre 7. 10 was good at times (rememebr there have been many windows 10s so lumping them together does not help).

So 11. Yes I will use it but there are a lot of bad point to it. Right clicking nearly always crashes explorer. in fact explorer crashes a damn lot. The reemoved text from icons which does not help as the icons are not indicative to me! I would rather not waste precious brain space remebering petty things like what an icon does when a word or two would make it clear.

Neil_Jones

To be honest we go through this every time a new version of Windows comes out.  Some people love it, some people loathe it, some people couldn't care less.

I dare say even back in the day when Windows 95 first introduced the Start Menu it was seen as "change for the sake of change", but as it happened, it has lasted in one form or another for the best part of the next 20 years, save from a shot-in-the-foot moment with Windows 8 but that aside...

If people want to retro add elements onto it that's up to them, but I would simply argue that there will come a point where Windows 11 will appear in a workplace somewhere and all your home comfort blankets of third party Start Menus and replacement taskbars and whatever else will not be available.  So it may be better to consider getting used to it in a stock state.

[Deleted User]

t8769 said:

There are some rude, snarky and condescending messages here.

It seems that pointing out a problem with Win11, is a problem for some.

I'm looking at some apps to bring back the better Win10 Start menu and Taskbar.

Not at all, I’ve given 3 or 4 options as alternatives to the taskbar in earlier posts, I’m here to help. 

How did you get on with pinning items to the Windows explorer as an alternative to taskbar?

t8769

Many problems with 11.

Still has bugs the design is just horrific.

Can't say I noticed any improvement, possibly its a bit faster.

Start menu and taskbar are very badly designed. 
Clunky, slow, complicated.

I feel like I'm using Windows 95 again.
Lots of clicking on folders, no expanding folders.
Toolbars gone, right click in Start menu gone.

No more quick access to files. What's next, bring back DOS?

Windows 98 menu was better, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm going back to Windows 10 until MS sort this out.

Some people here are very snotty about this, I guess they think they are better than others. 
Rude.
If you can feel superior about an operating system, then you can feel superior about anything!


thanks

debitcardmayhem

t8769 said:

Many problems with 11.

Still has bugs the design is just horrific.

Can't say I noticed any improvement, possibly its a bit faster.

Start menu and taskbar are very badly designed. 
Clunky, slow, complicated.

I feel like I'm using Windows 95 again.
Lots of clicking on folders, no expanding folders.
Toolbars gone, right click in Start menu gone.

No more quick access to files. What's next, bring back DOS?

Windows 98 menu was better, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm going back to Windows 10 until MS sort this out.

Some people here are very snotty about this, I guess they think they are better than others. 
Rude.
If you can feel superior about an operating system, then you can feel superior about anything!


thanks

These are all subjective comments as are others' comments , as for snotty and rude I will be objective ... yes you are.People are entitled their opinions , this a a Techie Forum the subject of your post is basically Subjective , use Twitter/Facebook or is it just me ....

CoastingHatbox

People make decisions about the technology they use.

These types of discussions are useful as they encourage the exchange of tips and ideas which may help people get better productivity out of their computers which, it could be argued, add to the value/money equation.

When I look at any piece of technology, I always approach it from the angle of "what problems does it solve?" and "what problems does it cause?".

When I evaluate Windows 11, I'm really not sure about what problems it solves for the end user. Sure, there are some security improvements but I think they are massively outweighed by Microsoft's hardware support with this release. In terms of functionality and productivity improvements that directly benefit the end user, I'm at a loss to what it really brings to the table.

The UI and return of `Aero` (glass) effects might be pretty, but it doesn't make the OS easier to use or applications easier to manage.

At the same time, Windows 11 will provide more support for technology anti-patterns that hinder users. Data collection, more advertising, more DRM. Last year I spent £3k on new Windows* laptops for myself, my wife and my mother. I don't want a devices costing that sort of money to be slinging advertisements at me!

Oh, and can we mention bloat? Paint 3D. Xbox Game Bar. And no, I really really don't want to play Candy Crush or any variation of it. I have had a laundry list of complaints from my Mother ever since she moved from Windows 7 to Windows 10 - she dreads applying the feature updates because she doesn't know what she is going to have to re-learn.

Looking at the complaints other people have made about Windows 11, it is tempting to infer that Microsoft have had a shift in idealogy in-terms of UI design. It looks to me like it is less about empowering the user and more about compliance. The settings UI for instance, is much worse for novice users looking to discover features and settings than the old-fashioned control panel. At least in my opinion. In fact, as a Windows administrator, I would be pushed to find things without resorting to search or just doing what I want to do with PowerShell. Which is fine because I already know what I'm looking for.

Finally, I have to ask, where is the innovation, Microsoft? Why does ReFS still look like an unfinished project? Why are we still lumbered with NTFS and all it's shortcomings? Where's the built-in support for software RAID, copy-on-write, copy-on-write snapshots (which should be much less problematic than the NTFS volume shadow copy service)? Why can't I have more integration between my Windows Laptop and my Windows Desktop, for instance CPU intensive activities running on the desktop with the UI looking like a native app on the laptop?

There are so many features I thought we would have by now which are nowhere to be seen.

Fundamentally though, I don't trust Microsoft with my privacy. So although I'll still work with and support Windows where I have to and even use it for some of the niche things that I do, I'll be sticking with alternative operating systems which are much more flexible for the day-to-day... as I have since Microsoft backported Windows 10 telemetery into Windows 8.1.

*Mine runs Linux. It was shipped with W10.

Grey_Critic

When I bought a new mobile phone for my wife it was full of junk she did not want and I had to spend time removing/disabling/hiding these things. All she want is to make telephone calls - and not many of those - It has taken her THREE YEARS to use the £20 credit I put on.

I want an operating system just like my wifes phone. SOME basics and the ability to add if/when needed. One of my laptops I use for my paid work with just email and MS Office. There are a couple of programmes I have added but everything I do not need is either removed or disabled.

Can we have what we want not what Bill Gates thinks we want.