Windows 11 has one specific limiting feature that drives me bonkers and it’s not being able to click the clock in the bottom right on a secondary monitor to pull up a calendar. Windows 10 has this, why remove it?
It’s a miniscule but good feature
Not even the ghost of obsolescence can coerce users onto Windows 11
Submitted 1 year ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/05/win_11_penetration_still_low
Comments
gveltaine@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
Ragerist@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It seems like they are going out of their way to remove good features. Like they removed the option to right click the taskbar and open task manager. They since added it back, but only because of user demand.
They have removed quick access to disabling the network, seeing and changing ip settings.
I can’t remember all the annoying issues, but there’s a lot.
I hate that it has become a general thing to ruin user experience and possibilities of customization. Google is doing the same with android.
Phen@lemmy.eco.br 1 year ago
The volume mixer is also only now coming back.
Asifall@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Seems like a lot of stuff like that though. At this point I only use windows to play games and I want to interact with the OS as little as possible, so I don’t understand why I would want an updated UI with more ads and Microsoft integrations when it does nothing to improve what I actually use it for.
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Are you sure? Singing in with an online Microsoft account improves your experience*
*it allows us to collect data on you
puck2@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Kind of forgot what an OS is… Should fade into the background (but how do you make money with that???)
Phen@lemmy.eco.br 1 year ago
At launch you couldn’t even have that clock on the second screen, they added it back partially in an update, non-clickable.
And win11 is filled with this sort of thing. It’s the worst update windows ever got, except maybe for winMe - which I don’t recall that well.
gveltaine@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
VISTA comes to mind when i was getting more into computers. I missed XP so bad. Then 7 came out and it was great!
imaBEES@lemmy.world 1 year ago
From a technical perspective, they didn’t remove it or any of the other missing features from the taskbar since the win11 taskbar was built from scratch without any of the old code for 10. For whatever reason, that feature wasn’t prioritized in the new taskbar build so it wasn’t built yet, or they didn’t want to add it.
I still think their decision to not allow the new taskbar to be placed on the sides or top is really stupid though, as someone with a 32:9 monitor, I’d much rather use some of my horizontal space for taskbar rather than limited vertical space.
arin@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m still waiting for the uncombined icons on taskbar
pirrrrrrrr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Small icons, show title, never combine.
Still waiting on the release that contains this.
gveltaine@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
YES PLEASE
morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
My minor but really irritating gripe is the unmovable taskbar (which I’m not sure if this has changed or not), I’ve been a top taskbar person since xp and it doesn’t make sense to me to remove a feature like that. Apparently there are Reg hacks or third party tools to do what I want but I really shouldn’t have to resort to that Imo.
FluffyHulk@lemmy.one 1 year ago
I have tried a reg hack, which worked pretty well, but it kept resetting after every update. And changing the registries I did (don’t recall which I changed or if they still work.) also came with some annoying issues, like window preview still show on top of taskbar (so outside of your screen) among other thing.
I also preferred to have a smaller taskbar which is also no longer possible.
So I have given up and resorted to a bottom taskbar on autohide. But even that has some wonky interactions, with for example windows + tab, where there is a nice shade behind your different virtual desktops, but it stops at the original location of the taskbar.
ladicius@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The taskbar nailed immovable to the bottom is some impressively dumb bullshit. That limitation is so unnecessary and useless I can only chalk it up to brutal idiocy on the product managers side.
gveltaine@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
I didn’t even realize this. What in the backwards UI design is this?
mayonaise_met@feddit.nl 1 year ago
This is my biggest gripe with W11 as well. I used to use that all the time to check what day any given date is.
seaQueue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Why would I upgrade to an OS that pushes ads on my login screen and start menu? Some software forces me to keep a windows machine around but I’m certainly in no hurry to upgrade from 10 to 11.
MeanEYE@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Because eventually you won’t have a choice. That’s how Microsoft works. Newer versions of Office come with slightly different file formats so people using older version have to upgrade. There’s no plugin for new format or just degradation of the document when opening. They outright refuse.
Microsoft pushed Windows7 in similar way. New version of DirectX supported only Win7 and not older versions, even though there’s no reason not to from a technical point of view. But new games supported new DirectX only and if you wanted to play better shell out those bucks.
In the end, biggest enemy to any paid software is not open source competitors, it’s previous versions of their own software for the very same reason you mentioned. Why would anyone upgrade if all they need is already there. Most people don’t need all the features of Office apart from different fonts and sizes, perhaps occasional table.
Aceticon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m still using Windows 7 in my home computer, for gaming no less, and only recently did some games come out that don’t support it and the only significant push to upgrade is the upcoming (end of year) end of Steam support for it, which is just going to make me use my Linux partition for games more.
Roughly only in the last 2 years have I started to have any inconveniences from having Windows 7 - basically the latest KiKad, for circuit design, doesn’t support it, so I kept using the previous version which has very rarelly has forced me to go find component and footpads which I would otherwise have already in the latest one.
The point being that if Windows 7 only started to get incovenient to use (both for gaming and professionally) well beyond not just Windows 8 having been launched but even Windows 10 having been launched, it’s reasonable to expect that Windows 10 will still be fine for use for many years.
seaQueue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Fortunately I don’t need gaming features on that machine, I only need to boot it to use things like Odin to flash a Samsung tablet or run crappy Nintendo Switch tools from gbatemp.
It’s very much a 4th or 5th string machine for me.
coffee_poops@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Disabled with a single click.
Traister101@lemmy.today 1 year ago
The fact it’s there at all is fucked. No thanks I’ll pass
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
Let’s see. Its full of ads, spyware and the ui is a complete mess.
I can’t imagine why people a digging in there heals
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Honestly, I think, like the article says, the hardware issue is the biggest hurdle. People use Facebook, after all, and it is full of ads and its UI is also a complete mess.
Burrit0@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I am on Windows 11. The UI has been more consistent than 10 ever was and I am curious where the ads are.
Thrift3499@lemm.ee 1 year ago
The ‘news’ thing in the taskbar counts, I think. As does the recommended apps and preinstalled candy crush. It’s looking less and less like a professional tool nowadays.
puck2@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I hate that I can’t have labels in the taskbar. Really slows down my workflow
pirrrrrrrr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Too many features that I use daily as a Sysadmin are missing to consider w11 as anything more than a PITA currently.
At home my PC hardware is fully capable but my HDD will need a reformat, so I either rebuild my system from scratch (not gonna happen any time soon) or fork out for yet another HDD and transfer tools.
So it’s an imposed cost for little benefit and a whole mountain of inconvenience.
I literally disabled my TPM chip to prevent w11 force installing itself. Management forked out for a new fleet of w11 machines and staff are straight up refusing to move off older slower PC’s to avoid w11.
W11 needs a solid 12 months of re-adding existing features to be worth looking sideways at.
Malfeasant@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I bought a new laptop that came with 11, I haven’t had any super annoying issues… Actually the preinstalled Samsung apps are more annoying than anything OS related… But to be fair, when I was setting it up, I looked into how to do it without connecting to a Microsoft account - it’s possible but takes a little work. I wonder if that is the difference…
Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee 1 year ago
2 years is plenty of time to see where linux support is. We should have a good idea by then of where gaming and streaming quality stand for the foreseeable future.
Most of my PCs will easily go to linux, the big question is whether to suck it up and upgrade my gaming rig to 11 or just switch everything to linux.
Altomes@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Switching to Linux is a pain, but its a pain once, staying on windows is the pain that keeps on giving
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 1 year ago
ARE YOU SURE YOU DONT WANT A ONEDRIVE SUBCRIPTION?!?
ProcurementCat@feddit.de 1 year ago
Switching to Linux is a pain, but its a pain once
Until there’s some weird problem and the only way to solve it is to copy some dudes code from StackExchange and pray that it isn’t actually a harmful script.
Talaraine@kbin.social 1 year ago
Gaming is much better on Linux thanks to Steam, but having lots of problems with more recent games and their cursed launchers. I try and remember that Gen X had to figure all this stuff out with early versions of Windows and I should resurrect the same determination that got me through back then... but I'd be lying if I said it was easy.
Defaced@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It really depends on the games you play. The thing is, you need to be really honest with yourself in regards to what you play and how far you’re willing to go for the ease of use. Most, if not all games that don’t require invasive anti cheat will just work,there are outliers like media foundations cinematics that just don’t work without protonGE, but even that’s not really a problem and getting smaller and smaller with every proton update. Are you comfortable installing the heroic games launcher from a terminal if it’s not available in your software center? If so, then that opens up a whole new library of games to play from Epic and GoG, if not then use a distro that has it preinstalled.
The Linux community will make you think it’s an easy transition, and for the most part it is, but as someone who moved to Linux full-time and has been running only Linux for about 6 months, there are still hurdles to jump over, it was about 80% click install and play, and the other 20% was troubleshooting and trying different versions of proton. I’m willing to live with those odds if it means complete freedom of my computer and cutting all ties to Windows. If I want to play games that have anti cheat though, I either have to use GeForce now or use my consoles. However, increasing support for crossplay makes this a non-issue in most cases.
I do hope you make the jump, it’s pretty clear the path Microsoft wants to follow and I don’t want any part of it, neither should anyone else. We’re in sort of a golden age of Linux gaming right now thanks to Valve, and the momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing down thanks to the steam deck.
Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I don’t really play any anti-cheat multiplayer but I do play some AAA with DRM like Assassins Creed.
I’m fully comfortable with linux to the degree that I can start with a TTY and set up my own GUI with a window manager (though I prefer to just install a DE.)
Proton has been hit or miss with me on my laptop: sometimes the game won’t load, or it’ll load but the graphics will suck, or it’ll run nicely but all the good mods aren’t supported. That’s what I mean by seeing what the state of gaming is in 2 years: at that point Steam Deck and Proton should be pretty mature.
Outside of that, the Windows streaming apps support 4k but resolution is generally limited in the browser, though I suppose I could use my tv’s streaming apps. I’ve used my work software on my linux laptop so I know that’s a non-issue.
At this point, I don’t have a push to switch, but I’m not really excited for 11 and I might have to reinstall anyway to upgrade because apparently the Windows 10 install didn’t leave Windows 11 enough free space at the start of the disk or some bullshit. And if I have to reinstall anyway in 2 years, I’ll probably just do linux.
flames5123@lemmy.world 1 year ago
My one game that isn’t fully supported (with mods and add ons) is FFXIV. I’m not switching until ACT (DPS parsing with packet capturing as a windows firewall) is supported. All my others mods for FFXIV are supported very easily it seems.
fushuan@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I’m playing a heavily modded skyrim playthrough, 1 click button with wabbajack. There’s support for it but… Not much. I also play FFXIV, half support again. PoE works fineish and Bg3 works somewhat. League works? Not as straightforward when I last tried it. Modded D2 works somewhat but it needs to be configured. Last Epoch worked iirc but I haven’t checked, and their game needs heavy optimization so I’d hold my horses if what they do can be applied to Linux too. I haven’t tried dark souls but that shit lags on any Windows machine so it’s basically a 1 to 1 port lmao.
As you see, all of them are -ish experiences. It’s always googling issues, checking compatibility… I just want to game man.
ram@bookwormstory.social 1 year ago
I can’t switch until Playnite gets an official implementation on Linux
Teknikal@lemm.ee 1 year ago
To me an os should be something that just let’s me run programs of my choice and use my hardware to it’s fullest. Eg be as light as possible.
With windows it just wants to suck up all my hardware/battery by itself and puts up a fight anytime I want to install anything myself
Don’t know how many times now I’ve had to take defaults away from things like edge but yeah
targetx@programming.dev 1 year ago
Might want to look into Linux :-)
lupec@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I really thought that comment was building up to something like “and that’s why I use Arch, btw” lol
BlueDwaggin@pawb.social 1 year ago
I have a rig with Windows 10, and haven’t upgraded because… Microsoft arbitrarily say my CPU is unsupported, even though it meets all the criteria.
Darken@reddthat.com 1 year ago
Bypassing takes a click if you download the reg files (there’s a install version and an upgrade version)
Or more clicks if you have to do it manually
sulgoth@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That sounds like a lot of work for what seems to be a worse or at least ‘meh’ experience.
BURN@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I siavled the TPM module so it’ll keep saying this. Can’t be forced into an upgrade if the cpu doesn’t seem to be supported
TacoNissan@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
You also seem to have siavled your ability to spell
BlueDwaggin@pawb.social 1 year ago
This is the thing with my CPU. It has TPM, it’s enabled, and the upgrade tool says that’s fine. The installer doesn’t make it clear what the issue is, it’s like: Congrats, your CPU satisfies these three bullet points, but no, you still can’t have Win 11.
bioemerl@kbin.social 1 year ago
Windows 11 coerced me into being an Ubuntu user.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
I just went through those weasel-worded Windows 11 setup questions three times while configuring a laptop for a family member, then twice had to figure out how to dodge it demanding a Microsoft account, after which I needed to remove all the bloatware and change various defaults. My own laptop with OpenSUSE Tumbleweed has been a delight to use by comparison.
jaybone@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Windows XP did that for me.
Kazumara@feddit.de 1 year ago
The comparisons in the article are boneheded.
According to Statcounter, the worldwide Windows version desktop market share puts Windows 10 at 71.64 percent, with Windows 11 trailing at 23.61 percent.
To put that in context, Windows 11 was launched two years ago today. Windows 10 was launched in 2015 and took two years to reach the same market share as the then-dominant player, Windows 7. Windows 11? Not quite.
Comparing the numbers of the move from 7 to 10 to that from 10 to 11 ignores that whole shitshow with 8.0 and the correction of 8.1.
Of course it’s easier for 10 to dethrone 7 when there is the spoiler effect of 8 and 8.1!
spudwart@spudwart.com 1 year ago
The usual “switch to Linux” spiel.
It’s easier than ever before, blah blah blah.
[Debian based distro] is a good option.
Beware of temporary pitfalls such as Adobe and arrogant game devs decided not to tick the EAC/Battleye for Proton compatibility box, etc.
Tbh, it’s really getting tiring to tell people to try Linux to only get hit with a tsunami of out of date straw man arguments featuring issues that haven’t be relevant in almost a decade.
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
I doubt I’ll switch any time soon, I use Linux for work and have a dislike for how small issues turn into hours of troubleshooting, but anyway, not the point. I think something that deters a lot of people are the really vocal people who shove it down others throats and treat people who don’t want to switch like idiots.
We all have our reasons, I’ll keep using Win10 until it becomes too much of a security risk and then reevaluate my options. For now I enjoy having shit that just works, for example, I use Cura, it hasn’t had a working Linux release in years, there’s a lot of deterrents for the layperson or those who have to troubleshoot and struggle to get shit working for a job and couldn’t be arsed to do it in their personal time.
Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
Thank you for doing this work. I tried Ubuntu dual booted in 2011 and loved it but gave it up when windows re-wrote the boot. I finally got a linux machine when I got a second PC. I think laptops and phones are the best bolster to linux - you can troubleshoot on a second screen instead of getting soft-locked while doing a base install to a mission critical computer.
mojo@lemm.ee 1 year ago
So anyways, I’ve been playing Baldurs Gate and Genshin on Linux and it’s pretty dope
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The steam deck being on a Linux architecture really pushed this forward. Go Linux! And go ARM!
plofi@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Valheim works like a charm too
Caboose12000@lemmy.world 1 year ago
genshin works on Linux now? I thought it’s anticheat wasn’t compatible with proton
arc@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Windows 11 is basically Windows 10 with a slightly nicer (in most respects) desktop. There aren’t a lot of compelling reasons to switch if what you have works well enough.
CrypticFawn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
My pc isn’t compatible with Win11 and since I’m poor, I’m not getting a new one anytime soon.
Besides, Win10 is great.
slurpeesoforion@startrek.website 1 year ago
Windows, a solution to problems that only exist because of Windows.
g6d3np81@kbin.social 1 year ago
There is a trend line of the amount of shit you need to do to get linux to do things you want.
There is a trend line of the amount of shit you need to do to stop windows from doing things you don't want.Those two lines have crossed quite a while ago.
Anonbal185@aussie.zone 1 year ago
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Windows 10 isn’t even close to end of support.
If enterprise users haven’t moved over then individual users don’t need to.
I will move over before support finishes but make no mistake that’ll be because I’m forced to due to security reasons and not because I want to.
Dosage9321@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Why bother update, Window 12 is going to be out soon anyway.
TheBlue22@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
I said it before, and I say it again. Once I am forced to switch to win 11, I’m not doing so. I’m simply switching to Linux.
Windows has been on a downward spiral and I don’t see that improving anytime soon
figaro@lemdro.id 1 year ago
These articles cater to the privacy centric, super user type people, which is totally fine, but we should remember that we are not the average user. We represent… basically an insignificant percentage of the user base.
Windows is not actually having a problem getting people to upgrade to Windows 11. There is a small minority of people who see the issues and are loud about it, but I guarantee that 95% will update when their computer tells them they have to update.
Cobrachickenwing@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Windows 10 should be proud it is XP next generation. We are going to get another vista disaster if Microsoft keeps pushing 11.
dangblingus@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’ll use my Win 10 machine as the daily driver until the very last day of support. I game in 1080, and my 6gb 1060 coupled with my 6700k blows all but the very latest and most demanding games out of the water.
By the time I’m strong armed into Win 11, there might be a better option by then, but at the very least it will be a nice cheap time to upgrade to 2-3 year old hardware so I can continue playing factorio, but in 1440 instead of 1080.
Zellith@kbin.social 1 year ago
I use windows 10 atm. The wife is using windows 11. This is a laptop though, so I might just keep it as windows 10 and then get a new computer and put linux on it. Windows 11 has no redeeming qualities as far as I can see.
flicker@kbin.social 1 year ago
I haven't moved to Linux because I work in healthcare and do 12 hour shifts and do not have the time needed to-
- Wipe anything
- Reinstall anything
- Learn new things and finally
- Use my computer.
The last one is the real pain. I'll tell ya though, if I ever get to sit at my computer again I'll learn how to unfuck it and I hope by then there's some easy to access resources for learning a system!
Decoy321@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I would absolutely rather stick with 10 if I could’ve. Hell, give me back XP.
Tygr@lemmy.world 1 year ago
My rig is outdated but plays all the games I play. I can’t afford a gaming rig update just to get Windows 11 with start menu ads and junk.
1984@lemmy.today 1 year ago
Windows means it’s not your computer. Simple as that. Maybe that’s OK for most people, sure.
danielfgom@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s true. Windows 11 looks too different for many people, especially in Enterprise and Small Business. People know the Windows 7/10 look and layout and don’t want to learn something new.
Also, when we rolled out 10 in the Enterprise we had our fair share of issues which were eventually worked out over time. Now 10 is finally stable, no one wants to change it again.
Especially in a Manufacturing business where every second counts and any delays cost money, you don’t have time for Windows issues.
Microsoft should make Windows 10 a “Pro” OS for Enterprise and support it forever, and make Windows 11 the “Home” OS for families to use at home. After all they only did it to complete with MacOS, which is predominantly used by home users and doesn’t feature massively in Enterprise
peopleproblems@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Hehehe they can’t force me to switch if I don’t have secure boot.
MrFlamey@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t even understand why Windows 11 exists. I thought Windows 10 was meant to be the last version and then it was continually upgraded. They never add any particularly good new features, so I’m happy with security updates and staying behind a few months on feature updates to avoid being a beta tester.
Oh, and Windows 11 removed the ability to put the taskbar on the left or right, and I would have thought that perhaps teams of engineers and designers paid 100k+ in a trillion dollar company would be able to make that a reality, regardless of whether or not it’s only 1% of users (millions of people) that use that feature. I heard the right click menus have been fucked up by some idiot as well, and the sad thing is they probably spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make them that way, after many many depressing meetings and someone had to task it all out in Azure, whilst gradually losing the will to live, just to eventually make an already existent feature worse. Nice job Microsoft.
I’m happy to wait until Windows 11 is at least at feature parity with Windows 10 and thoroughly tested before I “upgrade”. I suspect some things got better, but it isn’t worth it.
Fisk400@feddit.nu 1 year ago
Am I missing something? Microsoft literally won’t let me upgrade because my fully functional processor is deemed to old for them. Of coarse the adoption rate is low if they start by excluding a good portion of their user base.
Laser@feddit.de 1 year ago
I don’t even understand why they make that distinction. I recently bought a used notebook with Windows 10 preinstalled that can’t be upgraded. But if you just boot up the Windows 11 ISO it works fine without issues from there.
Granted I don’t know why someone would want this; I was genuinely surprised when I noticed installation without a Microsoft account isn’t supposed to be possible. Then you get that system that just feels sketchy to use, Teams in autostart, online services in your menus and all that. And that’s just the stuff you can see. It’s a total disaster in my opinion. But it went downhill ever after Windows 7 as far as I can tell.
obious@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Because Windows 11’s primary new feature is SOC level DRM. Old CPUs don’t have the hardware. Obviously MS won’t advertise this, so they end up making vague arguments that Window 11 is “better” but never really elaborate.
rikonium@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
My pet theory is that it’s to throw a bone to OEMs. They came out saying “oop, 7th-gen and older Intel chips won’t work, guess you’ll just need to buy a new PC!” until someone over there noticed that their still-for-sale (at the time the requirements went live), few-thousand-dollar PC (the Surface Studio 2) was a 7th-gen chip so they made eventually an exception just for that one. Because “reasons”.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That is mentioned in the article.
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 year ago
My NUC is rigged to use BIOS instead if EUFI. No go unless I reinstall from scratch. Not at this time! This SSD had been on the same Windows install for years, and it works just fine for work and play.
PixxlMan@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It baffles the mind. I have a brand new system, newest generation 7600 Ryzen processor, AM5 motherboard, plenty of ram, decent graphics card.
“Your computer does not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11”
It’s almost certainly bugged somehow, but I’ll take it as a compliment, I’ll never willingly install that OS regression anyways…
IronKrill@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
When Windows 11 first released this was due to TPM being disabled but I thought they had fixed the messaging now to say that
Khrux@ttrpg.network 1 year ago
My boot drive is too small for 11 but has always been fine for 10, which is a blessing for me as I have loads of other drive space that isn’t being considered. An unexpected update would make me so sad.