Windows 11

[Ethosik]

Microsoft and Windows needs to fix the spammy nature of everything from applications, to the notification system which prevents me from doing certain actions since its at the bottom right of the screen.

Seriously every Edge or Teams or Office update has some sort of "tutorial" that shows up in 5-10 seconds that prevents me from working and gives me "Show me" or "Dismiss" prompts. OneDrive spammy prompts etc.

This is one of the reasons I much prefer macOS. It is much less hands on and gets out of my way and lets me just get to my work.

 

[diamond.g]

Microsoft and Windows needs to fix the spammy nature of everything from applications, to the notification system which prevents me from doing certain actions since its at the bottom right of the screen.

Seriously every Edge or Teams or Office update has some sort of "tutorial" that shows up in 5-10 seconds that prevents me from working and gives me "Show me" or "Dismiss" prompts. OneDrive spammy prompts etc.

This is one of the reasons I much prefer macOS. It is much less hands on and gets out of my way and lets me just get to my work.

I agree, but I also think the lack of a new features popup for macOS leave a lot of new stuff undiscovered to some users. So I get why Microsoft does it, sometimes. I really hate the Edge we've just updated window, it is really annoying.

 

[polyphenol]

I agree, but I also think the lack of a new features popup for macOS leave a lot of new stuff undiscovered to some users. So I get why Microsoft does it, sometimes. I really hate the Edge we've just updated window, it is really annoying.

There is an argument that if you are happily using a system, just carry on. Ignore most new features.

The number of times I have seen something new, tried it, and dropped it almost immediately is legion!

If we are interested, we can have a look round at sites (such as right here!) which tell us far more than an annoying popup would.

And I would rather not have anything getting in the way of what I am doing right now! So any new features should be very much background. For example, a temporary display area on the desktop. One which displays until acknowledged, and just disappears after a while even if not acknowledged.

 

[diamond.g]

There is an argument that if you are happily using a system, just carry on. Ignore most new features.

The number of times I have seen something new, tried it, and dropped it almost immediately is legion!

If we are interested, we can have a look round at sites (such as right here!) which tell us far more than an annoying popup would.

And I would rather not have anything getting in the way of what I am doing right now! So any new features should be very much background. For example, a temporary display area on the desktop. One which displays until acknowledged, and just disappears after a while even if not acknowledged.

I understand, that is why I am torn about it.

Discoverability is something that I liked about macOS. My wife didn't have to ask how to do things because it just made sense. With all the new features added to macOS (which I'll be honest I don't use them either, lol) I know my wife won't go online and look up new stuff, so she will never know it is there. It is possible that a new feature could be something useful to her.

Microsoft tends to show off these new features (or co-op, aka screw up , old ones) to let folks know they exist. Which is also annoying when it happens on every update.

 

[pshufd]

I understand, that is why I am torn about it.

Discoverability is something that I liked about macOS. My wife didn't have to ask how to do things because it just made sense. With all the new features added to macOS (which I'll be honest I don't use them either, lol) I know my wife won't go online and look up new stuff, so she will never know it is there. It is possible that a new feature could be something useful to her.

Microsoft tends to show off these new features (or co-op, aka screw up , old ones) to let folks know they exist. Which is also annoying when it happens on every update.

If I want to look at new features, I go to the Zollotech channel and he does rapid-fire talks on new features for operating system updates. Sometimes I don't bother and sometimes I am curious about new features. But I like it to be my choice.

 

[polyphenol]

I understand, that is why I am torn about it.

Discoverability is something that I liked about macOS. My wife didn't have to ask how to do things because it just made sense. With all the new features added to macOS (which I'll be honest I don't use them either, lol) I know my wife won't go online and look up new stuff, so she will never know it is there. It is possible that a new feature could be something useful to her.

Microsoft tends to show off these new features (or co-op, aka screw up , old ones) to let folks know they exist. Which is also annoying when it happens on every update.

One of the things I liked so much about relatively early WIMP systems was the greying out of unavailable options.

Even when you couldn't use them, you grew familiar with their existence, their location in the GUI, etc. And if you think you want to use the feature/option, you appreciate that there is a reason you cannot.

So much of the time now, such things are totally hidden. No idea they exist. Nor where to find them.

Both Windows and macOS seem to love this deliberate obscurantism! Time after time, when I find out how to do something, I can appreciate how easily, how simply it works, especially under macOS. But would never have found it without using a search engine. And you have to realise a feature might exist in order to even think of searching for it!

 

[ackmondual]

Visited parents recently. Father got a new PC that's on win11, so I got to finally try that hands on! Nothing terribly exciting at this point, but that's fine. As long as it works, that's all I care about. The one new feature is when you drag a window near the top, you get multiple layouts to choose from in terms of arranging your windows in a side-by-side fashion, 2 one-quarters and 1 one-half, etc. So it does all that for you rather than manually sizing and positioning the. I'm sure some folks got utilities for that, but now it seems to be built in.

 

[Ethosik]

Visited parents recently. Father got a new PC that's on win11, so I got to finally try that hands on! Nothing terribly exciting at this point, but that's fine. As long as it works, that's all I care about. The one new feature is when you drag a window near the top, you get multiple layouts to choose from in terms of arranging your windows in a side-by-side fashion, 2 one-quarters and 1 one-half, etc. So it does all that for you rather than manually sizing and positioning the. I'm sure some folks got utilities for that, but now it seems to be built in.

I do like that and the Snapping feature which I think was introduced in Windows 7. Mac should definitely have that built in. One area where Mac is better is with the multiple desktops, having each screen having their own and can independently swap each screen. Windows requires you to swap all screens at once.

 

[ackmondual]

I do like that and the Snapping feature which I think was introduced in Windows 7. Mac should definitely have that built in. One area where Mac is better is with the multiple desktops, having each screen having their own and can independently swap each screen. Windows requires you to swap all screens at once.

I miss this from working in Linux environments!

 

[opeter]

I do like that and the Snapping feature which I think was introduced in Windows 7. Mac should definitely have that built in.

If I remember correctly, the window snapping features was first part of Windows Vista.

 

[grmlin]

I do like that and the Snapping feature which I think was introduced in Windows 7. Mac should definitely have that built in. One area where Mac is better is with the multiple desktops, having each screen having their own and can independently swap each screen. Windows requires you to swap all screens at once.

I don't want to touch Windows again for now but damn does the MacOS window manager suck

 

[ackmondual]

If I remember correctly, the window snapping features was first part of Windows Vista.

The distinction is Windows snap layouts. Win Vista to win10, you can move the window to the edges of a monitor to automatically get half sized windows. In win11, if you bring a window towards the top, you get a pull down which shows various layouts you can choose from. (see image below). You're saying that was built into Windows since Vista?....

 

[opeter]

The distinction is Windows snap layouts. Win Vista to win10, you can move the window to the edges of a monitor to automatically get half sized windows. In win11, if you bring a window towards the top, you get a pull down which shows various layouts you can choose from. (see image below). You're saying that was built into Windows since Vista?....

You are right, that is a new thing in Windows 11.

 

[unrigestered]

i personally don¡t want windows to snap somewhere when using the mouse.
i like it using the keyboard via the windows + the arrow keys though, but i also don't need or want dozens of configurations either:
snap to left/right half of the screen, maximize/return to prior state, hide / unhide already satisfy my needs to the fullest.
more granularity with too many possible window positions just make things slower for me again.

 

[maflynn]

i personally don¡t want windows to snap somewhere when using the mouse.

I have an ultrawide monitor that included utilities to snap windows (this predated windows 11). I hated it, and windows 11's version of that as well. I want to manually place and size windows for my own needs.

 

[kamikazeeMC]

When I had dual screens (ultrawide + viertical to the side), I made a simple powershell script to open 5 browser windows in a set location and size. So much easier than having to snap and resize every time. I know there are tools that do this, but I don't like installing extra things I don't need.

Probably could have expanded that to every other program I run, but they generally stay in the same position when launched. For my minor OCD I have a wallpaper I can apply with a bunch of boxes, to help reposition when they go out of wack, like forgetting to close when updating graphics drivers..

 

[inuragon]

Microsoft and Windows needs to fix the spammy nature of everything from applications, to the notification system which prevents me from doing certain actions since its at the bottom right of the screen.

Would be nice if you could move the notifications to the upper corner at least, hate when i'm typing a comment on twitch and the notification blocks me from seeing what i type.
Also win 11 has plenty of nice updates like moving the start button to the middle (which can be reverted if you prefer) but i hate how MS still hasn't properly moved everything from control panel to the new settings app.

 

[maflynn]

Microsoft is killing Android apps on Windows 11

I was never really saw the value in this and it looks like most people didn't either. The PCWorld article seems to indicate that while support is ending next year they're already killing the store, meaning you can't install anything new

 

[derekamoss]

Microsoft is killing Android apps on Windows 11

I was never really saw the value in this and it looks like most people didn't either. The PCWorld article seems to indicate that while support is ending next year they're already killing the store, meaning you can't install anything new

I tried it and didn't really enjoy the experience. Was a huge download, used way to much system resources for emulation IMO.

What I am hoping though is maybe this is a pretext to the upcoming Surface's using ARM release and decided emulation isnt good enough and built something for the new ARM surfaces that run Natively maybe through Phone Link or something. And mabe thats why I have been getting these Cross Device Experience Hosts updates multiple times per week in the app store.

 

[rin67630]

Let me just wonder why that discussion is placed under alternative to Mac Hardware?
There is another, more suitable place for that

Windows, Linux, macOS, & Others on the Mac​

 

[maflynn]

Let me just wonder why that discussion is placed under alternative to Mac Hardware?
There is another, more suitable place for that

Windows, Linux, macOS, & Others on the Mac​

Because we're not talking about windows running on Macs, but rather most of the topics here and this thread is regarding hardware other then Macs.

Edit: another reason is the requirement of the TPM, and that while windows ARM exists the majority of the discussions is related to x86 which eliminates current Mac hardware

 

[rin67630]

Both Windows and macOS seem to love this deliberate obscurantism!

Yes, systems seem now to be designed for the stupids. Apple began hiding more and more options and Microsoft jumped into that insanity.

 

[maflynn]

I tried it and didn't really enjoy the experience. Was a huge download, used way to much system resources for emulation IMO.

I like the WSL, though in the current incarnation its actually running linux and not an emulation. I think the first version of WSL was an emulation but I could be wrong.

What I am hoping though is maybe this is a pretext to the upcoming Surface's using ARM release and decided emulation

Indeed, being ARM based it should be able to run android apps fairly easily. With that said, I find Microsoft's vision of windows 11 to be confusing at best. They seem to throw features in willy-nilly just to see what works, there doesn't seem to be a cohesive plan.

As for ARM based windows, I've tried it on my MBP and so far I'm unimpressed. I don't know about surface tablets running it but it lacked apps, and I had trouble with compatibility ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[pshufd]

I like the WSL, though in the current incarnation its actually running linux and not an emulation. I think the first version of WSL was an emulation but I could be wrong.

Indeed, being ARM based it should be able to run android apps fairly easily. With that said, I find Microsoft's vision of windows 11 to be confusing at best. They seem to throw features in willy-nilly just to see what works, there doesn't seem to be a cohesive plan.

As for ARM based windows, I've tried it on my MBP and so far I'm unimpressed. I don't know about surface tablets running it but it lacked apps, and I had trouble with compatibility ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I use Windows 11 ARM on a regular basis using UTM and it's fine for my purposes. Performance is comparable to my i7-10700 which is pretty good though I'm sure that the experience is poor compared to 12th or 13th generation Intel machines. I will run Windows 11 x86 on Bootcamp if I need a non-virtual system remotely and I still have my 2 Windows 10 systems.

Yes, the UI feels like a mish-mash. I think that they tried to get something like Apple's dock for launching programs. Windows 11 is kind of like a Swiss army knife though the UI on my Swiss army knife feels more consistent. Most people have to use Windows so Microsoft can still make mistakes or look a bit crappy and they will still get a ton of revenue.

 

[derekamoss]

I like the WSL, though in the current incarnation its actually running linux and not an emulation. I think the first version of WSL was an emulation but I could be wrong.

Indeed, being ARM based it should be able to run android apps fairly easily. With that said, I find Microsoft's vision of windows 11 to be confusing at best. They seem to throw features in willy-nilly just to see what works, there doesn't seem to be a cohesive plan.

As for ARM based windows, I've tried it on my MBP and so far I'm unimpressed. I don't know about surface tablets running it but it lacked apps, and I had trouble with compatibility ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

WSL and the Android Subsystem are different though or am I mistaken