Windows 11 - Full production release - Easy upgrade, no problems - and no thrills.

[anmpr1]

For some reason it incessantly has a pop up screen promoting the Window's Teams app...

Like the kid in the Christmas movie, disgusted when he realized how his Ovaltine Orphan Annie Decoder Ring was a 'crummy commercial', Windows has morphed into its own commercial. It's like the friendly UAC spokesgirl in Doom Eternal who quipped: Please remain calm, you may notice a slight change in the environment. Fear not, It's all part of the plan.

In a recent earnings call Nadella touted the plan:

In consumer [sic], Windows is key to curating our content and services to help every person with their everyday tasks...

So if you turn off the ads, your content and services won't be curating as intended, your productivity will suffer, and you won't be helped in your everyday tasks, like you deserve.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind if my content was curating as planned, if only the Windows Team could fix all the user space stuff that they broke in 11, that was working OK in 10. But that would probably be asking too much, given their priorities.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Like the kid in the Christmas movie, disgusted when he realized how his Ovaltine Orphan Annie Decoder Ring was a 'crummy commercial', Windows has morphed into its own commercial. It's like the friendly UAC spokesgirl in Doom Eternal who quipped: Please remain calm, you may notice a slight change in the environment. Fear not, It's all part of the plan.

In a recent earnings call Nadella touted the plan:

In consumer [sic], Windows is key to curating our content and services to help every person with their everyday tasks...

So if you turn off the ads, your content and services won't be curating as intended, your productivity will suffer, and you won't be helped in your everyday tasks, like you deserve.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind if my content was curating as planned, if only the Windows Team could fix all the user space stuff that they broke in 11, that was working OK in 10. But that would probably be asking too much, given their priorities.

"Curating our content" is another way of saying "We're gonna shove stuff in your face and keep on doing it until you give us what we want."

 

[the_hamster 2]

“Curating”…we’re not talking about a Picasso exhibition, for god’s sake, just some bloatware added onto an OS. Is there nothing offered to us these days that hasn’t been - you know - “curated”? I call language abuse!

 

[dasdoing]

back in the XP days I would use nLite to take as much useless crap out I could. eventually this lead me to Linux where you can basicly start only with a comand line and add only stuff you need. 2022 and I am on Windows again and I have no complains about W11, zero. I don't even notice it is there, which is how an OS should behave.

 

[Putter]

I'm the kind of person who doesn't want to get technical, just have the damn thing work. First my old Windows 7 computer decided it wouldn't connect to the internet, something along the lines of "I want to talk to you software, but you already moved on so I can't find you." Given that it was >10 years old and I inherited it, Ok it's time to buy a new computer with more memory and modern connections like an HDMI out and use the old one as a backup.

I got an ACER Aspire recommended by Amazon in its price range with 2 HDMI outs and a DVD writer and a reasonalble amount of solid state to allow quick startups. It worked fine UNTIL I updated it from Win 10 to 11. It worked fine for a while and then various browsers would disappear from the Taskbar, first Chrome, then Microsoft Edge (their own browser for Chrissake!), Windows Media Player and other items. I kept downloading new browsers to stay ahead of the disappearances, Opera, Firefox,etc.

I should add that they DIDN'T ACTUALLY DISAPPEAR! They would show up on the Taskbar and when the mouse went over it a mini window would appear, but not fill out. I tried to download software from AOC for that monitor. When that didn't work further investigation found that Microsoft requires a "digital signature" without which software won't operate. There were supposedly way to bypass this software, but was unable to figure it out. I was able to download software from Intel UHD Graphics 630 for Display Adapter. This seemed to help for awhile. However the Monitor driver was still Generic PNP which was state of the art in 2006. The problems started to recur. The final straw was when the HDMI out stopped working. At this point research seemed to indicate that a full Windows 11 reinstall was needed and to my surprise it worked!

Everything worked fine for the last month until a week ago when Chrome again wouldn't pop up staying as mini window. It's been a few days and nothing else has gone wrong and got my fingers crossed. I know this is at least a bit OT and not a computer help desk, but any suggestions would be welcome. Thank

 

[phoenixdogfan]

back in the XP days I would use nLite to take as much useless crap out I could. eventually this lead me to Linux where you can basicly start only with a comand line and add only stuff you need. 2022 and I am on Windows again and I have no complains about W11, zero. I don't even notice it is there, which is how an OS should behave.

I must have just gotten unlucky. Someone has suggested the computer manufacturer loadin a pirated version of Windows 11, but I remember for the longest time one of the updates to my Windows 10 Pro machine had a similar pop-up for Cortana--another piece of Windows bloatware I had no use for. A subsequent update deactivated Cortana and it could not have happened soon enough. I don't know why I can't just get a clean version of Windows when I buy a new PC. I would happily pay an extra $50 if I could be assured that it would just come in with a bloat-free version of the operating system I'm already paying for, one way or another.

 

[TheBatsEar]

back in the XP days I would use nLite to take as much useless crap out I could.

Back in the Win2k days you didn't have to.

I don't know why I can't just get a clean version of Windows when I buy a new PC.

Because the OS is no longer the product, it's a marketing vehicle, a place where they can strongarm you (install Teams, use Edge, create a cloud account, talk to Cortana, subscribe O365 and so on) into their walled garden.
You frustrations stems from the fact that you are powerless on your own hardware.

I would happily pay an extra $50 if I could be assured that it would just come in with a bloat-free version of the operating system I'm already paying for, one way or another.

There are operating systems that cost nothing and are bloat-free and there are ones that cost a lot and are bloat-free.

I'm afraid from my point of view it's your choice to stick with windows.

 

[dasdoing]

I must have just gotten unlucky. Someone has suggested the computer manufacturer loadin a pirated version of Windows 11, but I remember for the longest time one of the updates to my Windows 10 Pro machine had a similar pop-up for Cortana--another piece of Windows bloatware I had no use for. A subsequent update deactivated Cortana and it could not have happened soon enough. I don't know why I can't just get a clean version of Windows when I buy a new PC. I would happily pay an extra $50 if I could be assured that it would just come in with a bloat-free version of the operating system I'm already paying for, one way or another.

I think after installation the part with the questions is crucial. I don't remember exactly but there was a question in this direction.
oooh, and my version is the pro version

 

[anmpr1]

I am on Windows again and I have no complains about W11, zero. I don't even notice it is there, which is how an OS should behave.

Under the hood, Windows is OK. I can't remember the last time the entire Windows OS crashed on me. Maybe a few times on XP. How many years ago was that? Occasionally an errant program will freeze, or otherwise misbehave, but I've always been able to 'task manage' that away, and then get on with things. So kudos to the team for that part of the 'Windows experience'.

Again, the problem with 11 is the user interface they mucked up, compared to earlier versions. It's not as bad as 8 (not much could be as bad as that grotesque weirdness). Whenever you have to use a third party add-on utility (which in 11 is only a partial fix; even with the the third party kludges you can't completely get the thing in order--such as moving the taskbar to the left side of the screen, or getting back simplified right-click context menus that went away in 11), you know you're dealing with people who just don't care about offering a decent product.

FWIW, it's not just me complaining. I've yet to read a review of 11 in the mainstream press that was positive in the sense of a comparison with what came before. But what good is a lousy review? MS doesn't appear to be listening. I'm waiting for Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, or Alaina Yee to get Nadella on the horn and ask him point blank, "Why is your latest and greatest such a step backwards in the user interface department? Why is that, Satya?" Put him on the spot, and make him say something intelligent by way of explanation, and not let him lapse into goofy and nonsensical 'corporate speak' about helping users curate their content. But that will never happen, because like audio, the mainstream PC press is really the advertising agency for the PC industry; and while they might complain a little bit about subpar products, and although they certainly don't get as emotional over PC stuff as Stereophile reviewers do over hi-fi gear, they know which side of the bread is buttered and act accordingly.

 

[dasdoing]

I have very few issues with the UI, very small things like icons autohiding in the taskbar after I changed it to not to. than again last time I used Windows was with XP, so I don't have the direct comparision to Win 10.

 

[anmpr1]

Courtesy of a ZDnet article I came across when slumming the Net, I found a patch that restores functionality of taskbar placement. For whatever reason, the Win 11 team removed the ability for users to locate the taskbar to the side of their desktop. This little hack also allows users to add seconds to the tray clock, which was also removed in 11. And some other stuff too.

FWIW, I've installed it on two PCs without problems. As with any unofficial hack, use at your own risk. However, I've not read any negatives about the work around it uses. Of course you still have to deal with the goofy start menu layout, but third party fixes can help with that. Not sure if those are compatible with Valinet Explorer Patcher, which is both free as in beer, and the GPL.

GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher: This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows

This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows - valinet/ExplorerPatcher

github.com

 

[escape2]

I can confirm. I've been using ExplorerPatcher for over a month now on Win11 - so far so good.

 

[Xulonn]

On my Intel NUC8i7, I'm having issues with Bitdefender antivirus and the USB connection to my Aiyima A08 DAC/Amp. Windows 11 sees the USB Dac connection as a flash drive and assigns it letter E:, which is fine. But when I played a YouTube video, every time I pause and restart the video, (which I often do with instruction videos), Bitdefender would see the audio USB output as a new device and rescan it, and sometimes the audio track of the video does not come back on when the video resumes. Adding an exception fo Drive E: in Bitdefender didn't completely cure the problem. No more rescans, but the audio still doesn't always resume after a pause.

It seems to be a Bitdefender problem and not a Windows 11 problem.

 

[Astrozombie]

You may have to just uninstall it, I never had any problems but my subscription expired and I never bothered renewing it.

 

[Timcognito]

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[anmpr1]

The good news is (I've read) that Windows 12 is coming in another year. So that means Team Redmond is going to have an opportunity to fix all the user-land problems that they screwed up in 11, going from 10. I mean, it would really be a stretch for the Win At Any Cost team to make things even worse than they already are.

But maybe I'm being too cynical. Maybe MS can deep-dive down to even lower depths than they've hitherto demonstrated. It might be a mistake to sell them short, in the user interface incompetence department. After all, we are talking Microsoft.

If I was part of the development team, I'd suggest they just do away with the entire 'start button' thing, and create a completely unfathomable Ribbon Interface, as an application launch pad. Along with frequent pop up advertisements extolling 'pay as you go' features. Features that can be discontinued in another year, and replaced with something else no one wants. Or maybe just make the Microsoft Store the new Start Menu. I think that's how they should do it.

 

[pseudoid]

On my Intel NUC8i7, I'm having issues with Bitdefender antivirus and the USB connection to my Aiyima A08 DAC/Amp. Windows 11 sees the USB Dac connection as a flash drive and assigns it letter E:, which is fine.

Hope all is well, @Xulonn...
Couple of offerings; if I may:
1) I would not recommend to anyone to 'disarm' (uninstall) the security protection(s) that they feel comfortable with… so consider the fact that I have not used an add-on/supplemental antivirus products since Win7 days... as noise, if you wish.
2) Windows Tip: Assign Permanent Letters to Removable Drives (https://www.groovypost.com/howto/assign-permanent-letter-removable-usb-drive-windows/)
3) NirSoft tools are always FREEware, maintained and very nifty: There is a history-list of all USB devices ever connected to your NUC8.

USBDeview (V3.05 x64) is a small utility that lists all USB devices that currently connected to your computer, as well as all USB devices that you previously used.
For each USB device, extended information is displayed: Device name/description, device type, serial number (for mass storage devices), the date/time that device was added, VendorID, ProductID, and more...
USBDeview also allows you to uninstall USB devices that you previously used, disconnect USB devices that are currently connected to your computer, as well as to disable and enable USB devices.
You can also use USBDeview on a remote computer, as long as you login to that computer with admin user.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

There was a #4 but I'll skip that one simply bcuz I forgot what it was. Oh yes, if you (=admin) go to your Windows DeviceManager and on the pull-down 'View' menu (at the top) select the "Show Hidden Devices" and probe around a bit, you maybe shocked to find that you have a bed-bug or a termite infestations...

 

[Duckeenie]

The good news is (I've read) that Windows 12 is coming in another year. So that means Team Redmond is going to have an opportunity to fix all the user-land problems that they screwed up in 11, going from 10. I mean, it would really be a stretch for the Win At Any Cost team to make things even worse than they already are.

But maybe I'm being too cynical. Maybe MS can deep-dive down to even lower depths than they've hitherto demonstrated. It might be a mistake to sell them short, in the user interface incompetence department. After all, we are talking Microsoft.

If I was part of the development team, I'd suggest they just do away with the entire 'start button' thing, and create a completely unfathomable Ribbon Interface, as an application launch pad. Along with frequent pop up advertisements extolling 'pay as you go' features. Features that can be discontinued in another year, and replaced with something else no one wants. Or maybe just make the Microsoft Store the new Start Menu. I think that's how they should do it.

Could be worse though; imagine if Windows was developed by Canonical.

 

[anmpr1]

Could be worse though; imagine if Windows was developed by Canonical.

It would be brown.

 

[mhardy6647]

I mean, it would really be a stretch for the Win At Any Cost team to make things even worse than they already are.

Dude. Careful what you wish for!