First Posted 08/10/2021
Updated 01/08/2023
( Drop down to see the latest on Windows 11!)
Includes Recommendations

Thoughts on Windows 11

Windows 11 is now shipping on new PC's
This page explores whether this is a good thing or not

    Let's hope they created a winner to replace a pretty decent and acceptable operating system that is Windows 10.

    Maybe Windows 10 isn't as elegant as the MacOS or as cheap (as in free) as are many Linux OSs, but it will do just fine until "something better" comes along.
Keep your fingers crossed that "something better" will be Windows 11!

    Windows 10 is good, not great, but plenty good enough and workable considering what it replaced.

    As popular as Windows 7 was, (mainly because of its simple and well-thought-out, and easy-to-use start menu and mature file explorer features) it was comparatively slow and woefully short of modern security and customization features.

    Then came Windows 8, which should have been an improvement. It was not too bad, that is, after you added a decent third-party start menu (Classic Shell). But it really sucked on its own, as introduced.
    I don't know what those guys at Microsoft were thinking when they introduced Windows 8 (that we all had tablet PCs with touch screens or that we were all on drugs like some of them apparently were) - Start Screen, Charms, yuck! And they actually thought a Win-X/Quick Link menu could replace a full-fledged Start Menu
    Enter the popular and free third-party Classic Shell Start Menu followed by Open Shell or the equally popular Start 8, which was followed by Start 10, now Start 11! and StartAllBack.

    Definition of Microsoft Windows engineers and executives - smart aleck, smarty, smarty-pants, wiseacre, wiseass, wise guy, wisenheimer or simply arrogant know-it-alls who are certain they know how we (their customers) want the Windows user interface to look without bothering to really listen to us. Their arrogance has caused them to make changes to the Windows user interface, at times, simply for the sake of change, sometimes without any apparent rhyme or reason. Want more examples?

Apparently, Microsoft does not believe or simply disregards the old adage: The Customer is always Right!

    That has me wondering if there are still a few people at Microsoft on drugs considering some of the desktops images they created for Windows 11 and the standard features from Windows 10 they left out of Windows 11.
    Some of the images remind me of psychedelic fever dream images that were popular back in the 1970s.


Is there really a difference? Which one is Windows 11 and which one is an LSD fever dream?

Other than the psychedelic art what else can we expect from Windows 11 that
Windows 10 doesn't have?


    But first, PCWorld Magazine has an article which tells us what we will lose from Windows 10 with Windows 11.

    Now, the new stuff.
  1. ) Android apps will now run on Windows. Apps may be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.

  2. ) Teams Chat Chat, from Microsoft Teams, will be integrated into the Windows 11 taskbar.

  3. ) Widgets news, notifications, and personalized information of various types will be pushed to your PC from a window that slides out from the left-hand side of your desktop screen.

  4. ) Made-over Microsoft Store with more and better apps. We'll see how they do.

  5. ) Speedy Windows updates if Microsoft can make updates smaller, faster, and less obtrusive, Great!

  6. ) DirectStorage According to PCWorld Magazine: DirectStorage is a Windows API that will be used to control what Microsoft calls the Xbox Velocity Architecture. It's Microsoft's approach to reducing the storage capacity that an Xbox Series X game requires, loading the game and its assets as quickly as possible. Now it's coming to Windows.

  7. ) Auto HDR mainly for improved gaming visuals on a HDR capable gaming PC.

  8. ) Windows 11 S this didn't work very well for Windows 10 S. We'll see if they can get it right this time.

  9. ) Voice dictation (with punctuation) if they can get this right it will be amazing as well as being very handy and time-saving for those who do lots of typing. Nuance, maker of Dragon Naturally Speaking, can't be very happy with this announcement.
For more details see How-to-Geek's informative article - Windows 11: What’s New In Microsoft’s New OS

This is all wonderful, but what about that free Windows 11 upgrade?

    It turns out that you will only be able to upgrade your current PC to Windows 11 if it is of recent vintage, three years old or less, perhaps much less. Your old PC must first have a 64Bit multi-core CPU of the type that came out with the Intel Core Processers.
    But the CPU must be from the Intel 8th Generation (Coffee Lake?) or AMD 3nd Generation Ryzen (Ryzen 3000) - or later processors. Then, and here's another crusher, it must have a Trusted Platform Module, TPM module Version 2.0. This TPM 2.0 technology was released in October 2014 and shipped beginning in August 2016.
    So any PCs shipped earlier than 2017 are definitely out. Even any PCs shipped after that date, but using older components are also definitely out!

    However Microsoft's
Health Check Setup utility (download link) seems to be very picky about which PCs pass muster and which don't.
    Update: The much maligned, Health Check Setup Utility has been pulled according to Microsoft. They say it will reappear later this year before the release of Windows 11.

"Ready or not, Windows 11 is on target to leave stranded hundreds of millions of systems on Windows 10 -- which will still be supported until October of 2025. The sheer amount of bad will created by a software upgrade that essentially doesn't seem like much more than a user interface update is rubbing many Microsoft diehards the wrong way." from ZDNet

    For a much more full explanation of this see PC Magazine's articles To Upgrade to Windows 11, Prepare to Dig Into Your PC's BIOS by Michael Kan and Microsoft Doesn't Want You to Upgrade to Windows 11 by Michael Muchmore.

    Also see PCWorld's take at Want Windows 11? Your PC better have these specs by Mark Hachman

    As it is, I and many other PC users will not see Windows 11 until and unless we buy a new PC with Windows 11 preinstalled! It is apparent that Microsoft is covering their collective butts by offering free upgrades to PC users it knows will never be able to upgrade. Only those PCs sold this year, likely in the last few months, will be eligible for a free upgrade and they know it!

Come on Microsoft, you should be able to do much better than this!

    For more on this see - Windows 11: Microsoft apologizes for compatibility confusion, hints at changes from Ed Bott at ZDNet. We'll see how it all shakes out. In another article Ed attempts to explain which PCs will be able to run Windows 11 - He mostly succeeds.

In the meanwhile, Microsoft has set the retirement date for Windows 10 Operating System as of October 14, 2025.
So all PC users who want a new PC have plenty of time to buy a new Windows 11 PC before Windows 10 finally fades away.

Why Windows 11 is leaving so many PCs behind (it's not just TPM) From PCWorld Magazine


Latest: Beginning 10/11/2021
Bottom Line for those with PCs running Windows 10:

Should You Upgrade to Windows 11 ASAP?
(assuming your PC is eligible)

I answer that question below and the following PC World article helps - After 6 months, Windows 11 is still playing catch up to Windows 10

Related - See also: Windows 10 & 11 Help and Tips and/or How to Clean install Windows OS

    My advice: If you have an eligible-to-upgrade Windows 10 PC you might want to wait for a while (at least a few more months) before you upgrade to Windows 11. (It appears that Microsoft needs a lot more time to work out the deal-breaking kinks in Windows 11.) Note: I still recommend the same, now in 2023!
    Remember, you have plenty of time, until October of the year 2025, before Windows 10 goes Kaput (Retirement Date) and you are forced to make the decision to either upgrade your current PC's Operating System to Windows 11 or to buy a new PC with Windows 11 (or, by that time, Windows 12?) pre-installed! (Conditionally, This assumes that you do not prevent yearly updates from being installed.)

    But, if you just got a new PC with Windows 11 pre-installed, you may want to, at least, consider getting Start 11 $6 or StartAllBack $5. Especially, if you liked the way Windows 7 looked. (And you want to restore the taskbar functionality you had with Windows 10)

    I DO NOT recommend that you downgrade to Windows 10 if you can avoid it. Why go to all that trouble? When you can instead, try the inexpensive (5 or 6 dollars) Start Menu apps and/or the free registry hack that should fix the problems you have with Windows 11. (Both Start apps have a thirty-day trial period for you to decide if you like them.)

    Don't reduce your PC security or take the chance of introducing device driver problems by downgrading from Windows 11 to Windows 10! (Not to mention: Wasted time and unnecessary extra expense. Read on about how to fix Windows 11)

    However, if it's only the Start Menu that you don't like (it's no wonder, because it sucks!) then install the free Open Shell utility, the successor to Classic Shell that still works with Windows 11. However, it doesn't do anything for restoring lost taskbar and lost context menu functionality from Windows 10.
    For help with taskbar problems download a free app called ExplorerPatcher (Scroll down to How To and click the Setup Program link to download) Check out the features for ExplorePatcher at the Wiki page.

    Don't Miss: Tested: StartAllBack fixes what we hate about Windows 11 From PC World Magazine.

    And: How to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10 From PC World Magazine.

    Finally: How to replace your Windows 11 Start menu with a third-party app
    And: Hate Windows 11? Here's how to make it work more like Windows 10 Both from ZDNet.


More

    Here's an excellent idea
    Add universal RGB controls to Windows 11! Thanks Ms. Yee
    It also wouldn't hurt to give us back the lost taskbar functionality from Windows 10 and restore classic context (right-click) menus!

    Help for Windows 11:

    Customize the Taskbar from PC Magazine

    Do you use Tablet Mode in Windows 10? Be prepared to relearn it all with Windows 11!

    The Best Windows 11 Tips and Tricks from PC Magazine

    Windows 11 superguide from PC World Magazine

    The 10 Worst Things About Windows 11 from PC Magazine

    Your Windows 11 upgrade is ready. Should you do it? from ZDNet

    How to download Windows 11 from PC World

    All followed by: 10 Big Reasons Not to Upgrade to Windows 11 From PC Magazine.

    See also: PC World's articles - 4 reasons to switch to Windows 11 (and 5 reasons not to) and about upgrading to Windows 11

And Finally
Microsoft is making it (easy?) for anyone to get Windows 11. (For only $139.00) Wonderful!
    (Don't forget to add $4.99 for StartAllBack)

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