Windows 11's First Big Update Arrives With Android Apps and Taskbar Changes (theverge.com) 43
Microsoft is releasing its first big update to Windows 11 today, and it includes a lot of new additions. From a report: A public preview of Android apps on Windows 11 will be available today in the US, alongside redesigned Notepad and Media Player apps. The first big Windows 11 update will also include a bunch of improvements to the taskbar. The public preview of Android apps on Windows 11 will allow users to install apps from Amazon's Appstore. The Verge points to workarounds to get Google Play Store running on Windows 11 unofficially. Back to more changes: The biggest changes in this Windows 11 update are related to the taskbar. The time and date will finally be available on multiple monitors in Windows 11, something that was missing at launch. The weather widget also returns to the taskbar in this update, and a new mute / unmute feature in the taskbar will be available for Microsoft Teams calls. You'll also be able to quickly screen share a specific app or window from the taskbar directly into a Microsoft Teams call. Microsoft has also redesigned the Media Player and Notepad apps for Windows 11. Notepad now includes multi-step undo, an improved search interface, and dark mode support. The new Media Player app is designed to replace Groove Music and Windows Media Player and includes support for both audio and video and a design that better matches Windows 11's UI improvements.
Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:3, Funny)
Take that, power users!
Re:Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously...
How the hell have they not "added" this yet?
I will refuse to even start thinking about Windows 11 until I can dock the taskbar vertically.
PS: No, the existing regedit hack with a useless result is not a workaround.
Re:Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:5, Interesting)
/Oblg. MS meme:
Microsoft Windows, noun: A 64-bit compilation of 32 bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor written by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition with 0 bit of understanding good UI.
MS buying Skype for $8 Billion and constantly fucking with the UI [theverge.com] and Windows 10's bad design demonstrates they are more interested in chasing fads then usefulness -- classic Form at the expense of Function mistakes.
Re:Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:5, Insightful)
As someone who has used MacOS for work for four years and just recently tried several linux distros before sticking with kubuntu:
I appreciate the joke but is there even an example that does it better?
Linux seems to respect mymworkflow better than the others, but there are many enormeously stupid things about it too.
IMO there are no good operating systems at this time. They all require a lot of compromise on the user's part.
Re:Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:5, Insightful)
Indeed. I use all three OSs: Windows, macOS, and Linux. Much like text editors (*shock*) ALL Operating Systems sucks. You have to find the one that causes you the least pain points.
macOS is by no means perfect but one of the things macOS gets right is always having a menu bar at the top of the screen. This provides "infinite" height since you can never "overshoot" it with the mouse. Another thing Apple used to get right was by having a CONSISTENT Control Panel. Every version of Windows HAD to rename and move categories -- because of "reasons". As Meskimen's Law famously states: "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it again."
The problem is designing an UI for:
* beginners vs experienced
* mouse vs touch
If you navigate to Control Panel > Ease of Access > Keyboard > Use the On-Screen Keyboard you will see it reads:
So what happens when you turn this on? It now looks like this:
WTF?!
A GOOD way of design this would to have consistent label placement, like this, to minimize confusion:
This is Microsoft completely failing UI 101.
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Indeed. I use all three OSs: Windows, macOS, and Linux. Much like text editors (*shock*) ALL Operating Systems sucks.
True. However the good thing about Linux is than when I have found an approach that works for me, it keeps working. (This refers to Linux without systemd.) MS makes sure that regularly things get broken in a different and new and way that is probably even more obscure to fix.
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It is actually MUCH older then that.
Why do you think for Windows 95 Microsoft copied Apple's older Mac OS ?
Microsoft copied CP/M's retarded 8.3 filenames for MS-DOS. They have never understood that people use filenames for THEIR convenience. Even today in Windows 10 you STILL can't use a colon in filenames due to dumb decisions literally 40+ years ago. (MS-DOS was released in 1981.)
Re:Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:4)
Re: Still can't move the taskbar! (Score:4, Insightful)
And still can't have labels, presumably? Or disable grouping?
Annoying to only have a dozen icons that all look the same, instead of window titles...
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This... I first used X end of 80s, X11R3 or something, I had in my bar the label/title of all applications, and it was dynamic! for instance the current path of the xterm changed in the label in the taskbar.
I then at one time used Windows 3, then 311WG, 95, 98, name it until Windows 11 when suddenly, I only have icons without labels, and worst of it, grouped, wtf is wrong with MS? Is this courage?
Online questions : (Score:3)
How to I turn off the weather app ...
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I don't get the point of this app and ones like it.
I can look out the window to see what the weather is like. What I want to know is the weather later, so I can plan.
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I like the weather app. It was the thing I missed the most from Windows 7, and finally windows 10. I'm glad its back .
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Why doesn't the widget show the weather coming later, e.g. when you finish work? That's what I'm getting at, I use the weather app on my phone and like it too. Just not the widget.
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Windows 7 had the weather gadget that was vastly superior to win 10 one. In fact, one of the major complaints with win 10 was the vastly inferiour weather app that replaced it, as win 10 deprecated gadget system entirely.
M$?? MS BAD!! (Score:1)
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This is true, but probably not because of Microsoft's intent, but Google declining to permit it. Microsoft is settling for the more desperate Amazon, since a sideload-only affair would be a non-starter for most users. They probably hope that over time if their offering is significant enough, people will bother putting android apps on Amazon (both Microsoft hoping and Amazon hoping for the sake of their FireOS).
To any that might think 'big deal, just get the apk and sideload', this works for some, but a *l
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Because >25 years into the windows paradigm, linux on desktop devs still can't get their shit together to be even on par with it.
Flogging a tired horse... (Score:4, Interesting)
The reality to me, seems to be that Microsoft could do absolutely nothing to the UI/UX and just focus on stability, bug fixes, security patches etc. and be totally fine with it.
Hell, they could've done that since windows 7 and nobody using windows would've been the least bit upset.
Instead, they tried, in vain, to chase the "mobile paradigm" - they failed miserably. Utterly and comprehensively failed.
This failure ushered in the disastrous windows 8 interface and windows 11 is still suffering the consequences of that foolish move.
Microsoft, flailing around like the 800lb gorilla, got obsessed with "trying to keep up", in terms of their desktop offering.
In other areas, they have faired very well indeed - the office suite is pretty much the de-facto standard.
They have really shone in terms of pushing forward web standards and really getting involved with this.
However, Windows ... yeah, well, whatever, it may be the most widespread Desktop operating system by a good margin, but that horse is tired, man, really tired.
It's old hat - unexciting.
But still, they keep dicking about with it, fiddling away because clearly, the team behind it, have zero ideas in a space where there's no ideas left.
You have icons and floating windows and you launch apps - what else is there?
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What else is there? Why rounded corners and pastel icons, of course!
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Hell, they could've done that since windows 7 and nobody using windows would've been the least bit upset.
Disagree completely. There are many aspects of the Windows 10 UI which have been a huge improvement over Windows 7. Pen/touch input with fuzzy borders and dynamically re-arranging UI size is a huge boost to anyone with a touch interface (not just mobile). If you don't use it, good for you, literally no skin off your back.
The window snapping functionality is a huge boost to productivity.
Bluetooth actually works and isn't a clusterfuck, that wasn't a problem in Windows 7's era because people didn't use it. Fa
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So no, there's a lot of improvements, sure there's a fuckton of shit too, but don't pretend Windows 7 was perfect. It's not.
Sure, but they are all just minor little things, that are, overall, clouded by the ton of shit layered on top.
I used windows 10 as a gaming rig and it was just a PITA - having to reboot for updates, having to "tell windows to STFU" in sooo many places.
I did not feel like I was in control of my own computer - there was always this nagging doubt, that at any moment, microsoft could thrust some update upon me, that they would DEMAND I reboot or update, that they would take features away I enjoy.
I never felt li
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Sure, but they are all just minor little things
Yep. If *you* don't like a feature it has to be minor. Point is Windows 7 is not the pinnacle of design.
Microsoft, imho, lost the plot a LONG time ago with windows - it's a horrible experience.
I'm so confused. What "experience" is windows providing. It boots up and runs programs. Most users don't give a shit beyond that. The OS isn't an experience at all. It's ignorable. I consider Linux an experience. Lots of fun tweaking to get even a baseline OS functional is an experience. Installing an OS and it working is not.
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That's the problem, their customer base mostly doesn't want "ideas", they want "the same boring layer that goes between my apps and my hardware, but with fewer bugs than last year".
Imperative that MS Must F-Up Task Bar! (Score:2)
Why? (Score:2)
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It doesn't matter.
For the *vast* majority of people, smartphones are a way to send SMS/MMS messages and photos, and play music, and watch videos. They'll probably install SnapChat or something if they are into that. That's IT. That "ecosystem" of apps you talk about? Not that many people care very much. There are only about 10 apps that most people ever use, and 5 of them are part of the OS on both Android an iOS.
I'll come back to Windows (Score:1)
Windows 11 broke the taskbar. (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft got the taskbar right in Windows 95, and perfected it in Windows 98 with the addition of customizable toolbars. It's been mostly downhill since then, and yet with a few mouse clicks you could always, thankfully, restore it to the Win98 behavior. That is, until Win11 came along and removed the relevant options.
Keep in mind that as long as you're not playing a game or watching full-screen video, the taskbar is the only GUI element that's present on the screen 100% of the time. That makes it the single most important part of the GUI and therefore it should be designed with great care. Breaking it breaks the entire user experience.
I believe the taskbar should be:
- Informative. It's supposed to give me a good idea of what the computer is doing right now and what programs and windows are open.
- Functional. It should, you know, let me do stuff like quickly switch between open windows and easily start often-used applications.
- Not too large. The taskbar reduces available screen height, and with today's wide monitors we have precious little of it to begin with.
- Pretty. It's going to be there *all* the time, it shouldn't be an eyesore.
With Win11 MS have basically thrown all those values out except the last one, and even that's debatable.
First of all, the taskbar is very large and the option to "use small taskbar buttons" (which reduces its height) is gone.
The "combine taskbar buttons" option is also gone. In Win10 I set it to "Never", to keep separate windows as separate icons and enable text labels - an option which has disappeared for no explainable reason. Having to perform two clicks to switch to a desired window (first on its icon, then on the square representing the particular instance) is a huge inconvenience. The text label is informative and important, the icons become almost meaningless without it.
Finally there is no longer the option to add a toolbar containing shortcuts to commonly used programs. I don't want to see these icons on the taskbar when the program is not running (an annoying design concept copied from OSX), but I really like the ability to have a little popup menu with a bunch of commonly used shortcuts. This too is sadly gone.
Finally the various tray controls (network, sound volume, screen brightness etc) have been poorly redesigned from the not-bad Win10. For example, the ability to click the volume icon to quickly adjust the volume with the mouse wheel is gone (you now have to carefully hover over the appropriate slider first, an annoying extra step).
With these abilities missing the taskbar has basically become a large ribbon taking a significant portion of the screen while giving very little in return.
Thankfully Microsoft have made it very easy to uninstall Win11 and revert to Win10, this was the only pleasant part of my brief Win11 experience.
Tray icons (Score:2)
Can I tell Win11 to show all icons in the tray yet?
I've seen this stupidity on a couple of user's personal PCs now, and it irritates me. Thank goodness my home PC doesn't qualify for the "upgrade".
TPM requirement gone? No? (Score:2)
And finally a clean shutoff for telemetry? Also no? Then I am not interested.
Bias of lockscreen photo locations (Score:2)
It seems 99% of them are photos of places in the northern hemisphere. The only southern hemisphere one I've seen in my time using Win10 is of the Twelve Apostles, Australia.
I know the northern hemisphere is beautiful, but we here in the south of the planet have beautiful places as well.
Why why why (Score:2)
Why oh why does the OS have to be inextricably intertwined with a GUI for using it? They need to be unbundled. The fact that MS changes UIs all the time is one of the main reasons that people hate them.
Meanwhile, it's a lot like the old days when cars had a new model every year, but the only thing that really changed was how it looked. MS is run by marketing morons.