Microsoft Tests Windows 11 Desktop Widgets With Web Search Bar (theverge.com) 33
Microsoft is adding an optional web search to the Windows 11 desktop in the operating system's latest Insider Preview Build. From a report: The company describes the feature as "lightweight interactive content" -- the first, it says, of many such tools it's considering adding to Windows 11 -- but let's call the thing what it really is: a widget. Not everyone signed up to the latest Windows 11 preview build will see the new search box, but anyone who does and doesn't like it can disable the feature by right-clicking on the desktop, selecting "Show more options," and then toggling "Show search." If you are running the latest preview build, you'll also have to restart your computer to give the search box a chance to show up.
Acive Desktop? (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Don't forget the 6-monthly attempt to make us use Bing and the MSN homepage.
No, Desktop Widgets (Score:3)
Windows had Desktop Gadgets in Vista and 7. They were closely equivalent to KDE Desktop Widgets when they were introduced. Microsoft retired them around 2013 (not sure of the exact date, Microsoft didn't put a date stamp on the article and is sending a false original document creation date because they are fuckups) because of vulnerabilties in Windows Sidebar [microsoft.com] that they were too lazy to fix.
Anyone who fucks around with this feature with Microsoft again is ignoring the lessons of history.
Re: (Score:2)
Every few years someone thinks they can make widgets work. Desktop, start menu, floating, it's all been tried and failed.
I wish they would fix the start menu.
No, they're trying to make your computer a phone. (Score:2)
Complete with all the locked down, 0 control, 0 choice that implies - now with TPM so YOU can't do ANYTHING Microsoft and paying vassal corporations don't want with YOUR machine.
It's not an accident that it was BING which removed pirate sites which were noticed on DDG a couple weeks ago.
Vista: "I'm the worst Windows EVAR!!!" (Score:5, Funny)
Windows 11: "Hold my beer."
optional web search to the Windows 11 desktop (Score:2)
Bing! only, I presume.... (Score:2)
But I suppose eventually the European court will force them to allow you to change that...
Ooh, a search box. How original! (Score:2)
I've got to wonder who would want this? I mean, almost all of the reasonably popular browsers default to doing a web search on whatever you key into the box where a URL is supposed to go. That seems to solve the long-standing issue of "Joe Clueless" trying to search the Internet without understanding what the URL box was intended for.
"Joe Clueless" is a webshit invention (Score:1)
Not to put a fine point on it, but "Joe Clueless" is the result of putting people with no background in computing whatsoever in front of software "designed" by "devs" with no clue whatsoever about design but lots of unexplained (and unwarranted) assumptions about how their software is so good it's "intuitive". The result is lots of redneckery, but you can't really blame them because hot damn you were too good to explain anything to them.
Back in the day, if you bought a computer you would do a course to lea
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Ooh, a search box. How original! (Score:2)
I want M$ to bring back the old AOL experience! I needz my "channels" to loadz up on, and so does everyine else!
"I can't program my VCR but I'm surfing online!"
Just gon't go adding anything useful (Score:5, Informative)
If Microsoft seriously wants to improve search on Windows they should just buy Everything [voidtools.com] and integrate it right into the OS.
Re: (Score:3)
Who said that's the *only* search it should have?
Fact is on Windows an instant and thorough filename search is very useful and the fact we are sitting in 2022 and a free tool still does it better than the native OS search is an issue.
Re: (Score:3)
Filename search? The 90s called and want the way you use your computer back. Very few people need to search for file names.
So why is it that even in windows 10 when you do a search you get mostly filename matches?
Re:Just gon't go adding anything useful (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: But (Score:2)
The industry has been monstering us back into time share mainframe computing for some time now. The control freaks wet dream is to make everything a thin client and if your internet goes out for any reason, tough shit. Go read a book.
Re: (Score:2)
To extend a local search beyond the computer to the Internet is useless.
The alternative to a filename is not the internet. It's like you didn't even read my comment.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm old enough to remember Apple's Sherlock. Having a dedicated app to search the Internet didn't make any more sense back then than it does now.
Re: Just gon't go adding anything useful (Score:3)
Damn I didn't get the memo that I shouldn't be searching by filenames as I've been doing this scince forever. Not all of my local searches are by FN but most of them are. I even stick with 8.3 naming conventions for some of the stuff I do! I'm worse than Hitler.
Re: (Score:2)
I use that program multiple times a day on every windows box.
That's new. (Score:2)
Unicode submitted on a story about Windows. Usually it's only the Mac users who make that mistake.
Ah, it's a direct copy-paste from The Verge's content, where the curly apostrophe was used.
I wish I can have second showing in my clock (Score:3)
From a company that aren't able to do that, I wait for the fail
Search bar ignores your browser preference (Score:2)
It just opens Edge to return results. [twitter.com]
Currently you cannot load third party widgets to open other browsers. There are rumors this is coming, but it's not guaranteed [bleepingcomputer.com], and there is no way of telling what restrictions may be imposed on them. If they arrive it's possible they would have to first be approved by Microsoft.
Re: (Score:2)
So that is the real motivation. Seems MS needs another $500M fine in the EU.
Re: Search bar ignores your browser preference (Score:2)
Playskool widgets subsystem.
There is no excuse for something like this to not accept 3rd party programs in 2022.
There will never be a PC that "just works" (Score:1)
Re: There will never be a PC that "just works" (Score:2)
A PC by default is a "Jack of all trades". Does all but master of none.
This is why even the most bright eyed, bushy tailed newbie starts adding their own software after using the machine for a certain amount of time.
The default software on Windows and Android is usualy such crap that I stop and wonder if this is done on purpose to get people to use their respective "app stores".
The 90's called (Score:2)
They want their search bar back!
widget (Score:1)
Actually, the idea is even older than that.
Win98 had Active Desktop (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] ) - which let you put HTML in all sorts of places in your desktop and folders.
Not many people liked it though.