This is my only real issue with Windows 11:<p>> There’s also the fact that the OS has been forcing ads as "recommendations" into the Start menu and has even begun testing promotional recommendation pages that take up your whole screen, urging users to make Edge the default browser and installing or enabling other services. The worst part is that there’s no way to fully opt out of these ads, which accomplish nothing but clog up the UI with constant notifications.<p>If Microsoft wanted to drop that, they could do so instantly. But apparently MS values the ad revenue more than they do the trust in their system, and going to Windows 12 won't magically change MS's mind.
> The biggest reason to make the move to Windows 11 is possibly Microsoft Copilot<p>Personally, I think that's one of the several big reasons to <i>avoid</i> Win 11.
If you un-fuck Win 11 (shout out to O&O ShutUp10++ which should be mandatory for any user), PowerToys and WSL it's _probably_ the best dev environment you can get. Even so, the trajectory is not great. I wonder where the point of resistance will be for the normal user, but then again probably it doesn't matter. Normal users won't go to Linux. It's either Mac or Windows.<p>As a Dev (and company owner) I would pay for a stripped out version of Windows Pro that contains only the stuff I need for dev and nothing else. No AI crap, no spyware and forced updates crap etc.
Windows 10 is the maximum intrusion people are willing to take. That's all there is. If Microsoft isn't going to stop this, I wonder where we end up. As this is an OS that billions of people rely on.<p>I can already see a lot of people using outdated versions w/o support just to avoid espionage hell.
Windows 11 and WSL2 is pretty much the best development environment experience around right now in my books.<p>Being in the Windows ecosystem lets me benefit from that crazy backwards compat and support for mainstream software, windows-rs lets me customize a batteries-included DE[1] without having to touch JS, and on the WSL2 side of things I can run NixOS for all of my regular development needs.<p>It's very sad and frustrating to see Microsoft, despite all of this, trying to make the operating system as un-useable as possible in all the ways mentioned in this article and in other comments.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLz3eqQDufw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLz3eqQDufw</a>
It’s clear that Microsoft’s iterations on Windows aren’t working, and their management of windows needs to be reworked. At a certain point the constant “stop improving existing version and start the next one” has to be seen as silly by upper management, right? Is there any business benefit to constantly updating major Windows versions that I’m not seeing?
> Windows 11 plummeted to a 25.69% market share after it reached an all-time high of 28.16% back in February 2024. Meanwhile, Windows 10 has risen to over 70% market share during the same period<p>1980's: we all wanted personal computers<p>1990's: we all wanted the Internet<p>2000's: we all wanted social networks<p>2010's: we all wanted mobile devices<p>2020's: we just want to get rid of shitty search and AI surveillance
A big reason that nobody is switching to Windows 11 is because Microsoft actively makes it impossible for most consumers to do so. They're trying to force you to buy new hardware by obsoleting the vast, vast majority of Windows 10 machines - even though those machines are completely capable of running Windows 11!<p>If they simply allowed people on older devices to install Windows 11, those usage numbers would double or triple basically overnight. I don't think most non-HN people care about spying, but they also don't care enough about having the latest version of Windows to buy a whole new computer. I can't imagine why Microsoft thought they would.<p>The big question is what happens when Windows 10 support ends, about a year and a half from now. Microsoft will basically be creating one of the biggest security disasters of all time by no longer providing updates for Windows 10 to keep it secure. It's hard to believe they'll do that, but all signs point to it. Support ending is not going to convince people to start throwing out perfectly functional computers.
Or just roll it back to Windows 10, stick to that promise that it was the final version, and cut out all this nonsense. Most folks don’t wanna swap out their hardware just to get Windows 11, deal with those ads, or the super snoopy AI that digs through their data. And nobody's sitting around hoping Microsoft's gonna drop something even sketchier.
*off topic
Some parts of the window are absolutely well done and excellently polished and implemented - and there are some killer features and applications which makes it an amazing platform.<p>however - I don't know how much longer I can balance my privacy against this functionality, and it is a struggle in the workplace as well, where management seems to appreciate the functionality to restrict, constrain and monitor their users.
Why is it that MS only gets every second version of Windows right?<p>Vista, 8 and 11 were all a step back for usability and stability, while 7 and 10 were solid with a decent user interface.<p>Perhaps they just get bored with something that’s working well, and start tinkering (“Let’s move the WLAN control 2 layers removed from the system tray and also make”, “The Explorer context menu has too much stuff for power users”).
Today's Windows 12 is tomorrow's Windows 11. Even if the teams change, the environment that produced the current team will remain -- it was game over the moment Windows OS fell from money maker to cost-center.<p>With that being said, what kind of change <i>would</i> "save" Windows? From an organizational perspective, a spin-off would be most effective... albeit the least likely. If we take that off the table, the next best thing would be to retool the product so that it scales better for such an unwieldy organization. I'm talking a new kernel that's compact and totally modular... but good luck dealing with <i>that</i> can of worms. It all circles back to Microsoft as a corporate entity -- what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander.
When Win10 support winds down, I am unsure if I will even bother to continue to use it.
MS has shit the bag so to speak with every version since Windows 7.
Ideally Microsoft should just stop forcing bullshit and keep doing Windows the classic way. The value of Windows is in what it is, not in what it "can become".
Has anyone else had this problem with Win 11? Tried to log in this morning, but it rejects my password and opens a warning dialog that says:<p>> Please verify that you are NoMoreNicksLeft by saying "Doritos™ Dew™ it right!"<p>I think it must've updated over the long weekend.
It’s funny peering into the windows cosmos after leaving it when things started to get bad. To me it seems like a bunch of tech people disillusioned with their OS grasping at straws hoping Microsoft rights the course knowing full well it will never happen, RIP Windows I for one am glad you are dead.
They should really buy Ubuntu and shut down Windows entirely. Then release a compat layer for Windows software and sell the enterprise add-ons on top. Linux won.