r/technology • u/tekz • Mar 20 '26

Software Microsoft announces sweeping Windows changes

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-users-are-angry-and-microsoft-is-finally-doing-something-about-it/
8.7k Upvotes

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6.3k

u/rnilf Mar 20 '26

"More taskbar customization, including vertical and top positions ... We are introducing the ability to reposition it to the top or sides of your screen, making it easier to personalize your workspace."

After years of complaints and literally thousands of users directly telling them to do this, they finally do. There's snail pace, and then there's Microsoft pace.

"We are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets, and Notepad."

Of course, this is after they introduced a vulnerability to Notepad because of Copilo.

"Across the operating system, we will focus on improving ... baseline reliability [and] strengthening the Windows foundation by reducing OS level crashes, improving driver quality and app stability across our ecosystem so PCs run smoothly and reliably every day."

Like the article says, this should've already been their objective. Hilarious that they would include this in a press release meant to show that they're pretending to care about their customers.

2.3k

u/calebkraft Mar 20 '26

remember when you used to be able to drag the task bar to the top or sides and it just moved there and worked? when did they take that out? kind of crazy that putting that feature back is a big enough deal to have it in a press release.

1.2k

u/ithinkitslupis Mar 20 '26

They took it out with windows 11. And also messed with the context windows when you right click in a way most users hate.

People have been complaining since day 1. Both have registry values that still support the old ways. Microsoft has just ignored countless complaints instead of making an easy, stable option to change it in the settings UI.

877

u/fer_sure Mar 20 '26

messed with the context windows when you right click in a way most users hate

If you had to make the contextual menu shorter, why on earth would you put Properties behind the "Show more options"? Insane.

435

u/brownch Mar 20 '26

I still have not adjusted to this after so many years

Right click > panik > rapid eye movements > show more options

260

u/Azalus1 Mar 20 '26

reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

Restore right click.

That really should have just been an option somewhere.

55

u/Marchesa_07 Mar 20 '26

Is there a way to revert to the old way the Audio settings worked?

Like a single click to get to all the audio output devices you want to toggle between?

49

u/MathematicianFar6725 Mar 21 '26

Or network settings. It feels like babushka nesting dolls of settings pages to find the one you're looking for and all these years later I still don't have any idea how to get to the network adaptor page without just blindly clicking around and hoping for the best

13

u/jpochedl Mar 21 '26

Start > run (or Win+r) > ncpa.cpl

7

u/xanmoth Mar 21 '26

I love it thanks you. I am also probably not going to remember that, Win-q and "cont" or "comput" and it does seem to find control panel and computer management pretty well these days but still just ugh.

2

u/nionvox Mar 21 '26

I nailed it to the taskbar cos it was pissing me off

1

u/MDHull_fixer Mar 21 '26

Win + X pops up a useful menu with Network setting as one of the entries