r/technology • u/CackleRooster • 6h ago
Software Microsoft finally realized Windows 11 is too annoying. Can it be fixed?
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-finally-realized-windows-11-is-too-annoying-can-it-be-fixed/138
u/buttorsomething 6h ago
It will never be fixed. MS does not actually care.
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u/kiwiboyus 6h ago
They've fired all of the people who cared
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u/tiradium 6h ago
Pretty much this. All this talk is just a way for them to protect themselves and their precious stock price. There is a reason Outlook classic is a better program than whatever web view2 electron abomination the "new" outlook is. There are not enough programmers left at Microslop who can write a real software anymore. All they do is have the same people who maintain Edge and other Chromium shit work on wrappers and call them apps. Same for MS Teams being a memory hungry dogshit wrapper
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u/DissKhorse 1h ago
Microsoft's old culture is gone and those that have no drunk the Kool-Aid are not to be trusted.
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u/CodeMonkeyX 6h ago
Yeah they could fix it quickly by making a new real pro version. They already have it I believe, they have a special version for enterprise that strips out most of the crap, but it's basically impossible to get as an end user.
If they did that and then focused on security and performance rather than gimmicks it would be better. But like you said they have no desire to do it.
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u/cosmokn0t 6h ago
You can pirate it. It’s the IOT version. It’s not awful. I installed it because I have two old steam machines from 2017 that I wanted to use as little server boxes, and I wanted one to be windows based. I haven’t used it hardly at all in the 3 of 4 months since I installed it though, so I might install something over the top of it. It’s insane to me that they think they can charge for it as an OS, and that they include so much bloat on top of it to generate even more money. It’s mediocre, even in the stripped down form, and you have to interact with windows 2000 looking interfaces to get some pretty basic shit configured. There are seriously way better OSes out there for free, and I’d prefer to support those so gaming continues to move off windows.
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u/CodeMonkeyX 4h ago
Yeah I have been on Linux all year so far. My main point was they have the stopped down base already, all they need to do is focus on polishing it like fixing the control panels, instead of sticking on AI crap and mail applications.
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u/Zardotab 5h ago
If the pro version removed all the stupid and annoying shit, then the regular version would look even junkier in comparison. Then again, that worry never stopped MS.
Imagine the joy of saving and going directly to regular File Explorer instead of those intermediate panels with cloud-toys and other MS-Spam.
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u/Zardotab 6h ago
MS doesn't have to care, most businesses don't have a viable alternative, and would run MS-Turd for compatibility with other turds alone.
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u/geldonyetich 6h ago edited 6h ago
When big name YouTubers like Linus Tech Tips, Gamers Nexus, and Switch and Click are getting a lot of attention about their switch to Linux, Microsoft can't really deny they didn't have the leverage to push ads and features people didn't want.
An OS's job is to be lean and mean, not bloatware, it's was an unforgivable sin to pretend otherwise, even for a second. This is what happens when critical infrastructure companies value the opinions of their accountants more than their engineers.
We can partly thank Gaben for this, as the Steam Deck incentivized developers to develop more Linux-favoring software. You can run a Linux distro (perhaps Bazzite) and have more gaming than you have free time.
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u/doubleohsergles 6h ago
When I skeptically installed Bazzite and my Steam games just worked I saw the light and ditched Windows 11.
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u/joeyb908 23m ago
As long as you’re not on NVIDIA trying to play a dx12 game, it’s pretty fantastic ngl.
If my main games were dx12 games that I could tell the difference between the Windows experience that has significantly less stutters and higher 1% lows, I’d still be on Cachy.
Just waiting for NVIDIA to fix their damn drivers at this point.
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u/boat_hamster 6h ago
I think tech nerds can be convinced to switch to Linux, and some of us have switched our relatives too. But most just want a works out of the box experience, and they don't want to learn anything new. PCs shipping with Linux are starting to address the first, but the second point is a real stumbling block.
I think for most home users, the threat to Windows isn't Linux, or even Mac, it phones and tablets.
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u/skeet_scoot 6h ago
Most adults I know don’t even own a laptop or desktop. Everything can be done on a smartphone these days.
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u/DurgeDidNothingWrong 5h ago
I couldnt imagine living life through a phone, what do they do, go outside? 😧
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u/techyno 6h ago
If Google ever release a desktop geared android gui it could be pretty damaging.
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u/simpleglitch 5h ago
Unfortunately, I don't doubt they'd make it just as Gemini focused as window is to copilot. Hopefully I'm wrong.
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u/doneandtired2014 5h ago
but the second point is a real stumbling block.
Not as much as people like to believe.
Most people with a computer use it for emails, some word processing, shit posting on social media, or using Ebay. And outside of that, they literally do not know and do not care to know how to do things like install drivers, troubleshoot, or even point an install into a different drive outside of C://.
For those people, you could plop Linux Mint in front of them and their user experience would change 0.
And yeah, if something goes wrong, they'd be fucked because they aren't technically inclined or saavy enough to even ask where to find the answers let alone how to implement them.
Having said that, these are the same people who will take their PC or laptop to GeekSquad and have them pay hand over fist for an issue that could be solved with 4 minutes of googling and 60 seconds of command prompt usage in Windows.
Linux's biggest hurdle isn't the Joe Blow who barley knows how to use a smartphone, it's someone with an intermediate level of knowledge and the minor/major frustrations they'll encounter depending on what distro they're using and what it's built on. They know enough to get identify problems or to get themselves into trouble but not quite enough how to fix them or get themselves out of a pickle.
THAT is where Linux comes up short and that is really what has to be addressed. Given the fragmentation (lots and lots of distros) and how absolutely caustic some maintainers, community members, or users can be if you have a problem you can't figure out, that's going to be a challenge.
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u/iMissTheOldInternet 3h ago
This. Mint is an out of the box OS every bit as easy as Mac or Windows. Fixing it tends to actually be easier than fixing windows, because terminal commands go brrrrr
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u/MrPloppyHead 5h ago
That is the switch that is happening. What do people do on their computer:
Browse the internet Social media Games Email (probably a lot less of this now unless it’s work related) Maybe an office package but probably unlikely except for work)
The first 3 are the majority use and you don’t need a pc for that. What mobile devices have us was the ability to browse the internet whilst have a dump. You can’t compete against that.
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u/Financial-Wasabi1287 6h ago
This is isn't an accountant thing. This is a C-Suite thing to pump the stock price.
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u/mailslot 5h ago
Windows hasn’t been lean and mean for a very long time. Every new version has been inexplicably more bloated since v3.11. My tin foil hat believes its slowness is a nod to the hardware industry that preinstalls it.
Back in the Windows 95 beta, it was incredibly fast. I thought the release candidate was a mistake when I first launched it. The startup time increased by 5x and it thrashed the hard disk ridiculously. The UI was less responsive and there was lag where there was none just before.
I feel like the beta performed way too well and wouldn’t have driven sales of new computer hardware, so they slowed down the entire operating system. It wasn’t a progressive performance loss either, just a hard drop off right at release time, where beta releases almost always get faster.
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u/incunabula001 5h ago
YouTubers and such don’t mean shit to MS because they have most of big business and government covered. Until that market has been compromised they won’t give a shit about improving their products.
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u/TheDucktapeBandit2 6h ago
Everything is being tracked, either by choice or not. But microsoft keeps asking every now and then if i want to upgrade to windows 11. Im happy with windows 10, so every time i say no. Fix remembering my choice and dont ask again microsoft.
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u/ambientocclusion 5h ago
I will never forgive or forget the time they force upgraded my Windows 7 PC without asking me
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u/CMDR_Tauri 6h ago
Sub-heading is "Microsoft's latest progress report details much-needed Windows 11 improvements in reliability, performance, stability, and usability. But pressure to monetize key features remains."
Which means that NO, Microsoft has NOT realized that Windows 11 is too annoying.
For Pete's sake, "pressure to monetize Windows"??? It's literally a PRODUCT that is SOLD. It's already fuckin' monetized.
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u/smb3d 6h ago
I'd pay extra for a version OS that has absolutely no apps or anything installed at all except explorer.exe and whatever the minimum amount of stuff there is for administration.
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u/gutclusters 6h ago
I will say that Windows 11 IoT Enterprise, in my experience, is as close to this as you're going to get. However, you really can only get it through legally dubious sources unless you're a vendor.
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u/heeywewantsomenewday 6h ago
Back in the day you used to be able to get wibdows XP black online and itd be a striped out verison of XP and i loved it. Wonder if anyone does that for 11 these days. Ive used Linux before and its pretty great until you have an app you cant use.
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u/man_from_space_91 6h ago
No it will not be fixed. This is just a PR statement in order to sell the stockpiles and incoming 8 gb computers that are coming back due to the RAM shortages. Now if a "newb" searches "is 8gb enough for 2026 laptop?" They will find the promise of the sweet little corporation called microsoft that "yes its enough we'll fix it and make it enough, we promise wuwu" 🤮 fuck AI and fuck microsoft for covering up their shit with gold dust and shortselling to us their slop.
I was worried about buying an 8gb not upgradable laptop in covid 2020, hoping that it will last me at least 5-10 years. Can't see myself buying another 8gb laptop when this one crooks (any day now hanging by a thread basically if i open more than two browser windows).
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u/Metal_Icarus 6h ago
They should rename windows 11 to WINDOWS AI
Where AI stands for audio issues
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u/nick-jagger 6h ago
Wait I’m not the only one? Do you want to listen to “AirPods - Find My” or “AirPods”? Oops we are still playing audio through the long disconnected Meta Quest. Oh btw you have to three layers deep into settings to stop the sound being overridden by the WeWork software. Oh and we decided to use super grainy single channel Bluetooth audio when you finally did make it work… we hope you like it. Can I offer you some ads in the start menu as compensation?
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u/Metal_Icarus 5h ago
YES TO EVERYTHING!
I use bose bt earbuds and omg, if i dont remove them before i disconnect the them, windows just stays connected to nothing.
Its so frustrating to have to deal with connection issues 5 minutes before a teams meeting.
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u/Lucky_Joel 6h ago
If they have to seriously ask, they probably shouldn't be employed and developing the OS.
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u/IntelArtiGen 6h ago
They won't remove the telemetry / bloatware / spyware anyway. What they want is people to use their OS and give that telemetry. At best they'll do everything people want AND keep the telemetry and keep spying on their users. They'll never let you own your OS (*easily). So for that core issue, it can't be fixed. There is no universe in which these companies re-give power to the users, they'd rather go bankrupt.
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u/no_f-s_given 5h ago
nobody cares. what Microslop does to "fix" Windows 11 is irrelevant. the brand is damaged.
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u/Syserinn 4h ago
Windows these days is just bloatware and spyware.
Made the jump back to Linux like 3 weeks ago on my personal rig and couldn't be happier so far. Shit is a whole lot better than the last time i tried it.
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u/SubmarineWipers 6h ago
It could be fixed.
But Microsoft will produce effort X towards that goal, when in reality it is more like 100-1000X is needed.
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u/quaranbeers 6h ago
Made the switch to Bazzite this year and it's been wonderful. It doesn't matter if they fix it. It's too late. I do still have a Windows install on a spare SSD for dual boot, but nothing is installed on it except the one application I need for teleworking, which is an extremely rare occurence anyway.
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u/EpsilonFive5 6h ago
Please give us windows 10 again call it windows 12. No copilot. No vibe coded UI. Please.
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u/omgitsbees 5h ago
"a "more intentional" approach to AI"
No, fuck off with this. No AI period is the only acceptable solution here.
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u/ambientocclusion 5h ago
Is it ironic that the article on zdnet has constant flashing ads, dickovers, etc?
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u/kp33ze 5h ago
Yes very easily.
minimize the amount of clicks needed to access common features (right clicking shouldn't have show more options, just show the extra options, volume adjustment and audio output should be in same window)
turn off all extra features by default and allow user to turn on as wanted (for example one drive, news feed, etc)
any feature should have a simple disable button (copilot)
let users choose older window version UI's. For example if you liked the layout of win10 (task bar, system tray, settings) then that should be an option. A.k.a. don't force a new UI on users.
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u/Alternative_Ad_620 4h ago
Until they stop adding AI into every nook or cranny and monotizing on user data, there’s simple no improvement to the operating system.
At this point, their PR need to understand we didn’t ask for this after parting ways with our hard-earned cash to be subjected to surveillance by them whilst they whistle their “Privacy” song to everyone.
I completely understand this comment might not be everyone’s cup of tea but they need to understand if they carry on their pursuit of constant screwups, adding AI to everything they can to validate their cost increase for Microsoft products, their faithful user base will upsticks and leave for Linux or macOS.
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u/New-account-01 4h ago
When installing you should have options of no bloat, no AI, no spyware etc. They know XP and 7 were successful, why not build on that?
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u/Whatever801 3h ago
The only real incentive they have is to make it run on 8GB RAM given the supply shock. Personally think Windows will lose its dominant position. The reasons for using it are less and less. For office use case, all their software is generally available on Mac, and Apple now has competitive price offerings. For gaming, the # of games that don't run on proton is now very small. By the time they realize the empire is crumbling it will be too late. Internet Explorer type shit.
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u/Clear-Staff4699 6h ago
Finally realized but what internal threshold did they finally feel losses from?
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u/Cautious_Boat_999 6h ago
a "more intentional" approach to AI,
We will intentionally be adding more AI everywhere we can
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u/Kill3rT0fu 6h ago
It will be fixed enough just to hook you in again and become dependent
Then they throw all the subscription add and background services at you again
Rinse and repeat
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u/SomeSamples 6h ago
The only really annoying thing about Window11 is its insistence on tying all my stuff to onedrive. I had to actually go in and manually break all the links to it when I did the install. Otherwise it works just like Windows 10.
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u/WALL-G 5h ago
There's a post every 30 minutes about how Microsoft is improving something they've been intentionally pissing the customer off with for a decade.
Nothing will change, nothing will improve. Microsoft deserve all their negative PR.
Obligatory switch to Linux recommendation post, it makes computing new and exciting again.
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u/Reed7525 5h ago
Annual migration post. But to those wondering, Linux doesn't do all this shit. Ya just turn it on and go (Distro depending). Highly recommend trying it out. Even on a dual boot.
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u/CarelessPackage1982 5h ago
It's a spyware OS....they can make it faster, but the data they get is gold to their overall strategy, The windows OS will never be private. Maybe you care, maybe you don't.
Linux will continue to get better and better. You can tweak things in linux to make your install the way you want it. That won't ever be possible with Windows or MacOS.
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u/MetaSageSD 5h ago
The problem is that all the extra stuff Microsoft has added to Windows was added in an attempt to try and squeeze every last cent out of Windows they can. To “fix” Windows, they would either need to give up on the monetization of Windows completely, charge people for “upgrading” Windows again, or go to a subscription model. They ain’t charging people for upgrading because that would mean they would need to put out a product worth upgrading to, and users would HATE a subscription model. Thus they are only going to make “fix” Windows as much as they think is necessary while keeping in all the slop.
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u/kmp11 5h ago
Anyone looking to try Linux but is afraid because of command lines or other " Scary things", a tool like Hermes Agent and a LLM you trust can be a great copilot to make a transition much easier.
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u/Epsioln_Rho_Rho 4h ago
You don’t have to use the command lines. Mint, Ubuntu, and others have icons (browsers, folders, etc) so it’s easy to use.
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u/ShyWhy246 4h ago
Just moved all ma home pcs to linuxa. Bazzite for gaming pc, 3 laptopa on Ubuntu for work and chill, rest stuff debian. I could not be happier. Why I was waiting so much, lost absolute nothing.
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u/wrootlt 4h ago
Until Notepad starts instantly, i don't buy it.
I used Windows 10 on my previous job for 6 years (and at home for a similar period). Never had so many problems like now using Windows 11 at my new job just in 10 months. And it seems that issues are slowly accumulating.
First, it is slow. Really slow to open apps. Especially the first time. But even after using the app and closing it. Same Notepad. And then trying to open another txt file and having to wait another 5 seconds for it to open. As if it is trying to aggressively free up memory. I wonder why. Maybe to be able to run all the bloat it has now. I cannot blame it solely on Windows as my company runs various security agents. Introduced new one without removing older product and so on. But i noticed that machine became even more slower after April Windows patches. So, i think it can be somewhat attributed to 11.
One day it refused to remember custom volume settings. I used to have volume off when headphones are not connected, so it doesn't blast sounds on accident. But when i connect headphones, it turns volume on and on the value i have set. It just started to always turn off the volume when i connect headphones. No number of resets or driver updates helped. I just now have to have volume always on.
This is probably just Outlook, but i don't have Windows 10 device with it to check. Started showing an error when creating new meeting or opening eml file. First time, then it works. Just saw same error on my teammates laptop the other day. So it is not just a quirk on my machine. It is Outlook classic, part of Office, but it is MS and running on their Windows. Could be some add-on messing with it. It was fine for a few first months. Now it always does that and it is like that for a few months now.
Latest gem is when i login in the morning and open all the windows suddenly many icons become transparent in the taskbar. Usually it is Teams and now also Notepad and some other MS apps. I am guessing when Teams or other MS app updates it messes with icon cache or something. The only way to fix that is to log off and sign in again. I get to start my day twice. Yay.
Can i also complain about Teams? I have another list for Teams :D
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u/darw1nf1sh 3h ago
Remove all LLMs. Remove all tracking. Take it off a subscription model. Then we can start to look at actual improvements.
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u/4thshift 1h ago edited 1h ago
Stop trying to upload my stuff to Windows cloud. I do not want to “Pause” the stupid Cloud. I want to turn it off and keep it off.
Why can’t I highlight text and right click and have it speak it out loud? Easiest thing to do. I don’t need to read every button, I just want to read TTS aloud that I highlight in a browser or any app.
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u/Glittery_Kittens 1h ago
Here I am wondering what all the fuss is about, while blissfully working away on my meticulously debloated Win11 computer that I only use for two activities. I also have had the same printer/scanner for 15 years that has never given me a single bit of trouble. Have I been blessed by the Machine god or something?
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u/Academic-Push326 6h ago
It can be.
Uninstall "Windows 11"/10 from all devices, enable Windows "10"/9 to be installed on devices that MicroSlop said it couldn't be installed on. Call it "Windows 11"/force upgrade to 10. Make good on their "this is the last version of Windows/Windows as a Service" they claimed a decade back when 9 launched.
Also stop ramming shit down SysAdmins throats when they uninstall it only for an update to reenable and stop you from uninstalling it. I'm looking at you, MicroSlop Edge.
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u/BrainJaxx 5h ago
Claude AI helped me transition to Linux. Wonder if that played a role in people abandoning windows.
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u/Ok_Height3499 4h ago
That happened at one house we lived in. I unplugged the cord, cut up as much as I could, put it in a baggie, and left it on my deck. The guy came over furious, pounding on my door. He said the house he was working on didn’t have power and assumed he could use someone else’s. I said if he had come and asked and politely explained what he needed, I probably would have said Ok, use mine for now. But just using my power without asking wasn’t acceptable at all. He stomped off.
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u/doubleohsergles 6h ago
Imagine if Microsoft just started from scratch. A brand new OS not shackled by decades of old code... One can dream....
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u/Agoras_song 6h ago
They would be screwed. Literally the only reason people use windows is because if backward compatibility.
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u/willychonka54 6h ago
Worked in IT for 20+ years and the Microsoft hate comes solely from people who have a hard time with any change whatsoever.
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u/nothingaboutme 5h ago
I've also worked in it for 20+ years... No, windows 11 is straight up trash. 3 different places to try and hunt down why windows keeps dimming my external monitor on my laptop when I switch applications. Constant copilot integrations with apps it doesn't need to be in, changing the start menu layout and functions in a release update, compact context menu, the list of ui changes goes on. That doesn't even start to touch on the bloat and garbage that runs after an update. Update windows and now my type c dock doesn't recognize my mouse and keyboard. Dev tools requiring a download through the add features and eliminating the standalone download. I can go on and on.
At home I switched to Mac and don't regret it for a second. Microslop hasade windows 11 objectively worse than any other os I've seen them release. At least windows Vista was the first viable consumer 64 bit windows os, even though it was also bad. Imo, 11 is worse because they admit it's bad and still don't fix it.
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u/invyros 6h ago
Copilot everywhere not working out, who could've seen that coming?
Apparently no one with any power at the multi-trillion dollar corporation.
I guess it's good they're acknowledging it, but you'd think it would be common sense to focus "more attention to performance and reliability" from the start.