News I’m Sticking With Windows 10, but Microsoft Won’t Stop Nagging Me to Upgrade

[ICollectTransformers]

I just added a couple of Stardock programs like Start 11 and now my computer functions like a blend of Windows 7/ 10 and is much faster than Windows 10 now on my system. a couple registry hacks and all my context menus are back to what I consider normal.

 

[RandomWan]

Question - why stick to Windows 10? Clearly you have something against current versions of software so why not Windows 7 or XP? Heck NT4 was great and 3.11 too?

Ever since I started on computers in 1995 I have always stuck with the latest, 3.11 then 95... even Me, Vista and 8. All worked remarkably well.

Remember, the UI is a very tiny part of the OS. That is why my favourite linux is Debian headless.

Tell me you didn't use Windows ME without telling me you didn't use Windows ME. That dumpster fire was never stable and never worked well. We nuked that OS from orbit at the college I was working at during that OS' existence.

 

[bigdragon]

Yes, the constant nagging is infuriating. I also disabled TPM to get the Windows 11 notifications to stop. Also had to make some registry edits to fully stop the Office and One Drive boot ads too.

Microsoft has adopted a "get in the user's way" mentality. It really shows with all these boot nagging screens and the way the Windows 11 UI is designed. Microsoft must have hired the same clueless designers that came up with the initial versions of Linux's Gnome 3 desktop. I don't want my computer or desktop to look pretty like it's in some sort of RGB brochure or designer magazine -- I need to get work done, create content, and play games.

Microsoft nailed the UI with the Windows 10 Creators Update in the fall of 2018. That's what I want more of. That felt like a huge upgrade over what Windows 7 and earlier iterations of Windows 10 provided. Windows 11 feels like a regression back to the excessive wasted space and extra clicks introduced by Windows 8 and Vista -- I do not want more of that.

 

[evdjj3j]

"giving Microsoft more information it can use to throw tabloid headlines at me"

I like to refer to the news feed in Windows as the Little Hate Machine since all they put on there is inflamitory click bait political garbage trying to make me hate one group or another.

 

[Dr3ams]

Win 11 is quite resource intensive...

Running Windows 11 and looking at Task Manager in idle:

• CPU: 2-5%
• Memory (32GB total) : 8GB
• SSD (boot disk): 1-3%
• M.2 (game drive): 0%
• 3x HDDs: 0%
• GPU: 3-6%
• Ethernet: variable

Apps active: Directory Opus, Enpass, Google Chrome, OneNote, Outlook, PowerDVD and WhatsApp

Resource intensive? I don't see it.

 

[Tac 25]

my solution is to let the 10600k pc rest for awhile, and use the 2600k backup pc again. Microsoft does not nag this pc with 10 year old cpu. Anyway, this backup pc is quite enough for Star Rail and Genshin. Will use my 10600k again when Tekken 8 get released.

the upgrade to Windows 11 is not only aggressive, it is also deceptive. One time, thought I was just clicking a random button to proceed back to desktop after an update.. good thing I noticed that button was already an agree to upgrade to W11. lol

 

[jblosun]

I've gladly used the latest Windows version as soon as possible ever since 95, even getting in on the beta tests of 7 and 10, but I tried 11 a few months ago, and downgraded back to 10 Pro within hours.

10's taskbar is better, the start menu is better, virtual desktop switching is better, context menus are better, I have more control and customization options, and there are zero ads.

Sure, there are changes in 11 that I wish I had access to, but 99.99% of my actual everyday interaction with the OS is noticeably worse in 11. Why would I upgrade? (The answer is of course that pretty soon Microsoft will force me to, oh well.)

 

[Dr3ams]

10's taskbar is better, the start menu is better, virtual desktop switching is better, context menus are better, I have more control and customization options, and there are zero ads.

How is the Task Bar and Start Menu better?

And for those who are seeing ads in Windows 11, just turn them off.

 

[BX4096]

How is the [Win10] Task Bar and Start Menu better?

Umm... Objectively? At least for those of us who see having more features and customization as a good thing. Especially on launch, the Win 11 taskbar didn't support even some of the most basic pre-11 features you might expect, from drag and drop, to a right-click menu, or even the ability to change its location to the top, left or right side. It's beyond horrid.

 

[jblosun]

How is the Task Bar and Start Menu better?

And for those who are seeing ads in Windows 11, just turn them off.

I only used Windows 11 for one afternoon more than a year ago, so I can't rattle off a list of specific points like I could have then. Believe me, I left highly detailed feedback in their "why are you downgrading" box. It wasn't one huge thing, just a lot of small points that kept adding up... options I had in 10 that were removed in 11, places where 10 gave me information I find important and 11 didn't. At a certain point it was like, well, everything I want to do can be done in 10 and not 11, or just doesn't work as well. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy they made the rollback, fwiw.

 

[palladin9479]

How is the Task Bar and Start Menu better?

And for those who are seeing ads in Windows 11, just turn them off.

Windows 10, though MetroUI, still has elements of Aero buried inside it allowing for the UI to be manipulated in much the same way. Windows 11 dumped those elements and went even harder to the Tablet style MetroUI interface, it looks and feels like a poor clone of MacOS.

Normally this wouldn't bother me, but due to them stripping out several of the older Aero interfaces, modifying the core UI elements are problematic at best and usually impossible. They dumped the start menu entirely in favor of some sort of weird app menu in the center of the bottom that acts like an App interface to Microsoft App Store. Subsequent updates have allowed folks to move it around but it's still just an interface to the Microsoft App Store.

We can expect third party tools to have this solved sometime around when Windows 12 gets announced and Microsoft stops changing the core UI libraries inside Windows 11.

 

[DavidLejdar]

The widgets can be removed from the taskbar. So can the search field. And the start menu icon can be moved to the left, and it can have up to 24 customizable shortcuts on the first page. And when opening File Explorer, there is also the option to customize shortcuts on the Start folder there.

The new context menu was unusual. But I don't really use "Show more options".

The notifications I don't make much use of. It is not as practical as an RSS reader. But it seems a nice feature, to be able to be notified e.g. about a new article or forum reply on Tom's Hardware (if it is implemented on both sides yet). Personally, I have it on "do not disturb", and having a quick look, I see i.e. notification about new GPU drivers.

And it all runs stable for almost a year now.

All in all, I can't complain.

 

[Giroro]

I don't think Linux is a good alternative to Windows 11.

I'm not sure Linux's solution of "force users to navigate an ancient ugly terminal, memorize the name and location of every file, re-navigate to an already-open folder, and memorize/type dozens of characters to perform simple commands or even launch apps with a usable level of permissions", Is an actual alternative to Window's 11 problem of "This thing that used to take two fast clicks now takes 4 slow clicks, a precise mouse move, and noticeably slower animations".
Both options are a slower than they need to be. A waste of time. and energy compared to the better versions of Windows.

I would love to switch to Linux (or I would if any software I used actually supported enough to run at full speed, or in general). But the Linux desktop GUIs (I've tried many) are still all very bad (slow and inconvenient) at being GUIs. They're just a radically different kind of bad. Linux is still just a skin of a text-based OS. That's an advantage for a small niche of people who need it, but a problem when it comes to providing general users with a fast and intuitive interface.

I want the GUI to get out of the way as quickly as possible so I can do something real. It should never block me or slow me down. It should be like the background sound in a movie or the controls in a video game: If you are consciously aware that it exists, if you're actively thinking about it... then it's done something fundamentally wrong.

Maybe someday Linux will get a fundamental UX rewrite where I don't need to drop everything to open up a terminal and fumble around with sudo and -flags multiple times a day, but I've been saying that for over 20 years. I don't think it's going to happen.

The problems with Windows 11 are very frustrating, because it's an obvious regression. They solved a lot of these design problems a long time ago. They could literally copy-paste some of these features... not even copy-paste, because the better GUI is sill burred deep in its bloat. You just need a 3rd party app to use it. It's a problem easily solved for 95% of people with a couple checkboxes and an animation-speed slider, or just give us a "classic" skin. But the art-student level novices who made this GUI think their way is best, and stubbornly want to shove it down people's throats.

 

[razor512]

The windows 11 UI is horribly inefficient. Under windows 10, I can further save screen space without giving up any function or info by selecting the use small icons option in the taskbar, as well as show text labels, thus making navigation easier especially when you have multiple folders open. The smaller Taskbar options make it smaller by removing negative space, thus no impact to readability.

 

[-Fran-]

I don't think Linux is a good alternative to Windows 11.

I'm not sure Linux's solution of "force users to navigate an ancient ugly terminal, memorize the name and location of every file, re-navigate to an already-open folder, and memorize/type dozens of characters to perform simple commands or even launch apps with a usable level of permissions", Is an actual alternative to Window's 11 problem of "This thing that used to take two fast clicks now takes 4 slow clicks, a precise mouse move, and noticeably slower animations".
Both options are a slower than they need to be. A waste of time. and energy compared to the better versions of Windows.

I would love to switch to Linux (or I would if any software I used actually supported enough to run at full speed, or in general). But the Linux desktop GUIs (I've tried many) are still all very bad (slow and inconvenient) at being GUIs. They're just a radically different kind of bad. Linux is still just a skin of a text-based OS. That's an advantage for a small niche of people who need it, but a problem when it comes to providing general users with a fast and intuitive interface.

I want the GUI to get out of the way as quickly as possible so I can do something real. It should never block me or slow me down. It should be like the background sound in a movie or the controls in a video game: If you are consciously aware that it exists, if you're actively thinking about it... then it's done something fundamentally wrong.

Maybe someday Linux will get a fundamental UX rewrite where I don't need to drop everything to open up a terminal and fumble around with sudo and -flags multiple times a day, but I've been saying that for over 20 years. I don't think it's going to happen.

The problems with Windows 11 are very frustrating, because it's an obvious regression. They solved a lot of these design problems a long time ago. They could literally copy-paste some of these features... not even copy-paste, because the better GUI is sill burred deep in its bloat. You just need a 3rd party app to use it. It's a problem easily solved for 95% of people with a couple checkboxes and an animation-speed slider, or just give us a "classic" skin. But the art-student level novices who made this GUI think their way is best, and stubbornly want to shove it down people's throats.

Why do you think "Linux = terminal windows"?

Have you ever heard of "KDE" or "Gnome" or many other window compositors?

You can have as a barebones experience you want with some distros or as a GUI-driven experience with others as you need.

Yes, Linux is NOT Windows, but that's the whole point and the beauty of it. Ironically, one of the biggest contributors (money and some kernel lines a year) to GNU Linux is Microsoft anyway.

Regards.

 

[palladin9479]

Why do you think "Linux = terminal windows"?

Have you ever heard of "KDE" or "Gnome" or many other window compositors?

You can have as a barebones experience you want with some distros or as a GUI-driven experience with others as you need.

Yes, Linux is NOT Windows, but that's the whole point and the beauty of it. Ironically, one of the biggest contributors (money and some kernel lines a year) to GNU Linux is Microsoft anyway.

Regards.

I think it's more that doing anything the distro doesn't have built in support for usually requires dropping to terminal and doing yum / dnf or even wgeting repos down. This is trivial to anyone raised on Unix / Linux in the IT world but very disconcerting to those who grew up in the point and click to do everything Windows world.

And this is largely the *nix communities own fault, every time it looks we will settle on a single standard, somebody somewhere feels the need to write a new standard that isn't compatible with the old standard. See OSS vs ALSA vs Pulse, SDL vs QT, yum vs dnf, and all the other "my standard API the other standard API".

 

[razor512]

In my opinion, Linux distro have a long way to go to achieve broad general appeal. While they have made. Progress in their UI, there are still many major inefficiencies, lots of wasted screen space (especially with distro like Ubuntu), and a systemic dislike for GUI and automation. While there is a narrow guarded path that is the software center, if you need to venture out of it (since it only carries a tiny fraction of the software available), you are immediately thrust into the deep end of CLI hell.
Furthermore since things chance more often in CLI, older guides do not work with newer versions, thus a more mainstream/general user cannot take a guide to install a specific tar.gz package written for ubuntu 20.04 and have it work in 22.04 via simply copy and pasting the commands from the guide into terminal, instead a user may get 15 steps in, only to encounter random errors, and not know what to do next, now they have a bunch of random deoendancies and other software installed, along with various other files scattered around the file system, with nothing to show for it, leaving a mess to clean up. At that stage, a user will be stuck trying to ask for help on a forum, where 9 times out of 10, they will get hassled for not having a deep understanding of the linux, or the thread will simply go weeks with no response when all the user wants are some step by step instructions where they can copy and paste in commands and have things work. When those experiences happen, users find it simply easier to stick with windows where even more advanced tasks can be done through the GUI, and if command line is needed, the design culture often results in a GUI frontend being made for the CLI work, or a batch file designed to provide an almost GUI like experience, thus taking the guesswork out of figuring out if you are typing in the commands properly.

With all of that in mind, Linux distros tend to better appeal to 2 categories of people.
1: People who have a deep understanding of the underlying OS, and can adapt to changes nearly instantly.

2: People who use their PC for very basic tasks, where they rarely need anything beyond a web browser, such that the software center has more than they will ever need.
----
Everyone in between will eventually encounter situations where they need to use CLI, and are stuck searching for guides, and hoping that the guide or instructions posted on a blog or forum 3 years ago, still works with the latest distro, as they copy and paste their way through following the guide.

 

[apiltch]

I just added a couple of Stardock programs like Start 11 and now my computer functions like a blend of Windows 7/ 10 and is much faster than Windows 10 now on my system. a couple registry hacks and all my context menus are back to what I consider normal.

When I eventually have to move my desktop to Windows 11, I will probably use something like Stardock. My problem is that I want to have a UI that's representative of the defaults because when I do tutorials and take screenshots, I want them to look "normal." That's a "me" problem, though.

The other thing is that registry hacks like the context menu could go away at any time.

 

[apiltch]

The windows 11 UI is horribly inefficient. Under windows 10, I can further save screen space without giving up any function or info by selecting the use small icons option in the taskbar, as well as show text labels, thus making navigation easier especially when you have multiple folders open. The smaller Taskbar options make it smaller by removing negative space, thus no impact to readability.

I couldn't agree more. I don't understand why Microsoft took functionality away. I think they just want Windows 11 to look different so badly that they won't let you change the look.

 

[ubronan]

Well lol i am an absolute fan of w10 last beta's as it did everything better and i REALLY HATE that stupid interface
In fact i get frustrated so much in w11 which is NOT better on every front it is a pain to find tools and stuff i tinker with all the time.
So in every sense for me w11 is a HUGE FAIL period and then the endless nagging try M$ office try blah blah
Sadly M$ started to push updates which constant nagg me to switch even more now, so i actually forced it to longer update and am thinking to reinstall w10 again with a older image as i sick and tired by the replacements they do on the current w10 as well
For instance why oh why must everything be moved into APP$ freaking .......... every dot a swear word.
I do not want apps i want my stuff where i want it NOT freaking w11 bs also on w10
Sure the youth loves the new insanity but me i hate all that nonsense more and more is moved over there for no reason at all, and guess what when it happened i have to find another replacement as the new thing FAILS miserable as it now needs much more time to launch and yes has insanity never needed added SIGH
They constant nagg me to use whatever they cook up next and i seriously miss the Beta w10 so much as now more and more of that nonsense is forced upon me
So i am constant seeking other solutions which replace the new monstrousities as i do not want to use apps it is all counter productive as W11 is a hog which made me find my most used toys deep hidden about 3 to 5 more steps to get to it and that is when your lucky as some moved to be used by command prompts deeper SIGH
Slowly M$ is destroying W10 so you will get annoyed enough to go that freaking nasty W11
There is really nothing better in W11 really nothing well besides for M$ as it is fully loaded with spyware telling them every second what you push, type, read, when you poo or pee, when you clean your droplets of ... from the nose and so on it is the ultimate spyware monster that is W11 they know everthing what you do and look at anything you try to hide from them as well.
I admit W10 is slowly becoming W11 but you can still kill some of their spyware on it, but with every update they slowly change it into a w11 copy so you no longer have a reason to stay on w10
In fact they are trying to push you out of w10 as much as possible by annoying the c..p out of you.
As now on w10 they are constant moving stuff or remove handy tools for example the old snipping tool has been replaced by the much more annoying w11 version .... i actually could get the old back with some tricks but now you are stuck on that new piece of ......
I hated it so much that i actually had to search for a replacement which makes my life on fast make a screen shot again a pleasure so god bless freeware.
But i get sick and tired of them claiming 11 is better it is not besides for some people who love that new farce, nobody can tell me it is better especially my taskbar it has normally around 50 icons downunder where i click and boom can do what i want or need yes they are super small as i tend to push even more on there
Some get crazy when they look at my pc and say what the ..... you have tons of stuff on the taskbar and i answer simply you with your w11 are busy 2 minutes to find what you need, for me it takes seconds
So again NOTHING is better in w11 really nothing it is a hog
Now the most important games play much better and with higher fps on w10
So even with all the new bloatware pushed in the latest 10 upgrades it is in every way still faster, better than the monster called w11

 

[Geef]

I hate how Microsoft will randomly pop up a window asking if I want to give feedback to the phone link program.

YES/NO

Choose NO and it then pops up a feedback section window. I just clicked NO you dang program! 🤬

 

[USAFRet]

For me, going from Win 10 to Win 11 is like buying a new car, and moaning because they moved the cupholders.

Have had no issues with the systems that are now on Win 11.

Thinking about moving one or more of the remaining Win 10 systems to 11. No hurries, and no worries, though.

 

[Giroro]

Why do you think "Linux = terminal windows"?

Have you ever heard of "KDE" or "Gnome" or many other window compositors?

You can have as a barebones experience you want with some distros or as a GUI-driven experience with others as you need.

Yes, Linux is NOT Windows, but that's the whole point and the beauty of it. Ironically, one of the biggest contributors (money and some kernel lines a year) to GNU Linux is Microsoft anyway.

Regards.

I've used both KDE and Gnome, and even some really unpopular stuff. Every couple years I try Linux again in a variety of flavors to see if it's gotten better.

But I've never been able to get through a full day of using Linux without encountering something extremely basic-seeming which requires launching a terminal (and by extension ~20 minutes of googling to find the right pile of tutorials) to work. Usually changing a basic setting or having to use 'sudo', which way too many things require considering I'm hypothetically already logged into a privileged account. At least its not required to use the world's worst text editor (nano) to set up wifi so I can have the power to google how to connect to the wifi ... or at least not as often as I used to.
Every window compositor requires this, because it is an OS-level problem.
Windows solved the balance of "hypothetical security" with "technically usable computer" 15+ years ago with UAC and by letting people simply right-click any file/app to run as admin. And they pretty much had the wrinkles ironed out by Windows 7.
As far as I know, Linux has no GUI-based equivalent. And Linux users always seem to be very opposed to this idea, for some reason. The mandatory terminal isn't even well integrated with the GUI. When you're forced into falling back to the terminal, you usually don't even have a good way to instantly launch a folder open in the GUI in a terminal tab. You have to open a empty terminal. Navigate back to where you were deep in the file system, type sudo, type in the app name, type in the full file name, figure out what missing flags forced you to do all this in the first place.

I get that it's pretty much the point of Linux, but it is also a backwards and bad experience to a general user. Linux was never supposed to be a Windows alternative. It doesn't want to be, and it it never will be.
But personally, I just don't have the stamina points for any OS or GUI that acts as a blocker between me and my software. The best GUI, in my opinion, is the fastest. Both Linux and Windows 11 slow me down in different ways.

 

[BX4096]

For me, going from Win 10 to Win 11 is like buying a new car, and moaning because they moved the cupholders.

More like removed a wheel or two and made you enter through the sunroof because it's supposedly better this way. But the manufacturer did promise to return some of the lost functionality later on, so a round of applause is in order.

Actually, scratch that. I can rephrase it way more accurately.

The moved cupholder is actually an advertised new feature. And the reason most people moaned was because they placed the steering wheel in the middle, made it square for no apparent reason, and then forced everyone to always enter the car through an automatic fold-out ramp because this way they won't have to accommodate wheelchair users separately. Sounds close enough?

 

[USAFRet]

Multiply these billions of lost spaces and window displacements, with fingers, mouse, etc. It takes energy.

In addition, we are talking about the environment...

Not to mention the "tables" where you have to move the window, because it is not too big. Window that bathes in a window used at 20% at most.

Maybe one day there will be a smart, but most importantly influential person who will be fed up with "Smartphone" windows on PCs with 30, 55… inch screens.

Say that there are automatism to format the pages according to the device used.

It seems that to ask questions is to come off as a "troll" or an idiot.

Finally, what a beautiful society we live in where more than three billion people live in poverty and others cry because they have a broken nail...

That is not a Windows 11 thing, that is a formatting of the page and article thing.