What Have You Been Liking About Windows 11?
What Have You Been Liking About Windows 11?
My approach to PC gaming involves setting up a new pre-built system each console generation and placing it near my TV for optimal performance. It's been several weeks since my latest PC arrived, running Windows 11. Although moving the taskbar left feels inconvenient, overall I find Windows 11 quite solid. The most noticeable improvement is HDR support—Auto-HDR and Desktop HDR significantly enhance visuals compared to Windows 10. This upgrade makes console play much more enjoyable. Auto-HDR also breathes new energy into older titles. Mostly, everything I enjoyed from Windows 10 remains intact, like clipboard history, the Terminal app, and Xbox Game Bar. I only use a limited set of features, mainly enough for gaming, reWASD, and Spotify. I'm curious about any additional features I might still be missing.
It really bothered me when things were placed too deeply in menus, especially since the task bar got bigger. The biggest issue was the volume mixer being hidden, forcing me to open multiple windows just to access it—like I had to turn up the volume ten times. Overall, this added more frustration, making Windows 11 a total let-down for me.
I'm using it on my work computer and finally Windows is showing more consistent UI (Every release after 7 felt really off and W10 isn't any better). It doesn’t feel like a broken theme added on top of Windows 8. I’m mostly using RDP, so I haven’t spent much time playing games or checking anything. The fingerprint reader on my Thinkpad L480 works much better now compared to W10. What bothers me is the Windows Explorer and Start Menu—they’re too cluttered. I can’t fit enough shortcuts into the Start Menu anymore, and the widgets just open extra pop-up windows instead of useful info. If you want to archive a file, you have to click twice to get back to the normal right-click menu. Really frustrating.
I just need room enough for the game launchers and a few extra apps, but it would feel tight if you wanted productivity tools, games, and other functions there. There are quite a lot of ads in Windows. I turned off these widgets right away because I noticed the same ads you do, and I definitely won’t need Grip widget or anything like that. This is really interesting! I just got the TouchID keyboard for my Mac, and using fingerprint login on your PC is the best way to go.
I've seen a bit more activity in the volume mixer alternatives section before, though I don't recall the exact app. It seems like things might improve by 2025—just hoping it gets better.