Articles about Windows 11

If you have been sticking with Windows 10 in order to avoid some of the more irritating aspects of Windows 11, there's some bad news. Just as Microsoft has managed to find seemingly endless ways to lever advertising into Windows 11, even as the operating system is in its death throes the company is doing the same with Windows 10.

Windows 11's Start menu has been home to an increasing number of ads, sometimes in the form of blatant promotions of other Microsoft products and services, sometimes packaged as friendly app "recommendations". In the latest beta build of Windows 10, it is clear that Microsoft is planning to backport this particular annoyance to the older OS.

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Six-hundred-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

While Windows 10 is slowly reaching its end of servicing, it continues to be the most used version of Windows. Brian listed ten Windows 10 features that Windows 11 lacks.

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When Microsoft first unveiled Windows 11, it was marketed as the next big thing -- a fresh design, new features, and promises of improved performance that had many users buzzing with excitement. The tech world was pretty excited, with many headlines proclaiming it as a game-changer for the Windows ecosystem.

But as the dust has settled, a surprising twist has emerged: Windows 10, the "old" version, is still holding its ground and, in some cases, even outshining its flashy successor. From user feedback to real-world performance, Windows 10 is proving that newer isn't always better. Here are ten reasons why Windows 10 might actually be the smarter choice over Windows 11.

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With the recent release of the latest Canary build of Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced vastly improved options for in the Power & battery section of Settings. Primarily aimed at laptop users, the previously limited options here allowed for a very limited choice between Best Performance, Balanced and Best Power Efficiency which was applied when running on battery or when plugged in.

Now the compay is giving users the option to have different power modes in place for when charging and when unplugged. In this same build, the arbitrary FAT32 size limit has been raised from 32GB to 2TB.

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Six-hundred-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft is testing changes that add layout options to the 'All Apps' section of the Start menu of Windows 11. The first groups items, the second displays them in a grid.

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With the Start menu being at the heart of Windows, it is vital that it functions in a way that makes sense to people. Sadly, this has not always been the case.

Over years of development, Microsoft has taken a series of questionable design decision with this iconic part of the operating system, but a change that could prove popular is about to land in Windows 11.

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Windows shortcuts are a quick and convenient way to access your most-used files and applications, but the small arrow overlay on these icons can be aesthetically unappealing to some users. Fortunately, you can easily remove these arrows from your shortcuts, making your desktop and File Explorer look cleaner.

In this article, we'll walk you through two different methods: using the Windows Registry, and using a free third-party tool.

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Six-hundred-seven in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft is working on separating Updates and the Library in Microsoft Store. Available to Insiders at the time of writing, it should help users check for updates quicker.

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As Windows 11 continues to face criticism over its system demands and privacy concerns, many users are exploring alternatives. Linux distributions offer compelling options that not only match but often surpass the Windows experience in performance, customization, and security.

Here are the top three Linux distributions that you should consider when switching from Microsoft Windows 11.

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Smart App Control is just one of various security features Microsoft has built into Windows 11. But while many users place faith in the tool to block malicious apps, Elastic Security Labs warns that it is fundamentally flawed.

The company says that Windows Smart App Control and its predecessor SmartScreen "have several design weaknesses that allow attackers to gain initial access with no security warnings or popups". In an investigatory report, Elastic Security Labs details numerous types of attack that can be used to bypass Windows Smart Control as well as revealing a bug in the handling of .lnk files which can be used to get around security.

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Nitrux Linux 3.6.0 is the perfect open-source option for those looking to transition from Windows 11 (or any version of Windows, for that matter). The “ie” in its name stands for improved efficiency, with adjustments to the TLP power management tool to optimize energy use when plugged in and conserve battery when not.

Nitrux 3.6.0 includes the latest Linux kernel 6.9.12-1 Liquorix, offering a modern user experience and enhanced hardware support. The OS release comes with numerous updates, bug fixes, and enhancements aimed at improving overall performance, as well as battery life.

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Windows 11 is a decent operating system, but for many people, it’s a step down from Windows 10. If you’ve ever wished that Windows 11 could be more like its predecessor, we have the answer.

RevertSV is a Windows mod that changes Windows 11 features like the Start menu, taskbar, and search into their Windows 10 counterparts. It also changes Notepad, Paint, and UWP apps. It’s worth noting that while the apps will be the Windows 10 versions, some will revert to the Windows 11 ones if they get updated.

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Six-hundred-six in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Years after Windows 11's initial release, Microsoft is still adding features to it that it removed from the operating system. It is now working on restoring two axed settings for the mouse, which promise more pointer precision.

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Troublesome apps can be terminated using Task Manager, but this feels like an unnecessarily lengthy process to simply kill something. How about a way to achieve the same in just a couple of clicks?

Despite the inherent usefulness of being able to kill tasks using Taskbar icons, Microsoft has seen fit to hide this option away to the extent that it's not apparent that it exist at all. But it does. Here's how you can add an End Task option to the Windows 11 Taskbar.

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For some strange reason, Microsoft made Windows 11 less useful in various ways. One such backwards step was removing some of the settings relating to mouse controls, specifically the option to reverse scroll wheel direction, and enhance pointer precision.

Quite why it was deemed sensible to remove the options from Settings is anyone's guess, particularly as it remained possible to tweak the registry to implement them. Now Microsoft has seen the error of its ways and is placing control back in the hands of Windows 11 users.

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