Microsoft is treating Windows 11 as a work in progress, and that sucks

Date:
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 11:32:50 +0000

Description:
Windows 11 getting new features is a good thing but it also makes it feel unfinished.

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Windows 11 launched last week, but if youve already downloaded and installed it, youre still not getting the final product, as Microsoft is continuing to add new features.

At the risk of sounding like an old man, back in the day when an operating system launched, you pretty much got the final product, bar a few updates to address any issues. Major changes or new features were usually reserved for Service Packs and other big releases.

With high-speed broadband now being more commonplace in peoples homes, operating system makers such as Microsoft have been putting out ever larger updates to their operating systems, and Windows 10 largely paved the way for operating systems to get several large updates throughout their lifetime that bring some major new changes. Why you should wait to download Windows 11
Can't wait? We show you how to download Windows 11 We show you how to fix Windows 11 problems

In many ways, this is for the best. The Windows 10 that many of us use today is quite different from the Windows 10 that launched five years ago, and in that time Microsoft has added some genuinely useful new features (while also breaking quite a few things as well).

So, it was always inevitable that with Windows 11, Microsoft would continue
to update and improve it as time went on. However, the downside of that is that for the moment at least it makes Windows 11 feel unfinished. Updates already?

While weve seen Microsoft do this before, why does Windows 11 feel like a
work in progress, when even Windows 10 didnt? Theres a few factors at play here.

For a start, when Windows 10 came out, it represented a big change from its unloved predecessor, Windows 8.1 . That meant a whole new look and feel for the operating system. Microsoft was keen to distance itself from the Windows
8 era as much as possible and even the name was a statement of intent, skipping 9 to show that Windows 10 was a big update.

Microsoft also made it clear early on that it would be updating Windows 10 regularly, even going as far as to say that it would be the last version of Windows . So, when those big updates started arriving, it felt like part of a plan.

Given that promise, though of a final Windows version many people were surprised when Windows 11 was announced. And as we point out in our Windows
11 review , the operating system doesnt feel like a major leap from Windows
10 so far.

Whats worse is that were seeing hints of new apps and features already being on the way, including a new and improved Notepad app, one of Windows most iconic tools.

As Neowin reports , a new design for Notepad appears to have been accidentally leaked by a Microsoft employee. While its not a major design change, it brings it more in line with other built-in apps in Windows 11. Notepad Windows 11 design leaked by Microsoft engineer then quickly deleted. We can see a new Fluent Design windows 11 settings for the app and also a WinUI menu bar#Windows11 #FluentDesign #CaughtIn4K pic.twitter.com/iV1FUIuoa5 October 9, 2021 See more

Of course, this raises the question of why the new design wasnt included in Windows 11 for launch. Instead, the operating system launched with some new-look apps, while others remain the same, giving the launch a bit of a rushed feel.

WinCentral also reports that the popular Your Phone app, which lets you interact with your smartphone (such as viewing and replying to text messages) is due to get a redesign soon.

While this is welcome news, it again leads to the feeling that Windows 11 launched too early. Its unfortunate, as Windows 11 is a decent operating system, but Microsofts work-in-progress approach is beginning to undermine
the hard work thats gone into making the OS.

With some of Windows 11s biggest changes, such as the introduction of Android apps into the Microsoft Store, not coming until later, there will be an increasing number of people wholl start to feel like the operating system was only half finished. Thats not something Microsoft will want. These are the best laptops of 2021



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-is-treating-windows-11-as-a-work-in-p rogress-and-that-sucks/


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