Is this the worst idea Microsoft has ever had for Windows 11? Ad-related taskbar button concept makes us really nervous
Date:
Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:13:58 +0000
Description:
Microsoft seems to be much keener to get thinly veiled adverts into Windows
11 these days, sadly.
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Windows 11 could conceivably get what surely everyone would regard as an unwelcome addition, or at least a very controversial change in terms of a potential new button for the taskbar thats been uncovered in the innards of the desktop OS.
Apparently, Microsoft might just be mulling a recommended button for the taskbar, and the theory is that it could surface various suggestions and thinly veiled adverts. A new button is coming to the Windows 11 Taskbar right alongside system ones like Task View, Widgets, etc. It's called "Recommended" & has all strings stripped from production, guess the UI team doesn't want people to know. Concerned about recommendations becoming this integral pic.twitter.com/XnvPhcGhvP April 9, 2024 See more
The workings for such a button were discovered by well-known Microsoft leaker Albacore on X (formerly Twitter).
As Albacore makes clear, the button has had all its related strings (in the background) stripped from production builds, as if Microsofts team working on the interface wants to keep this as low-profile on the radar as possible.
As the leaker points out, the worry is that Microsoft is really thinking
about making suggestions, or nudges, recommendations, or whatever you want to call them, an integral part of the desktop, with a whole dedicated button on the taskbar.
Albacore notes that the description of the button is that it controls visibility of recommendations on the taskbar and its filed under the term taskbar sites, so the leaker theorizes that perhaps we could get website suggestions right on the taskbar, with the buttons icon changing to be the favicon of any given recommended site.
Wed further guess that maybe the idea would be to make these context-sensitive, so suggestions given would depend on what youre doing in Windows 11 at the time but that really is just guesswork. (Image credit: Marjan Apostolovic / Shutterstock) Analysis: Paying twice for Windows 11 isnt fair
As Albacore observes, we can hope that this might just be a piece of work
from times gone past which has been abandoned, but references to it are still hanging around in the background of Windows 11. Its entirely possible nothing will come of this, in short, and even if Microsoft is currently exploring the idea, it might ditch the button before it even comes to testing.
Granted, even if a recommended taskbar button is realized, wed assume that Windows 11 will come with the option to turn it off but its still a worrying hint about the direction Microsoft is at least considering here with a future update. A dedicated button like this would be a huge move in the direction of what might be termed soft advertising (or nudging).
Sadly, a further recent development as highlighted by another leaker on X, PhantomOfEarth, is that the Recommended section in Windows 11s Start menu could be getting something called promoted apps. Looks like the Start menu's Recommended section will be getting app promotions, similar to suggested apps in Start in Windows 10. This can be toggled off from Settings (Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more). pic.twitter.com/zYYnTKs9qw April 9, 2024 See more
These would be apps Microsoft is actively promoting theres no bones about
the advertising here, this isnt badging or nudging and again, its a
dangerous move that very much runs the risk of annoying Windows 11 users. (Albeit it can be switched off and remember, this is only in testing so
far).
Given all this, we very much get the feeling that advertising-focused recommendations along these lines is something Microsoft is seriously considering doing more of. And given the past history of the software giant, thats not surprising.
If you recall, recommended websites in the Start menu has long been a controversial topic Microsoft previously toyed with the idea, abandoned it, but then brought it back in again last year to the disbelief of many folks (ourselves included).
Microsoft has been ushering in various other veiled ads for its own services, too, such as so-called notification badging prompting you to sign up for a Microsoft Account (or finish configuring it) on the Start menu, for example ( which rolled out with Moment 3 last year ). Another example is prodding folks to use OneDrive for backing up their files , or the new Outlook app with ads for many users.
As weve discussed in-depth elsewhere , the pushy advertising around Microsofts Edge browser and Bing search has been taken to new and
unacceptable levels in recent times.
How about we abandon this line of thinking entirely, Microsoft? Just stop
with the incessant promotion of your own services, or indeed possibly third-party services or websites, within Windows 11. This is an operating system we, the users, pay for so we shouldnt have to suffer adverts in various parts of the Windows interface.
Either make Windows completely free and ad-supported, or charge for it, with no ads, suggestions, nudges, or other promotional tomfoolery to be seen anywhere in the OS. Or give us a choice of either route but dont make us pay twice for Windows 11, once with an initial lump sum fee to buy the OS, and then again with further ongoing monetization by way of a constant drip-feed
of ads here, there and everywhere.
Via Neowin You might also like... Watch out: soon some older PCs will lose Windows 11 support Windows 11 is getting a voice-powered ability many users have been longing for Dont make these 5 big mistakes when using Windows 11
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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/is-this-the-worst-idea-microsoft-h as-ever-had-for-windows-11-ad-related-taskbar-button-concept-makes-us-really-n ervous
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