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Comment by varispeed | Hacker News Reader

Windows 11 is kind of like Metaverse. Nobody wants this except Microsoft deluded executives.

Why couldn't they keep improving the Windows 10 and listen to what people actually want?

The point of Windows 11 isn't to provide new features to the end user, it's to establish "security" (read: DRM) APIs as a core part of the OS and ensure they are guaranteed to be available as a baseline feature on every Windows 11 machine, something Microsoft could not do simply by releasing a Windows 10 update due to the TPM hardware requirement. The end goal is to enable developers, including Microsoft themselves, to ship software that can refuse to run if you installed a driver not blessed by Microsoft or have otherwise tampered with the OS.

And yes, many companies definitely want this. Some anti-cheat solutions have already jumped on the remote attestation bandwagon and make use of the TPM when running on Windows 11, with Windows 10 being temporarily exempt from the requirement (not unlike what happened with SafetyNet and the "basic" attestation fallback/loophole). It's only a matter of time until Windows 10 is left behind and everything starts requiring remote attestation. After all the McDonald's Android app requires SafetyNet, so why shouldn't <insert expensive software suite here> also make sure you are not having too much fun with it?

What's wrong with Windows 11?

Forced TPM and all of the subsequent practical and philosophical knock on effects

Forced Microsoft accounts and all of the practical and philosophical knock on effects

Adds nothing but adverts and obfuscation to windows 10, despite previous claims it would be the last OS increment and many people have built tools and working around windows 10 on that basis

Copying apple has reached a new low with UI and taskbar

Audio and wifi increased in complexity

The main question is whats the benefit of windows 11 over windows 10? I only see disadvantage where we need to have TPM so we can accept their DRM in future, or useless taskbar where dragging and dropping doesn't work etc.

Not to mention that additional bloats that will be added in windows 10.

Windows Xp could run in 128MB and that was perfectly fine for people like me. But now even 4gigs is not sufficient to run pc smoothly.

I think it has WSL GUI, so you can run Linux graphical applications.

https://youtu.be/kC3eWRPzeWw

Anyone can run graphical Linux apps on Windows 10 too, or even on XP/Cygwin. You just have to install the X Server (VcXsrv) separately.

Android compat layer.

Still cannot drag an object onto the taskbar to move it or open it in my selected program - something I do dozens of times a day, and something for which there is no feasible workaround.

The new taskbar is the most visible - it can't be on the sides, can't be resized, and breaks a large number of workflows around right clicking, dragging, and more.

Context menus are a mess, hiding most options multiple levels deep when there's plenty of space.

Every quarter they get more intrusive trying to get you to click on the wrong button that will change your browser and default apps, and they use every antipattern short of moving the window under your cursor to try to convince you not to change away from their defaults. Yes, Win10 had a "are you sure you don't want Edge" popup but Win11 is far worse.

It's also harder than ever (maybe impossible now?) to create a local user account.

Right click on taskbar + Task Manager ... Gone.

Move taskbar vertically to left or right ... Gone.

Desktop right click menu extra clicks ... No thanks.

Edge shoved down my throat ... No thanks.

TPM, Secure Boot ... No thanks.

Need Microsoft account ... No thanks.

Xbox Game bar and other bloatware ... No thanks.

the centered taskbar

As an ultrawide monitor user, I love the centered Taskbar. I only use Windows for gaming, but I couldn't use it for work if I didn't have the task bar centered.

You can probably do this with Windows 10 using TaskBarX[0].

[0] https://github.com/ChrisAnd1998/TaskbarX

There is a setting to left-align the taskbar

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