Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of people complaining how bad Microsoft Windows 11 is.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been lurking in a lot more Linux forums recently. Or because of the social media and YouTube channels I subscribe to. Or maybe it really is a true reflection of what people are generally thinking about Windows 11, both computer geeks and ordinary users alike.
“It’s not that bad!” I thought to myself.
Until last week when I set up a new user account on my Windows 11 laptop and within minutes thought, “What on earth is this?!”
What people complain about Windows 11
It was then that I realised that for both my Windows desktop and laptop PCs, I’ve insulated myself against most of the Windows 11 quirks that many folks have been complaining about:
- Bad start menu (even after the latest redesign)
- Adverts
- Copilot, Microsoft’s built-in AI, promoted everywhere
- Lack of a full context menu in Windows Explorer
- Uninstall the bloat
I’ve tweaked things enough that most of Windows 11 now feels much like Windows 10. (Even if its deeper dialogs and settings feel like a ghetto, with designs going back to Windows 95 or earlier.)
For anyone who wants to reclaim a bit of sanity, here’s what I do when I set up a new Windows 11 install.
Continue reading Taming Windows 11: how I stripped the adverts, bloat and Copilot