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Windows 11, An Honest Review


                                Windows 11

If you didn't know, there was a new windows released, but don't feel bad, Microsoft did a pretty mediocre job of marketing it. In reality Windows 11 probably doesn't have enough major changes to be considered a whole new release. It is more of a rebrand than anything else, a chance to right the wrongs of the design choices made in Windows 10. 

When it was announced in June of last year (2021), I had planned on hating it. Curiosity set in, and I decided to download it. I have decided to stop hating it. 

A Fresh Coat of Paint

I could go through every marginal change between Windows 10 and Windows 11. There are also plenty of things that I thought were new features, but upon further inspection weren't. I guess the redesign has de-jankified things. I am aware that is not a real word, but my point is that overall the interface feels more polished. One of the biggest things that I noticed was a redesigned settings app, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but I think it really adds a lot. 

The Biggest Visual Changes 

This is the part of the review where I show you pretty pictures of the operating system. I am going to walk you through the biggest changes. 



The most obvious change is the prominent center taskbar, which looks way different than it used to. 


Going along with that, there is a new search function with is also aligned to the center. 


The snazzy new settings app. 



The all important dark mode, which I prefer. 

Going along with dark mode, there is also a more prominent theming option, which apparently was a feature in Windows 10, I just didn't realize it. Anyway theming and customization are made an easier process in Windows 11.  

Something I forgot to take a screenshot of was the new Microsoft Store app, which also got a fresh coat of paint and I quite like the way it looks now. 

I also noticed that Windows took up less storage after the update (and deleting the old Windows data). 

Overall I really like it, and will continue to use it. I know some people might be annoyed because you can't set the clock in the taskbar to display with seconds visible, but I doubt that type of person would be pleased by a lot of changes Microsoft could make. To me Windows 11 feels like when you clean your room and you appreciate it more than before; it's the same room, but something feels different. The new polish is probably enough that a Mac user, who frequents coffee shops, would feel comfortable using Windows out in public. 

There's a Big But...

This has been subject of a lot of criticism lately, and I will try to make it as clear as I can. A lot of people with older computers cannot upgrade to Windows 11, because of the TPM 2.0 requirement. TPM stands for trusted platform module, and it is a form of hardware security. It works as a physical chip to process encryption needs, keeping it separate from other parts of the computer, and thus more secure. This is an extreme simplification, but to fully explain TPM I would need to write a whole ramble on it specifically. It turns out that Microsoft had been requesting manufacturers include TPM support for years, and while many had been using the older TPM 1.2 standard, some manufacturers weren't staying current and updating to 2.0. You can see if your computer is compatible in the PC Health Check settings, and there are many guides online about how to do this. There are also ways to bypass the TPM check, but for most people I recommend not doing that. 

Anyway

Try it out. You might like it, and you can switch back within 10 days through the recovery settings. I'm going to keep using it though. Afterall I have decided to stop hating it, and that's the first step. 

TidBit: 

Alabama man accused of feeding meth to ‘attack squirrel’ faces new charges

I really don't want to endure the attacks that would come from a meth induced attack squirrel. If it couldn't get weirder, reports claim the squirrel's name was "deeznuts", no I am not joking, read the article.

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