Windows 11 - Do you like it? (with poll)

[lexluthermiester]

This is a general poll to get a view for how the community feels about Windows 11.

2 votes are accepted for those who have a "somewhere in between" response.

Do you like it? Gonna stay with Windows 10 or 7? Do you prefer something else?

If you're on the fence about it, what don't you like?

Share your thoughts and remember, there is no wrong answer, what you like is what you like, but also remember this is about Windows 11, not Linux.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I like it, but I'm leaving a "it's ok" because I have to actually go a little out of my way to get it to my taste. However, other than UI/UX issues, it is a stable and functional operating system. People don't need to be scared of upgrading to it, and I encourage anyone on the fence to give Windows 11 an honest try. Version 24H2 is very good and very polished.

 

[Ruru]

Nothing to complain, I've always preferred using the most recent Windows except I skipped 8, yet used 8.1 for about ½ year before Win10 was launched.

Win10 seems to be in the same position where XP and 7 were, people just don't want to upgrade.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Prior to 24H2 I probably would have said it was ok/fine but even since it was insider only it's been pretty great.

I'm baffled that Wiz was told it has issues becuase it's been fantastic for me on all 4 of my main setups.

If I was on core ultra I'd avoid it though....

 

[ShiBDiB]

It's windows.

Hated it coming from 10 but now don't even remember what 10 was like. There's 0 reason to be running anything else at this point imo.

 

[theFOoL]

I have 24H2 on my Hp 8460p which... It's OK but nothing new in my seeing /wanting so I'm off to reinstall 10ET

 

[Launcestonian]

I like it, but I'm leaving a "it's ok" because I have to actually go a little out of my way to get it to my taste. However, other than UI/UX issues, it is a stable and functional operating system. People don't need to be scared of upgrading to it, and I encourage anyone on the fence to give Windows 11 an honest try. Version 24H2 is very good and very polished.

Yes, I agree but if you look at the TPU review for 9800X3D, AMD told them to use 23H2. However if a system builder is setting up from scratch, I think they are going to go to the MS site & download win 11 from there with its already 24H2 built in.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Yes, I agree but if you look at the TPU review for 9800X3D, AMD told them to use 23H2. However if a system builder is setting up from scratch, I think they are going to go to the MS site & download win 11 from there with its already 24H2 built in.

That isn't what I meant and honestly, it's not much consequence - the current version will be updated and maintained for all currently supported hardware, my gripes with it are workflow and usability. Additional investment is required, you need to configure the OS and install third-party software to get the best out of it. For example, to me, using Stardock's object desktop (Fences, Start11, etc.) are pretty much necessary - this wasn't the case in Windows 7, for example.

 

[eidairaman1]

The last Best OS MS even gave a fuck about was Windows 7.

 

[MrDweezil]

I upgraded to it pretty much at launch and even then it was basically Windows 10 with a somewhat different taskbar/start menu. It won't take too long to adjust that to your liking, and I've found that anything else people cite as annoying can be be turned off pretty easily.

 

[cvaldes]

I voted "something else" and here is my explanation.

There are multiple systems under my roof: macOS (two systems), Windows (both 10 & 11, multiple systems), and Linux.

I generally upgrade the OS about 9 months after launch. My daily driver Mac (Mac mini M2 Pro in my System Specs) is running macOS Sonoma 17.7. There's an older Mac mini 2018 running Ventura (16.7 I think).

There are several Windows PCs in the building, running W11 23H2 mostly but one W10 23H2. I will probably upgrade one test system to W11 24H2 in June 2025.

I don't have an upgrade roadmap for my Linux system (it's a Raspberry Pi 4).

Unsurprisingly and like the past 20 years, the Mac has an ongoing system administration load about 90-95% less than the Windows boxes. The Raspberry Pi although the Raspberry Pi people consistently advise to do clean install (preferably on a blank drive) after a major OS release. Plus the initial setup of the Raspberry Pi is a complete pain, marginally better than Linux boxes 25 years ago.

Anyone who says that "Linux just works" has never tried getting decent battery performance from a notebook PC nor has tried to plug in a typical peripheral (like an MFP from HP) and get all functions working in three minutes.

As a former UNIX/Linux system administrator, I still laugh at anyone's claims that Linux is just as easy to use as Windows or macOS. Yeah, basic OS installation might be better than it was in 1997 but it's still a PITA from a long-term sysadmin administration load basis.

I will emphasize that I did not say that macOS was perfect. Far from it. But 9-month-old macOS still blows doors on 9-month-old Windows from a sysadmin load perspective. I am decades beyond the threshold of enjoying installing OSes just for fun. As far as I'm concerned, the less system administration I do, the better.

One thing for sure: the Microsoft Store (Windows app store) sucks massively compared to the Mac App Store. Why is this? I don't know why. You'd think they would have been able to figure this out by now.

And I'm not even going to delve into the weird hexadecimal error codes from Windows Update failures. That's like a Saturday Night Live skit.

 

[3DVCash]

I upgraded to it pretty much at launch and even then it was basically Windows 10 with a somewhat different taskbar/start menu. It won't take too long to adjust that to your liking, and I've found that anything else people cite as annoying can be be turned off pretty easily.

Same! Hopped on at launch, can't say I've run into any major issues. It's Windows! Not sure how it got such a bad rap.

 

[Ruru]

Same! Hopped on at launch, can't say I've run into any major issues. It's Windows! Not sure how it got such a bad rap.

Haven't people always hated Microsoft?

Practically WinME and IE6 were the only things I stayed away from on my own machines.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Haven't people always hated Microsoft?

No, not really. In the early days when they were focused on what was good for the user and respected people in general, microsoft was a great company. It wasn't until the mid to late 90's that they started to become loathsome aholes.

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

There are things i love about windows 11. It runs very nice. If you are heavily integrating into the microsoft environment (azure,O365,Visual Studio, etc.) it is the only OS that makes sense.

There are things I don't like. I had finally gotten used to the windows 10 interface.....why go and monkey with it. They do every time though. I still run up against strange compatibility issues here and there that just don't happen with 10. Less than at the start, to be fair, but it's been out for several years now. And we will just pretend the Store doesn't exist...

I gotta keep moving ahead with windows ultimately, like it or not.

Practically WinME and IE6 were the only things I stayed away from on my own machines.

I'll catch hell for saying this, but Windows Me and internet explorer 6 were kinda awesome.

Sure Win ME was a tricky creature, but it had DX7 - DX9, and you could still run real mode dos for all your older software.

It had the windows 2000 network stack, Upnp, and several other network upgrades.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'll catch hell for saying this, but Windows Me and internet explorer 6 were kinda awesome.

Not from here, I loved WinME. Not so much IE6. Netscape and FireFox were my jam.

 

[Macro Device]

Voted both "no" and "it's fine" because I definitely dislike it but not enough to call it, hatred.

A lot of changes over W10 feel unnecessary or "great but why does it deserve being called W11 and not patched W10?" at the very best. Not all of them, some things are actually awesome. But the new context menu... I'd love to personally bury the promoters of this chicanery alive.

A lot of changes we needed we still don't get. Why does keyboard manager still add unnecessary layouts? Why does explorer.exe still not show folder size automatically so we could manage our space without needing to right-click every single folder (hovering doesn't cut it because it still for some reason doesn't always work), totally annoying. M$ never addressed this issue despite me calling them out on it in TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN.

Previous W11 builds weren't exactly great from the HW optimisations standpoint, either. My RAM, otherwise rock stable in any heavy load in any other OS, crashed like no tomorrow even under mild loads like web surfing. QVL issue I suppose, half my sticks are no-names. 24H2 is infamous for its AM5 related bugs but no idea how exaggerated that is since I'm on LGA1700 and 24H2 just works, unlike older W11 builds.

Some older games like Zombie Smashers X somehow work on W10 but refuse to do so on W11.

QoL updates are barely noticeable. Bloating is all over the place. Half OS worth of things I don't even hypothetically need. All in all, considering recent software trends, W11 can even be deemed a piece of art. But being better than absolute abominations driven by marketologists with real engineers being constantly beaten with a club for being vocal isn't really an achievement. Can't say W11 had more engineering than marketing in mind, either.

 

[Onasi]

It’s a perfectly fine OS nowadays. The issues that remain are the aforementioned baffling UI choices (which are fixable, just annoying), the alarming levels of bloat it ships with by default (again, fixable) and the ever present feeling that I would just like it if MS stopped trying to reinvent the wheel on the regular. But this isn’t an 11 issue, it’s a MS one. They’ve arguably already had a near-perfect desktop OS UX with 2000 and polished it up further through XP and 7. Everything since was a series of bizzare experiments, sidegrades and attempts to redefine their OS from just a tool to run what the USER wants into this entire Apple-style ecosystem, which MS has never been good at and is failing miserably.

 

[AusWolf]

If you asked me this question a month ago, I would have said no, I prefer Windows 10. But then, I've had enough of the constant nagging about upgrading and online accounts and programs installing without my approval (Copilot). There's only so much I can take and Microsoft has pulled the last straw.

Now, my answer is no, I prefer Linux. As long as you pick the right distro for your needs, it's easier to use, less fiddly, completely effortless to set up, a lot less resource intensive, quicker to boot, etc. - a real dream of an OS.

No, not really. In the early days when they were focused on what was good for the user and respected people in general, microsoft was a great company. It wasn't until the mid to late 90's that they started to become loathsome aholes.

Yup. I loved Windows up until XP. I was also okay with Vista. 7 was great. 8 was a piece of excrement, better forgotten that it ever existed. 10 was again okay until it started behaving like 11 which I can't stand. Now it's all about updates which only make things worse and worse. I just can't be asked with this constant flow of bullshit anymore.

 

[lexluthermiester]

8 was a piece of excrement, better forgotten that it ever existed.

This! Yes!

 

[AUTOEXEC.BAT]

I choose Win7 and something else.

Basically there is nothing wrong with windows 11 or 10. the problem is the hunger for data of users. windows 8.1 was a monstrosity, it was impossible to work with. I have installed it on 1 pc in dual boot config, for certain hardware that requires 8.1 or higher. windows 7 was a fine OS. windows 10 and 11 forced me to linux. also no problem. It is a bit of a learning curve, but it is fine. and I hardly need the console.

 

[Shou Miko]

My biggest issue with Windows 11 is Microsoft's way of dealing with the UI, and yes I know are going from old ui to new ui but still.

I seen several places where it looks like Microsoft either ain't ready to commit to the new ui and transfer you over to the old ui and when you using the old ui and it transfers you to the new ui until you write the path in the address bar of explorer.exe than you get to the old layout one example is "Devices and Printers" if you go to control panel and the layout is category and click on "view devices and printers" it goes to the new ui in Windows 11 WTF Microsoft

This might be fine for normal users but not for my needs as a tech supporter either you go guns blazing or you don't mess with the ui's.

I would personally prefer that using the new ui everything that's made for the new ui opens their and if you prefer the old ui and go to control panel and such everything opens their not a mix

 

[AusWolf]

windows 10 and 11 forced me to linux. also no problem. It is a bit of a learning curve, but it is fine. and I hardly need the console.

Which desktop are you using? I find Cinnamon quite easy to get used to, but with KDE, the learning curve coming from Windows is pretty much nonexistent.

 

[Shou Miko]

Which desktop are you using? I find Cinnamon quite easy to get used to, but with KDE, the learning curve coming from Windows is pretty much nonexistent.

There are things that are different like accessing drives, usb storage and such most users from Windows are use to the drive gets mounted automatically that's mostly not how Linux roll.

 

[AusWolf]

There are things that are different like accessing drives, usb storage and such most users from Windows are use to the drive gets mounted automatically that's mostly not how Linux roll.

True - I just get a popup where I click "mount and open". No big deal.