XP was awesome. 7 was the best there ever was. All the rest somewhere between meh and horrifying.
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How good is Windows 11?
- Thread starter jwolf6589
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I’ve been trialing at work. I’m not in love with Windows but I’m in charge of all of our machines via Intune.
It’s a re-skin of Windows 10 that “feels” more friendly/alive with some neat animations. It’s the closest the UI in windows has ever felt as “inviting” as macOS.
Wouldn’t buy it personally, but given my role I actually don’t have many complaints after using it for a few months. It’s Windows, but while I don’t love their design language it is much friendlier from an end-user standpoint.
It’s a re-skin of Windows 10 that “feels” more friendly/alive with some neat animations. It’s the closest the UI in windows has ever felt as “inviting” as macOS.
Wouldn’t buy it personally, but given my role I actually don’t have many complaints after using it for a few months. It’s Windows, but while I don’t love their design language it is much friendlier from an end-user standpoint.
Windows 11 for me is fast, stable and pretty. That is all I need. Is it perfect? No, but neither is anything else.
I like Windows 11, after MacOS, Ubuntu Mate and Linux Mint Cinnamon.
It has a much cleaner interface than earlier versions, and which is being improved with each update.
It is a tiny tad* faster than Win 10 for some tasks. However, for others, like compiling LaTeX documents and MS Word opening large documents, it is still much slower than LibreOffice on Linux or Pages on MacOS.
What really frustrates me is how paranoid Windows Defender is. If you are doing an update of a Microsoft package from a Microsoft server, it scans the file as it is downloaded, then it scans the file as it is being installed, then it scans the file when you open it the first time after it is upgraded. Installing software in general is much, much slower on Windows than on the other platforms, for example installing TeXLive takes more than 35 minutes compared to less than 10 on Mac OS or Linux.
* This is the small imperial tad, not the larger metric tad...
It has a much cleaner interface than earlier versions, and which is being improved with each update.
It is a tiny tad* faster than Win 10 for some tasks. However, for others, like compiling LaTeX documents and MS Word opening large documents, it is still much slower than LibreOffice on Linux or Pages on MacOS.
What really frustrates me is how paranoid Windows Defender is. If you are doing an update of a Microsoft package from a Microsoft server, it scans the file as it is downloaded, then it scans the file as it is being installed, then it scans the file when you open it the first time after it is upgraded. Installing software in general is much, much slower on Windows than on the other platforms, for example installing TeXLive takes more than 35 minutes compared to less than 10 on Mac OS or Linux.
* This is the small imperial tad, not the larger metric tad...
No, you have the cell phone, but its a Windows phone, and doing a major update...
I feel that Windows 11 is not that much of bump up from Windows 10 when using on a mac. I prefer it over the newer Mac OS's after Ventura. Windows 10 satisifies my needs as long as I use it using the shell program.
Memory: RAM usage of windows11 is higher than all previous versions. Compare this to the RAM usage of Alpine Linux which has around 30 MB of active RAM usage when you combine it with a window manager. That is literally only 1% of windows11's RAM usage.
Stability: One of the most important parts of an operating system is the file system. But windows and macOS don't have a file system that is reliable-competitive with OpenZFS or most other file systems developed for Unix-like systems. It has also been shown many times that popular open source software has fewer bugs on average than popular proprietary software, which means that popular open source software is more stable.
Security: Proprietary software cannot be audited by security specialists and is therefore inherently unsafe. Furthermore, the fact that porprietary software has more bugs also means that it has an additional security risk.
Functionality: open source software evolves much faster than proprietary software and therefore also offers more functionality and more advanced tech. Certain apps and software exist for BSD and/or Linux, but not for Windows and macOS.
Freedom of choice: proprietary software always prevents your choice to change things or often prevents you from doing many things that are easily possible in open source software. For example, think of the many windows managers and desktop environments that exist for Linux and BSD, but are missing in windows and macOS.
Ease of use: updating and installing software or apps is often much easier in open source systems than in windows/macOS.
Privacy: Apple and Microsoft have an extensive history of abusing their users' privacy, something you don't see with most BSD and Linux systems.
Performance: There are always differences in performance between different operating systems.
Support: Open source systems such as Linux and BSD often offer longer and better hardware support than proprietary systems such as windows and macOS.
Audio quality: I know a lot of people who use windows and it always strikes me how terrible the audio sounds when they play music. It's not even close to how some other operating systems play sound: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GqWSpynHsLi1CM8qKyOZwYB6Et8isty5/view
Stability: One of the most important parts of an operating system is the file system. But windows and macOS don't have a file system that is reliable-competitive with OpenZFS or most other file systems developed for Unix-like systems. It has also been shown many times that popular open source software has fewer bugs on average than popular proprietary software, which means that popular open source software is more stable.
Security: Proprietary software cannot be audited by security specialists and is therefore inherently unsafe. Furthermore, the fact that porprietary software has more bugs also means that it has an additional security risk.
Functionality: open source software evolves much faster than proprietary software and therefore also offers more functionality and more advanced tech. Certain apps and software exist for BSD and/or Linux, but not for Windows and macOS.
Freedom of choice: proprietary software always prevents your choice to change things or often prevents you from doing many things that are easily possible in open source software. For example, think of the many windows managers and desktop environments that exist for Linux and BSD, but are missing in windows and macOS.
Ease of use: updating and installing software or apps is often much easier in open source systems than in windows/macOS.
Privacy: Apple and Microsoft have an extensive history of abusing their users' privacy, something you don't see with most BSD and Linux systems.
Performance: There are always differences in performance between different operating systems.
Support: Open source systems such as Linux and BSD often offer longer and better hardware support than proprietary systems such as windows and macOS.
Audio quality: I know a lot of people who use windows and it always strikes me how terrible the audio sounds when they play music. It's not even close to how some other operating systems play sound: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GqWSpynHsLi1CM8qKyOZwYB6Et8isty5/view
So you are saying Linux is a better desktop OS than MacOS or Windows??
You make some good points but there are some things that you are not mentioning about Linux and BSD.
Linux is great as a server and distro's like Ubuntu have made Linux much more appealing than the days of trying to get xserver to work with your graphics or get wifi working. I remember Mepis Linux which was the first easy to use Debian Linux.
I love Linux and BSD for all of the points you mentioned about freedom and privacy but in terms of ease of use I have to strongly disagree. Ease of use is more than does the operating system run without errors and can I update Linux software. Can I get software that I want? Can I get Linux to play nice with simple things like my printer or phone? If I upgrade the kernel will it bork my entire installation? Is the software I want to use written and updated regularly or has it been deprecated without my knowledge? Did the volunteer staff just stop working on a project or the one person maintaining it can't keep up anymore?
There is a reason paid software is often times really good. People get paid to make it good and their livelihoods are on the line if it sucks. In Linux/BSD it is all volunteer so the same incentives just aren't there. In a perfect world having people who develop software because they love doing it and want to benefit the community is great but we don't live in a perfect world.
Linux support for hardware is still really lacking. Sure you can install on a windows machine but a lot of features may not work and may never work or are not optimized in Linux. I here Linux is faster and more responsive all the time but if your CPU has proprietary software that helps optimize it then most of the time you won't get those optimizations in Linux and as a result your battery life or thermals are not as good. Again if you buy a Linux laptop from Dell or Lenovo or System 76 they can be as good as any other laptop out there but you are going to pay more for the same hardware. I don't understand it since the software is free but if you compare the pricing you will see a Ubuntu Lenovo for example is a lot more expensive than the same Windows laptop.
Privacy and freedom on the web? I mean if you are extremely proficient in coding and a tech guru than you can configure your BSD not Linux box to be pretty locked down. But if you use the net at all no matter what OS you are using the likelihood of a bad actor snooping is ever present.
You can disable most of the telemetry on Windows and if you have Windows Pro with some registry tweaks you can get rid of most of it and install a local account. In terms of the world we live in sending files, resume, photos, etc are just much easier on a Mac or Windows PC. Using Microsoft Office is pretty much required in the business world. I have tried Open Office and many other alternatives and they are great until they aren't. File formatting is often a big problem and you won't know until someone using Office gets it. Who do you call to get help? Sure there are forums and avenues of support but they are not easy to use.
I get that you like Linux and BSD and I do to. I tried to get my family to use Linux years ago. I would help install it on workmates computers and then whenever they had a problem they would come to me. It was a nightmare because there was always an issue of some kind like some prereferral wouldn't play nice or wasn't compatible with Linux.
Unfortunately the only solution I see is for Linux/BSD to be a profit driven industry. Without a lot of buy in from a majority of users it will never gain enough traction to be a decent alternative. The only way I see that happening is for commercialization which would put you right back to where you started.
I think the best option is Android or ChromeOS where it is still open source but with a lot of proprietary components. You still get the open source auditing of software but a big company pushing development.
I just don't see Linux or BSD ever gaining market share like MacOS or Windows until it becomes a hybrid of open/closed source OS with a BIG company behind it. Until then it will always be a good server software and hobbyist OS. So far the market over the past 20 years has proven me right even with really good and easy to use distro's like Ubuntu, Fedora, etc. So your argument is a bit of a mute point for the average user.
Just ask this question, where does the average person buy their computer either a Mac or Windows PC? Are they selling Linux laptops and desktops side by side? Where does an average person even buy a Linux computer? They go to Best Buy or Micro Center or the Apple store or some other retailer like Amazon and there are no Linux laptops even on the floor anywhere. Until that changes Linux and BSD is dead in the water.
In terms of Windows Windows 11 is Windows 10 with some nice GUI changes and some annoying ones. Otherwise it is pretty much Windows 10 with some nice lipstick. I think there are some changes or evolution of Windows in the menus and settings which is good. They are trying to streamline the setting so everything is in one place similar to MacOS or Android settings. But it is a work in progress and some things are all over the OS and some legacy functions are buried.
I am not a fan of the start menu and how apps are displayed. To me it is kind of a mess. Sure Windows 10 had a crazy long list of programs but at least you could find what you were looking for fast and with minimal clicks. Now you have to click a bunch of menus just to get to a full list of apps.
The GUI does look better though. Windows security is a big improvement over previous iterations of Windows rendering 3rd party anti-virus almost redundant which is really nice.
I like the new icon designs.
In terms of performance it feels like every other version of Windows I have ever used. I have not had a problem with stability on Windows for a long time and seems to be very stable. I like the control over installing updates that you used to have a Pro installation to get.
If you have used Windows and like it then Windows 11 is fine. The extra Telemetry sucks and making it near impossible to use a local account is a bit of a bummer but on a Mac no one complains? You literally can't use a Mac unless you enter your Apple ID. So I don't see a big difference and there are some benefits having everything linked.
What I would really like to see is some changes under the hood like an improved file system. Windows has been using the same file system for ever. I would like to see improvements to the NT kernel or maybe a completely new kernel. I would like to see Microsoft do some things that will piss off a lot of users. They should fork Windows for people who need legacy support and those who don't. Get rid of half the old code in Windows. Make the OS run faster and use less resources. Continue to improve the security and harden the kernel further. Get rid of the Windows as a service business model and start selling software again. I want to own Office version whatever not pay an endless subscription to office 365. I want real versions of Windows again that we have to pay to upgrade and they make it worth our while to do so. The entire business as a subscription model was a way to stop everyone complaining about the lack of progress between Windows version and the amount of bugs and unfinished work. I want to see a new version of Windows where they actually completely change the settings and unify everything in ONLY one place. I don't want to see window boxes for control panel that look out of the 90s. Like update the GUI everywhere. Make some decent improvements to the filesystem and kernel. Make the OS actually more efficient and faster instead of bloating and using ever more resources to do the same thing. I would pay to get an upgrade such as this rather than just have a nice lipstick applied to the same face.
I am not a fan of the start menu and how apps are displayed. To me it is kind of a mess. Sure Windows 10 had a crazy long list of programs but at least you could find what you were looking for fast and with minimal clicks. Now you have to click a bunch of menus just to get to a full list of apps.
The GUI does look better though. Windows security is a big improvement over previous iterations of Windows rendering 3rd party anti-virus almost redundant which is really nice.
I like the new icon designs.
In terms of performance it feels like every other version of Windows I have ever used. I have not had a problem with stability on Windows for a long time and seems to be very stable. I like the control over installing updates that you used to have a Pro installation to get.
If you have used Windows and like it then Windows 11 is fine. The extra Telemetry sucks and making it near impossible to use a local account is a bit of a bummer but on a Mac no one complains? You literally can't use a Mac unless you enter your Apple ID. So I don't see a big difference and there are some benefits having everything linked.
What I would really like to see is some changes under the hood like an improved file system. Windows has been using the same file system for ever. I would like to see improvements to the NT kernel or maybe a completely new kernel. I would like to see Microsoft do some things that will piss off a lot of users. They should fork Windows for people who need legacy support and those who don't. Get rid of half the old code in Windows. Make the OS run faster and use less resources. Continue to improve the security and harden the kernel further. Get rid of the Windows as a service business model and start selling software again. I want to own Office version whatever not pay an endless subscription to office 365. I want real versions of Windows again that we have to pay to upgrade and they make it worth our while to do so. The entire business as a subscription model was a way to stop everyone complaining about the lack of progress between Windows version and the amount of bugs and unfinished work. I want to see a new version of Windows where they actually completely change the settings and unify everything in ONLY one place. I don't want to see window boxes for control panel that look out of the 90s. Like update the GUI everywhere. Make some decent improvements to the filesystem and kernel. Make the OS actually more efficient and faster instead of bloating and using ever more resources to do the same thing. I would pay to get an upgrade such as this rather than just have a nice lipstick applied to the same face.
I've been using W11 since it started, although not as an Insider. I have no PCs that are technically qualified to run it, but use Rufus to create patched installers. So far, I've run it on machines as varied as a 10-core HT Xeon, 32GB RAM, i7 16GB, i3 16GB, and on a tiny i3-2365M Asus S200E notebook, 4GB RAM. While it is plainly slower on the notebook, it runs reliably.
The one niggle on the tiny 1366x768 notebook is that you cannot resize the taskbar (Use Small Taskbar Buttons on all previous Windows). A stupid omission, but that's the only one that grates.
The one niggle on the tiny 1366x768 notebook is that you cannot resize the taskbar (Use Small Taskbar Buttons on all previous Windows). A stupid omission, but that's the only one that grates.
I am currently running Windows 11 on my MacBook Pro (2019), as a Boot Camp partition, with no problems whatsoever. A friend of mine gave me a hacked Windows 11 installation on a USB thumb drive that somehow tricks the installation registry into thinking the TPM 2.0 chip is present (and whatever else is required). I did have to manually download and then install the Bootcamp drivers for Windows 11. But it works wonderfully well.
Just today found ExplorerPatcher on github that fixes this problem. Not terribly elegant on first opening, but leave it to sort itself out for a few minutes, then open Start, and the ExplorerPatcher properties link should be there. Click on that, then adjust as you see fit.
Now I hope to be fair someone list the "CRAP" versions of MacOs here!
Billion dollar companies didn't get there by making crap operating systems.
Please show me?
Oh rumors I forgot..😂🤣🙃
Billion dollar companies didn't get there by making crap operating systems.
Please show me?
Oh rumors I forgot..😂🤣🙃
My primary reason with even sticking with Windows is Gaming. But as far as Win11 OS goes. it's fine. Minus some of the limited UI restrictions. I like my taskbar on top. So I had to resort to 3rd party software to be able to move it. And I actually liked the Windows 10 Start tiles vs the wannabe dock/App launcher that is similar to MacOS. And the 3rd party allowed me to revert back to the Win 10 style as well. Otherwise no real complaints. But for everyday general computing I've grown to like Mac OS more simply because it's a more uniform connection of my iphone and Mac and IPad that I use for my normal day to day personal things. Work is Windows 11 so I'm always entrenched in both OSes anyway.
Same here. Windows 11 (gaming and amateur radio programming software), and MacOS (for everything else) at home.
Unfortunately, at work, I have to use Windows 10 with the craptastic Microsoft RDS server software.
And you're telling us something that we have known for the last 31 years because...?
BL.
I use windows 11 on my lower specced computer of like 4gb rma...it runs pretty well, for the specs.
Windows 11 is certainly better than 10 but i am one of the few who actually liked windows 8 and 8.1 ( but i was also using windows phones)
Windows 11 is definitely far more powerful and efficient than 10.
Windows 11 is certainly better than 10 but i am one of the few who actually liked windows 8 and 8.1 ( but i was also using windows phones)
Windows 11 is definitely far more powerful and efficient than 10.
But only for other applications and processes written by Microsoft.
Compiling LaTeX documents is no faster (in fact, it is still 1/3 of the speed of MacOS and Linux for the same task), and installing applications and upgrades is no faster. It might even be slower due to the overweening paranoia of Windows Defender.