Impulsively wiped #Windows11 off of my personal laptop (ASUS G14) and installed #bluefin#linux a couple of weeks ago. I am pleased to report that it’s dope. Great experience for me, an “enthusiastic amateur” Linux user who’s also a Tired Dad Without a Ton of Free Time.
@thurrott Something in one of these updates is causing my #Windows11 device to randomly reboot when left unattended. When I leave it overnight with a VM running or come home from work, its been restarted.
@thurrott A masterclass review Paul! I still have a primary #windows11 PC, but I love my M1 #MacBook Pro. As you mentioned, the integration with the rest of the #Apple ecosystem is a delightful part of owning a #Mac. When Apple hits M5 I plan to replace my Windows laptop with either a Mini or Studio. There just isn't anything sticky in Windows for me anymore.
@thurrott First world problem, just upgrade already. Its not like upgrading is gonna have a major impact. Operating systems are solved problems. You can launch a web browser, word processor, email just as you would in #Windows10 on #Windows11. We all know that 90% of time spent in Windows. Sure, if you are a corporation specialized LOB apps, then testing and paying to maintain compatibility might be required.
@thurrott The idea of preference for me has faded when it comes to desktop operating systems. I use #windows11#macOS and #Linux Fundamentally they are all the same at this point. There are little things I like about each. On Windows, I prefer the skeuomorphic icons, on Mac I like the detail and UI gestures, Linux I like that it’s free and does 99% of the things we buy a Mac or Windows device for.
It's no longer possible to have the taskbar at the top of the screen.
You can't actually turn off the hover-over window previews ("peek" is, I think, the official term), although there is a (very well-hidden) option to do this.
Once again, so very glad to have switched to Linux 19 years ago.
@arstechnica To be honest with you, #Windows11 doesn't have any annoying features thats bugging me. Sure, #Copilot is there prominent in the interface, but can be largely ignored. I used it a few times and haven't in weeks and it does bug me to. #MicrosoftEdge is probably where you will see the most nag.
@thurrott My #Windows10 PC at work is being upgraded to #Windows11 next week. #Microsoft is likely saving #Windows12 for the 30th anniversary of Windows 95. The company has used that as a point in time when Windows became mainstream. August 2025 seems like the right time do it and it will be close to 5 years after Windows 11 launched.
@BrodieOnLinux
There was actually no "white" theme in #windows7. What you showed, is actually Aero Theme. You can design your own white theme in personalisation. Not just white, but any color palette based on RGB slider.
Strangely now you can't personalize anything in the current #windows11. They're just bland white/dark theme toggles.
Linux is all about choice, but as a Windows user, you likely want something that will work out of the box. You're likely looking for the least effort with the best stability.
@thurrott Hope I will be able to use it. Had an issue where a user signed into their Edge profile at work using their personal email (this is a shared computer) and there was no way to get it off except reimage the computer. I signed into my work profile in Edge on #Windows11 VM at home to do my time sheet and I explicitly told it not to management the machine. Now all my damn work files are showing on the machine. Edge is a virus.
@thurrott Dave Cutler said only 20% of the original code from the first version of #WindowsNT is in #Windows11 today. Even he expects it to be rewritten and go down further. It’s interesting to think but in the next 10 years, what we know as Windows today might be a completely different operating system under the hood.
Huh. #Microsoft apparently put #Windows in a browser and mobile app (11, I assume). Even has support for multiple displays and device redirection, so it can recognize stuff like your webcam and printer (lol paper amirite). #Windows11
"When users want to add their email accounts from different providers, for example, Gmail, to their Outlook, a pop-up informs: 'For better experience, your messages, events, and contacts will be synced to the Microsoft Cloud.'”
TLDR: Windows Activation Servers are currently broken with no ETA for resolution or workaround.
Well this is fun. I updated my BIOS last night, and it was a big enough change to break activation on my Windows 11 Pro install. That's fine, it's a digital license, reactivation should qui... Hrm. Error.
Try again. Error. Reboot. Error. Request a callback from Microsoft Support.
This is where things get really fun. The Microsoft Support Agent last night told me that Windows 7 licenses that were upgraded to Windows 11 were expiring and would not activate any more. I might have called her a liar, and asked to speak with her manager.
The Microsoft Support Manager said the same thing: Windows 11 licenses that were upgrades from Windows 7/8 were no longer valid for activation. Even if they were now digital licenses tied to my Microsoft account.
I figured I'd have better luck later with a fresh call center, so I tried again today. Still getting the same activation errors, even going through the "I recently changed hardware and need to reactivate Windows" Pick-Your-Device window.
This time I got a Microsoft Support Agent who understood it was a digital license, and did some investigation. She reported that there was a known problem with the Windows Activation servers right now, and there were "lots" of calls to Windows Support over the issue. I'm "scheduled" for a callback from a technician, who will either help with the issue or collect more data? I'm not clear.
The same Microsoft Support Agent also indicated that there is currently no workaround for the activation issues. So I guess I just don't get to customize anything, and hope that nothing important breaks (more).
What an embarrassing situation. Microsoft, this is a shitshow and you know it.
Is there anyone from Microsoft on the Fediverse who should be tagged for this?
TLDR: Windows Activation Servers are currently broken with no ETA for resolution or workaround.
I took it off, and it's saving me a fortune in power, time and patience. Power especially! Those fans were running all of the time.
I don't understand how a user-level application is even allowed to lock the entire machine for minutes at a time and make it unusable after a while. That's some seriously bad #Engineering there and not at all #Environment friendly!