More info about it here: https://www.ghacks.net/2024/08/13/windows-11-start-menu-is-getting-a-new-layout-to-organize-your-apps/
I love how microsoft never learns their lessons.
These people are stupid fucks.
i guess they couldn’t find a way to not make it look fucking awful
IF the categorization works well, and that’s a big if, I like it.
And if the categorization isn’t absolutely perfect, you can bet everyone will be clamoring to be allowed to customize it or disable it.
What the fuck is the point of the start button in the middle? Like, did they forget why the space to the right of it even exists.
I actually prefer it in the middle, it’s easier to get to.
But it changes position depending on the amount of apps open
I don’t have enough apps open at any given time for that to be a noticeable inconvenience ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Weird, but I’m glad it works for you.
i keep forgetting it’s in the middle by default. first thing i did was change the setting to put it back on the left corner.
well they essentially copied the Mac dock for no reason. The icons will still go to the right but overall the icons will be centered.
What goes to the left of the center start button?
That’s the septic tank to store the waste from enshitification.
Enshittification is when minor UI changes break my boomer brain
In this case the person you were responding to was right. It is where they put their news and weather widget. Which only exists to push people onto Bing. It is annoying, and by default pops up on rollover, not click, so it is trivially easy to accidentally pull up, pumping those Bing engagement numbers.
I don’t see how centering it changes that. They could just as easily leave the start menu left aligned and put the widgets button next to it
It’s actually ideal with an ultra wide I have come to realise.
I actually use it like that. I dont really see the reason pepole hate it so much. Geniuenly a better place for it (mind you im only talking about placement. The design itself is something else ). Since generaly if you use start menu you focus on it to launch something so it might as well be in tge middle of your screen.
Makes sense on ultrawides.
Also, a start menu that opens in the centre is technically the best. It’s in the most prominent part of the screen, and your mouse typically isn’t far from there.
The start button is harder to hit than simply flinging it into the corner though, definitely.
If you’re the kind of person who opens the start menu with the Windows key, a centre start menu is only an upgrade IMO.
Makes sense on ultrawides.
In which case, the question becomes: what percentage of users are actually using ultrawides? If it isn’t >50%, then the default should be the setting most appropriate to non-ultrawides. Unless you’re going to autodetect screen resolution and set the button’s location appropriately.
This is not rocket science, but Windows has been blowing it for quite some time now.
Never thought about ultrawide screens, that makes sense. Other than that I see no improvement whatsoever. Corner space is way easier to hit with a mouse, but even when using keyboard shortcuts having it in the middle is just an additional adjustment from what it used to be.
An OS should get out of my way and let me do what I do. Changing design language forces me to relearn what I had already had a flow for. In other words it’s utterly useless.
And I just know I’m gonna hate that automatic categorisation of apps, just as I hate web searches from start menu. Alphabetical order is predictable, but this I’d have to relearn.
even when using keyboard shortcuts having it in the middle is just an additional adjustment from what it used to be.
How? It’s closer to where your mouse will be, and to where your eyes naturally gravitate.
An OS should get out of my way and let me do what I do.
Yeah. Windows moved from that path a long time ago.
It’s an easier click target when it’s in the corner. Moving cursor from the middle to the corner is negligible for me since I can reach the whole screen with relatively minor mouse movement.
In the end it’s a muscle memory thing for me. Having the button in the middle just means I have to look for it in a different location than I’ve used to over the years.
Yeah that’s why I said corner is superior if you open it with a mouse, and centre is superior for if you do it with your keyboard.
Yeah, I moved that back the minute I upgraded to 11. It’s much better in the bottom left.
That change was absolutely idiotic. It reminds me of that time Apple changed the scroll direction. Who ever asked for any of this?
I’ve used StartAllBack to get the start menu exactly how I want it.
I dread having to upgrade at work, I set the group policy to deny the upgrade for the moment. They won’t allow me to use ASB.
Aw that sucks. My biggest issue is the thickness of the new bar. Wastes so much space
Oh god yes, you can modify it in the registry (or you used to be able to) but then the date/time gets fucked up. I hate W11 so much
I like w11, i just hate the taskbar
I couldn’t get past the Taskbar long enough to not hate it unfortunately. I also missed quicklinks, which I use a lot.
I was just pissed at my PC for “Update and Shutdown” and returning to my PC with it at the lock screen. I think this might be enough for me to leave windows.
Fam, jail that windows into a gaming partition and either get a Mac if you aren’t a computer nerd or use Ubuntu if you are. My computing quality of life improved greatly when I didn’t have to use Windows anymore.
Who even plays games that don’t run well on Linux/proton these days?
You don’t need to be a nerd. Just need to watch a vid or follow ubiquitous guide on how to partition a disk or install second disk. Installing and running Linux is easier than windows these days with most common distros.
The learning curve is easier than the one for each windows update too. At least for plasma, i would assume gnome too.
Still, some enterprise class software only running on windows is a reasonable excuse(for the user). Also not everyone has the drive space or can afford extra hardware. Obligatory privilege check ig.
I play games that don’t play well with Linux. Sims 1 & 2 are just straight up broken.
So my Linux PC is actually my WinXP retro gaming PC but Linux is dualbooted for when I want to do more modern stuff on it.
XP is a fine OS
Only issue is lack of V Sync for 2d games and the desktop. Which is why it would’ve been nice for Linux to be able to run the Sims 1
Unfortunately, a sizable amount of multiplayer games. And if you play with friends, that can be an issue.
Thankfully I don’t play any games with problematic anti-cheat, because I have no friends 🧠
Modded games too.
Linux is getting there, but it’s really only great for single player games now. That’s what I use it for
Mac has a terrible UI though.
Amazing! Reading this headline made my bazzite partition grow by 2 whole disk drives!
Every update with these new UI changes seems to increase empty wasted space each time
And create more steps to get places.
how else are they supposed to get you to use their AI for everything
bunch of fucking interface designers so deep into their shit that they’re forcing everyone to chase the UX meta and play ranked competitive UI when 90% of everyone is just trying to be casuals and play what they’re accustomed to so they can unwind at the end of the day
“yes well you see moving every interface element on your computer to a totally new location results in a 0.0001% improvement in the average user’s workflow, therefore: bite the pillow, changes are coming, we’re the experts you dumb schlubs!”
When was it ever about improving it for the end user? From the picture, it’s absolutely terrible. You have what, four folders taking up the whole menu? Yeah, Windows XP had a more efficient workflow than that.
When was it ever about improving it for the end user?
back in the day when it was about building the best interface you could to last the product lifespan, maybe.
that’s not profitable for the designers tho - chasing the current design meta is their version of planned obsolescence for interfaces. “oh that interface looks old so it doesn’t work anymore” - statements dreamed up by the deranged and greedy.
Well that looks like pure garbage. Glad I no longer have to deal with it.
Uggggh fucking whhhhhy.
I don’t even use Windows and I have to put up with this shit. My parents are going to call and ask how and why they have to use this new thing.
What was gained from this exercise in self-lobotomization? Pick a design language and stick to it.
Stirring the pot like this is driving away even enterprise users. My last org only approved Macs and Chromebooks because we didn’t want to deal with the headaches that windows brought. Imagine saying that statement 10 years ago!
I disagree. Microsoft is learning its lesson. It’s just that the vast majority of people are teaching Microsoft that its actions are perfectly acceptable, or, at the very least, not totally unacceptable… so it continues.
I like the phone link integration. I’ve never been a fan out auto-populating app folders though.
Where’s all the ads though? They’ve gotta be thinking about turning one of the folders into a recommended apps folder or something dumb. They’ll sneak something in somewhere.
Not my home screem!
I actually liked how the start menu works in Win10, with the rearrangeable/resizable tiles you can put wherever and categorize however you want. That was closer to what’s pictured here, but this is still worse.
How do I get that back?
(…I actually liked Windows 8’s Start Screen as well. I understand this puts me in the minority. Everything else about the Win8 UI was a five alarm dumpster fire, but I liked having a big colorful full screen app launcher that could be arranged in any way you wanted.)
How do I get that back?
you can change the kde (linux) launcher to look like that
Oh, dang. Laughing in KDE Plasma.
I die every workday when I have to boot in windows because our CAD doesn’t work on Linux. On the other hand it makes switching back to plasma at the end of work feel as sweet as day 1! I don’t feel like I’ll ever take it for granted.
