Windows 11 feels awful to use. My home laptop whirrs like crazy because it feels the need to download updates so often. There's a bunch of creepy processes/tasks running all the time. I tried to disable as many as I could, but some they prevent users from deleting. You don't want your laptop to run the "UsageAndQualityInsights" task every day? Well TOO BAD!
Windows 11 forces updates whenever it can. If I close the lid on my laptop, which should put it in a light sleep, I will sometimes open it up to it being restarted, so all my previously open programs being closed, because I guess they wanted to forcefully make me get their latest updates, potential unsaved work be damned. They don't care at all what you want, just "too bad, we know what's best for you."
There are so many basic bugs that I'm surprised exist. I have to use ExplorerPatcher to get some sense of normalcy back. The UI in some ways is so frustrating. Every time I want to use the calendar, it shows a giant empty blob for "notifications", even though I disable all notifications... why still show me this waste of space? I just want a calendar when I click the date...
I was shocked to find out that the inability to drag files onto applications in order to do basic drag-and-drop functionality is not a thing anymore. Why?! (I think ExplorerPatcher fixes this on my home laptop, but on my work laptop which also uses Windows 11 I am baffled by this every time I forget and try to drag a file onto a taskbar icon.)
It sucks having to constantly look up various tips, tricks, and hacks to make the operating system slightly bearable in all these little ways. "Here's how you can disable OneDrive which apparently had a habit of removing people's files whoopsie, here's how you can disable Copilot which had a super helpful feature where it literally just snapshots pictures of your screen all the time haha how helpful and totally not creepy, here's how you can bring back the normal right-click menu." But it only can do so much, and it's exhausting.
I feel like it's not "my computer," it feels like the most "Big Brother" operating system ever; it always feels like "something" is watching me or lurking in the background reporting back to some giant Microsoft data center on what I'm doing, what my files are, etc. It's just this really creepy feeling. I feel "gross" when I use it.
I wish I could have Windows 10, but I know that's basically not an option anymore. I want to switch to Linux, but I'm not techy enough and worried I'll fail at switching over. I am slowly working up the courage to try to install Linux Mint, as that sounds like the most beginner-coming-from-Windows-friendly distro of Linux.
Well, at least he's finally doing some good in the world.