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The weather is changing, you've gifts to wrap, events to plan. This time of year is a busy one for a lot of us, but what's this? A holiday gift from Microsoft? It's time once again to lose your desktop shortcuts, re-learn how to bring up the calculator and be angry that your accounting software doesn't work any more.
Yes indeed, let's collectively unwrap a brand new version of the operating system we all love to hate. Merry Christmas, we got you Windows 11.
It's so easy to be cynical about Microsoft's operating systems. They've been the source of frustration and incompatibilities since 1985 and spanned nine iterations, so a lot of us have actually grown up with the "Start" menu being ubiquitous with using a PC.
That dreaded blue screen, irritatingly lengthy updates and cryptic error messages simply par for the course. Ignoring 8, the last few versions of Microsoft's flagship product have actually been quite good though, from a usefulness and stability standpoint. Does this theme continue with this latest version?
Honestly the first few metaphorical bites (bytes perhaps?) are tasting pretty good! Windows 11 builds on the things we liked so much about 10; the security is good, the usability is nice and the interface is for the most part intuitive.
As a user experience it's undeniably quite pretty, too. The new start menu now appears centrally and is less cluttered. The windows now have macOS-esque rounded edges which makes everything feel modern and slick. Running programs are represented, again centrally, on the taskbar by simply their icon. It seems that most of the development has been on the look and feel of the operating system rather than new features to play with. This isn't unwelcome, as it does mean less chance of incompatibility with your preexisting and perhaps aging programs.
An additional pleasant surprise comes when we learn about what it's going to cost us to update. Like 10, 11 is available as a free upgrade for existing Windows users! The caveat on this occasion however is that it comes with a much higher minimum system requirement than the previous release. All of those rounded edges and slickness apparently come at the cost of needing beefier processing power. Those of us with a machine under half a decade old shouldn't struggle, but anything more senior than that is likely to fall short. A new PC may well have to find its way onto your Christmas list. Hope you've been good!
So why wouldn't you take this new, free flavor of Windows? Well the more tech-savvy of an individual you are, the better time you're likely to have with upgrading right now.
There are some teething problems as there always is with this scale of release. Slow web browsing, a few common programs needing updates to work properly; honestly it's less problematic than you'd expect from a release on this scale, but it might be wise for general users give it six months.
They're describing the update as a rolling one between now and mid-2022 anyway.
Love your existing version? Well there's some good news there too. Windows 10 isn't slated to go end of life until 2025, which really isn't unreasonable since we've welcomed it onto our systems since 2015.
You've perhaps more ample time to decide too; Windows being offered in this as-a-service fashion with free updates to new versions isn't likely to change any time soon, so whenever you're ready to hit install and give your computer a snazzy new OS, you won't be further than a reboot or seven away.
Richard Noble is the founder of Want For Tech, an IT company based in Glasgow.
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