Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO“Ilikethefreshnewlook,
andIcanallowmyselfawry
smilewhenIdigdeepand
endupinancientWindows
configurationtools”T
hearrivalofa newversionof
Windowsisalwaysa significant
event.Havingstartedwith
Windows 2.x,I have livedthroughthe
upsanddownsof3.x,NT,9x, 2 00 0,
XP,Vista,7,8,10.Andnow 1 1.
Somehavebeengood,some
horrible(WindowsME,anyone?)and
someoutrightfailed: theWindows
mobileplatform,theattemptstodo
embeddedandIoTWindows,the
billion-dollarWindowsRTmistake.
Still,youcan’tsay thatMicrosoft
hasn’ttried.Thelessonslearntfrom
RTdoubtlessfedintotheARM
versionsofWindowsthatfollowed,
andMicrosoftkeepschippingawayat
thatmarketwithitsSurfacedesigns,
anda fewdevicesfromthirdparties.
Aspartofthiseffort,Microsoft
workedon a newversionofWindows
called10X.Thiswasaimedat the
two-screen foldingmarketfor
portabledevices,andfeatureda
significantlyrewrittencoreandvery
differentuserinterface.Theproject
stumbledand,aftermultipledelays,
resultedintheSurfaceDuodevice
shippingwitha Microsoft-modified
versionofAndroid 10 instead.
Partoftheproblemwasthedesire
toputx64legacy Windowsappsinto
a subsystem,lockingthemdown
safelyawayfromthecoreoftheOS.
Performance wassaidtobepoor,and
thebuildsthatdidappearinpublic
missedthiskeyfunctionality.Thelegacyeffect
It’simportantbecauseofthelegacyof
Windows.Thisisthebigstrengthand
alsothehugelimitationofthe
Windowsplatform. Microsoftspends
a quite inordinateamountofeffort
ensuringthatoldapps,code,drivers
andotherdetritus will still workon
thecurrentversionofWindowson
theIntelplatform.Ithasmorewriggle
roomontheARMversion,butisstill
workingat bringingx64code
emulation abilitiestothatplatformto
helppersuadeuserstoconsiderARM
forWindows.
Corporatecustomersarelocked
intorollinglicensingarrangements,
andso theBigShipWindowsjust
keepsrollingforward.Rockingthis
highlyprofitableboatissomething
thatisunthinkabletoMicrosoft.
Butsomethingneededto be done.
Windows10,despiteitssolidsuccess,lacksthewowfactortokeepthe
marketingteamshappy, especiallyin
thehomeandSMEmarketplaces.
Microsoft’sresponseisentirely
predictable. TaketheUI design work
thatwasdevelopedforWindows 10 X,
andboltthatontothecoreof
Windows 1 0.That,ina nutshell,is
Windows 1 1.It’sa refresh,witha new
UI,betterconfiguration forendusers,
andisanopportunityfor Microsoft
anditsOEMpartnerstoembarkona
bigmarketing push.Bravebutcorrect
Windows 10 nowhasadefined
supportlifecycleaheadofit:
Windows 10 Home
andProwillbe
retiredon 14 October
2025,givingthem
a decade-longlife.
There’sno
immediaterushto
movetoWindows 11
becausethere’s
plentyoftimeahead
forplanstobemade.
Inthe past, you
couldhauljustabout
anyoldpieceof
Windowshardware
tothenextversion. If it runsthe
currentbuild,therewasa strong
chanceitwouldrunthenextone.This
allchangeswith Microsoft’sbrave
andprofound changeto thehardware
requirementsforWindows11,as
detailedinthemainreview.
Somecommentators havethrown
uptheirhandsin horror,sayingthat
thisisa terriblemovebyMicrosoft.I
disagree. Let’slookatthefactshere:
gettingbettersecurityontothe
Windowsplatformisa very necessary
move,whetherit’sa laptopora
desktop.Windows 1 0 still hasfour
yearsoflife aheadofit.Mostrecent
hardwarewillupgradewith no issues,
andthehardwarethatisn’tsupported
byWindows 11 willbe pretty ancient
bythetimeWindows 10 supportends.
Ofcourse, runninganunsupported
Windows 10 isa badidea,anditisn’t
verygreentojunka workableolder
computer.Atthatpoint,repurposing
thecomputertoruna Linuxwillbe
therightandpropermovefor the
device’stwilightyears.Forbusiness
users,thehardwarewillhavebeen
writtenoffyearsagoanyway.Freshpaint
Sowhat do I thinkaboutthenew
loveliness in Windows11?I likethe
freshlook,whichlosessomeofthe
same-old,same-oldtirednessthat
Windows 1 0 suffersfrom. I like the
worktobringasmuchday-to-day
configurationtothenewUIas
possible,andI canallowmyselfa wry
smilewhen I digdeepandendupin
ancientWindowsconfigurationtools.
There’sa lotofmicro detailhere,
liketheimprovedterminalwindow,
throughto bettermanagement.But
evenwiththereturnofwidgets,the
morematurewindows management,
thegreaterfocusonTeams,Windows
11 (whisperit)doesn’tadduptomuch.
Itdoesn’thelpthatthepromised
Androidappsubsystemismissing,
withitnowsettocomeatalaterdate.
I’mpleasedthatwefinallyknow
thedirectionthatMicrosoftistaking
forthenexthalfdecadeorso.Wecan
planforthis,integrateitintoour
workflowsandmanagement,andget
onwith life. Pleasedthatthereisthe
Windowscloudplatform(seep 73 ),
whichwill
doubtless move to
Windows 1 1 inthe
nearfuture,thus
offering a new
styleofdesktop
computing
operationforthose
whowant to take
thatroute.Pleased
thatit’sgoingto be
a freeupgradefor
thosewhousea
perpetuallicence
ontheirhardware.
AndpleasedthatMicrosoftisstarting
tograspthethornyproblemof
endlessbackwardscompatibility,and
ispreparedtodraw a lineinthesand.
ButI’malsodisappointed.
Disappointedthat it isn’tthe
ground-upvisionthatwewere
promisedforWindows10X.
Disappointedthat it doesn’taddress
thewhole mobile
market,evenif bringing
someAndroidappsonto
theWindowsdesktopis
aninterestingmove.
Disappointedthatit
seemsrathersafe.
Disappointedthat
Microsoftisn’tbraveenoughtofully
committotheARMchipset.
Oncethemarketingnoise
subsides,wecansee whetherithas
madeanymaterialimpacttomarket
shareandsales– I predictno
significantchange.Andthenwecan
focusourattention on theinteresting
topicof howMicrosoftbrings
Windows 365 cloudPCs to thehome
marketplace.Nowthatisgoing to be
aninteresting move.JonHoneyballplacesthereleaseofWindows 11 in
historicalcontextbeforeexplainingwhathelikes–
anddislikes–aboutthenewOS
What’sMicrosoftreallyupto?
BELOWThere’sa
freshnesstoWindows
11 thatgoesbeyond
thenewwallpapers