PC World - USA (2021-06)

(Maropa) #1
JUNE 2022 PCWorld 89

and forth, but a new navigation system on the
top of the screen allows you to move up and
down a level quite easily. Each subsection
also includes its own summary screen, with its
own graphical elements, so that Network &
Internet shows what network you’re
connected to and how much data you’ve
used at the top of the screen.
Windows also uses a number of visual
elements to allow you to dive down even
further, with drop-down menus, buttons, and
caret menus leading deeper into the Settings
menu. Most if not all of these are
appropriately labeled, so that a submenu like
Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras
tells you that you’ll find connected-camera
settings and default image settings the further
you go. Microsoft is slowly making the legacy
Control Panel obsolete.

suggesting documents to
work on wouldn’t feel
obtrusive. Creating a rather
staid row of icons along the
Taskbar and Start isn’t fun,
but it helps you focus. I
support that—after all, I
argued that no one really
wants to deal with distracting
animated emoji (fave.
co/3NlaINC) in Teams.
Microsoft’s chief product
officer, Panos Panay, tends to
introduce new Surface
devices in the context of
“flow” and “focus,” and the redesigned Clock
app’s “focus time” (fave.co/3n4ZuBp) reflect
the reality that Microsoft is thinking hard
about such things. As a consumer, I think it’s
worth pushing back against this idea of
“business first, fun second,” but you can’t
deny the earnestness of Microsoft’s efforts to
help you become more efficient.


THE SETTINGS MENU
It’s probably fair to say that most people don’t
buy an operating system to tinker with it under
the hood. But if you do need to dive into the
Settings menu for a tweak, the design of new
Windows 11 Settings menu certainly makes it
easy to find what you need, make the change,
and get out.
Settings not only uses the standard
Windows 11 sidebar navigation to jump back


The Windows 11 Settings app hides a number of useful little
informational goodies.
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