ExplorerPatcher

The only thing keeps Windows 11 usable for me are these two mods.. https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher https://github.com/open-shell/open-shell-menu/ They bring back the context menu and the old task bar, as well as the old start menu. It's like I never left Windows 10. And I've switched to Linux Mint for all my systems except my laptop, which still has some hardware limitations under Linux.

>It also eats vertical space with those huge icons, which is precious given the current popular screen dimensions. This is one Windows gets wrong too, in fairness. W11 killed the ability to move the taskbar to the left/right side of the screen. That's a real pain on ultrawide displays where you have absolutely miles of horizontal real estate and relatively limited vertical space. Fortunately, ExplorerPatcher exists and can restore the functionality. https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/

Have you looked into SimpleWindowSwitcher? https://github.com/sigoden/window-switcher ExplorerPatcher makes it easy to configure in the settings menu, I'm not aware of any other projects that implement SWS: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher It's very fast and can be configured to set window thumbnail size/area

I use a few utilities to tame Windows 11 and make it work more like Windows 7, 8, and 10. It should get rid of that "Remind me again" thing, I haven't seen it in a long, long time. No ads, no crap from Microsoft. https://pxc-coding.com/donotspy11/ https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/releases https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases

Windows 11 has stupid unchangeable defaults that keep getting worse with each service pack. To survive in a Windows VM I run, the first thing I install is always a horrible hack to restore flexibility: [1]. [1] https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/wiki/All-features

For that, use ExplorerPatcher: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher

The "bad copy of your competition" is probably in relation to the Windows 11 program launcher that resembles the centered design of the MacOS launcher. But that can be easily removed using tools like Explorer Patcher and Open Shell. https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu The thing that made me switch to Linux is Microsoft's pushing AI into everything. I do not want their AI constantly looking over my shoulder.

I've found https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher to be useful, though test it out before relying on it as some have reported stability issues with some options (I've not noticed any problems myself, other than things a little confused by my ZenBook's 1.5 screens when positioning some UI parts). There are a few other similar tools to try as well, I'll leave others to talk about them as I never got around to trying more than this one so can't talk with any authority at all.

I use two free programs to return my computer usability to Windows 10 days. https://open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/ https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher Without these I would probably give up on computers and go live under a bridge.

If you're ever forced to use W11, ExplorerPatcher will let you rollback the taskbar to windows 10 and move it to the sides. https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher

This does not move the taskbar. This aligns the icons on the taskbar, which stays at the bottom of the screen. Their best bet is to use the relatively reputable ExplorerPatcher. However, using ExplorerPatcher requires fiddling with your antivirus settings and weakening your PC's security, so maybe trying to live with the new normal is better? https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher

All of these are minor quibbles that can easily be addressed with a single free utility. [1] I’d rather do some customization than lose major under the hood modernizations. Context menus and the start menu don’t bother me on a daily basis. I just hit start and type in what I want. I disabled internet searches with one registry key edit and I only had to do it once. The context menus are fine, they function. [1] https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher

The task bar can’t be moved anymore. I don’t agree with it either but that wasn’t the issue in your comment, which was start menu alignment, which can be adjusted. My point is that most of the emotions discrediting it are the same emotions that discredited 10 and other versions. People just don’t want to upgrade because they don’t want to upgrade. If you are specifically using Windows 10 you are still using Windows with all that same user hostility, spyware/adware and all. All those complaints you have about windows 11 are the same complaints I heard from the windows 7 die hards who refused to upgrade to 10 until 7 was pried away from them. And then I heard them from all the people who refused to leave XP way past its expiration date. It all you want is for Windows 11 to look like Windows 10 there are free utilities for that [1], just lik

You can set up Windows 11 with a local account using the Rufus ISO tool. This tool can move your taskbar or generally make 11 look like 10: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher Like I understand frugality and anti-consumption and all that but at some point if online gaming is your hobby you need to fund your hobby and do it properly. You’re wiling to spend $30 on extending security updates but not $50 for a processor upgrade on eBay I don’t really get the mindset.