Windows 11?

[John Terefenko]

The computer I bought in the winter of last year has the capabilities of upgrading Windows 10 to windows 11. At the time Windows 11 was just introduced and having issues from what I heard. The tech I bought the computer from in the store told me to wait to install it to see what happens. I now see Windows 12 is going to be launched soon. So my question is updating to Windows 11 a good idea? Is there much difference between 10 and 11? I just about got things figured out with 10 and there still is alot I have not even played with yet. What say you??

[Michael Schuch]

It takes me about 2 hours to configure any new Windows OS to the Windows XP interface I like. After configuring everything to my preferences I can't tell the difference between Windows 11 on one workstation and Windows 10 on another workstation even though I work on both at the same time.

[Lee Schierer]

Windows 11 was an option on my new laptop and I have been using it for some time with very few problems. The interface is a bit different and it does take some getting used to. One BIG disappointment was the fact that my favorite photo editing program (app) does not even remotely work in windows 11. It was a really easy to use app and had all the things I ever wanted to do with photos. It also has some annoying settings, such as clicking on an email address automatically brings up the windows email client instead of the one I prefer to use. I haven't figured out how to change that yet. If anyone has, please let me know.

[Mike Gresham]

I had the same problem in Windows 10 until I set the default in Settings/Apps/Default Apps. I don't have 11 so can't confirm it has the same capability.

[Jim Becker]

While I do not use Windows as my primary operating system, I do run an instance of Windows 11 in a virtual machine. I've had zero issues with it. If the hardware on my CNC control machine was compatible with Windows 11, I'd not be uncomfortable installing Windows 11 at this point.

Lee does bring up a good point that one must be sure that some legacy applications may or may not run on Win11. That's always been something that has to be considered with OS upgrades. (and often with hardware upgrades, too) Nature of the beast.

[Lee Schierer]

I had the same problem in Windows 10 until I set the default in Settings/Apps/Default Apps. I don't have 11 so can't confirm it has the same capability.

It is the same in Windows 11, I just found a way to change it as shown on this link. (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+to+replace+the+windows+11+default+email+clie nt#kpvalbx=_ve_SYuaRA92hptQP6JSFgAQ18)

[Jerome Stanek]

I see they are having problems with Windows 12 and the Bar exam. My wife had the option to upgrade her new laptop with windows 19 on it and she did. Big mistake screwed up everything. Had a hard time getting it back to windows 10.

[roger wiegand]

The question is always what can you not do on the current system that upgrading to a new system will enable, and is it worth the time and effort involved? For me, in the current phase of computer evolution, that means skipping most updates. It's been a decade or more since an OS upgrade has added a new feature that I wanted or cared about, it's all about getting adequate security features now. On my Mac I just let it auto-update, it's been a very long time since anything has broken during that process, or since any really obvious change has been introduced, the change from 32 to 64 bit operation being the last I recall.

[Curt Harms]

They're talking about Windows 12 and Windows 11 was released in October 2021 so less than a year? Sounds a little bit like Windows Vista, which had a pretty short life as well. Personally I only use Windows for a monthly specific purpose which takes about 10-15 minutes. As long as the required app works with Windows 10 (which will receive security updates until at least October 2025) I don't plan on switching.

[Lee DeRaud]

They're talking about Windows 12 and Windows 11 was released in October 2021 so less than a year? Sounds a little bit like Windows Vista, which had a pretty short life as well. Personally I only use Windows for a monthly specific purpose which takes about 10-15 minutes. As long as the required app works with Windows 10 (which will receive security updates until at least October 2025) I don't plan on switching.
I hadn't even heard of Win12, so I googled it: the top hits are all of the form, "Microsoft may release Windows 12 as early as 2024" (emphasis mine). Yeah, that's (maybe) a shorter cycle than usual, but not absurdly so given the previous Win10 protocol of 6-12 month "feature updates".

(My suspicion is that their marketing people don't think customers will feel they're getting a "fresh" OS unless the name changes.)

[Mike Henderson]

I'm using Windows 11 on two computers with zero problems.

Mike

[Alan Lightstone]

I have a few compatibility issues (the most annoying a Dymo Label printer), but mostly just not thrilled with the interface compared with Windows 10. On the other hand, since I usually keep machines for 7-8 years, I thought future-proofing with Windows 11 to be wise.

[Jerome Stanek]

They're talking about Windows 12 and Windows 11 was released in October 2021 so less than a year? Sounds a little bit like Windows Vista, which had a pretty short life as well. Personally I only use Windows for a monthly specific purpose which takes about 10-15 minutes. As long as the required app works with Windows 10 (which will receive security updates until at least October 2025) I don't plan on switching.

More like Windows Messy Edition (Windows ME)

[Jerome Stanek]

I'm using Windows 11 on two computers with zero problems.

Mike

Really messed up my wife's new laptop so much so that even the tech at Micro Center couldn't restore to Windows 10 I have it on my laptop and don't like it and can;t go back as you only have 10 days

[Kev Williams]

I appreciate the warnings ;)

[Lee DeRaud]

I have it on my laptop and don't like it and can;t go back as you only have 10 days
I did a full-image backup the night before I upgraded, just to get around that issue. No real problems with Win11, just found the UI changes annoying, and decided to defer using it until I could do all four computers. (At the time, it still claimed my big desktop wasn't "approved".) A bare-metal restore got me back up on 10 in under an hour.

(My super-cheap Asus VivoBook "music box" laptop upgraded itself at some point when I wasn't looking. I'm at peace with that, since its only function is do use MusicBee to play MP3s into the living room stereo and display the album covers.)

[Curt Harms]

I did a full-image backup the night before I upgraded, just to get around that issue.

Smart man. That way you can do a bare metal restore if required.