xsharp.eu

Hi Arne,
if a PC is used only as "dumb terminal" to a terminal server, then maybe a reduced OS like ChromeOS could be a safer alternative.
Wolfgang

It would be interesting to see if Microsoft is really terminating support in October 2025. W11 is highly unpopular (worse than W8 after being the same period on the market) with a market share less than half of that of W10. Earlier this year that market share even plunged (see https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10- ... declining/) although that has been reversed again later.

My main reason not to go to W11 (also not when it's no longer supported) is that they changed the fully adaptable W10 menu, with the option to put the taskbar left or right, to a rigid menu with few adaption options and wasted space ("recommended apps" which can be left empty but it will always display) and a taskbar which can't be set left or right.

It's frustrating having to rely on sometimes expensive external libraries to keep a certain lay-out but you can not trust Microsoft to provide that.

Dick

Hi Dick,

with ExplorerPatcher you can still use OpenShellMenu in Win11. Also the Quick launch bar is still possible (I use freelaunchbar). My Win 11 looks like my old Win 10 (or Win 7 to be honest)

Karl

Hello Karl,

I didn't know that one! I checked out https://www.stardock.com/products/start11/ on a laptop I setup for a client. This can do a lot more than W11 but it can't (if I remember correctly):

- group a couple of shortcut icons in the menu and give these a common header/ subject
- Let you choose the size of the icon (I mix smaller and larger icons in my W10 menu I mix large and small icons
- Let you place the taskbar to the right (which I find a more logical place on widescreens than at the bottom)

Can you do that with this program? These 3 points may sound insignificant but they determine the way I access files and programs throughout the day and I don't want to be set back to a far inferior way by getting to W11.

Dick

Hi Dick,

Actually I mentioned 3 tools
- first you need ExplorerPatcher (with this you can place the taskbar to the right or the startmenu to the left)
- OpenShell (former ClassicShell) replaces the windows menu. OpenShell requires ExplorerPatcher.
- FreeLaunchBar replaces Quick Launch Bar. You can place menus on it which I find quite usefull. FLB also requires ExplorerPatcher. There is also a paid version (True Launch Bar) with more features

Karl

Guys,
this is an interesting discussion and probably way more relevant for other folks, as my initial "background" question - so, i'd suggest moving the posts to another thread?

On the OT side: i just checked and found, that my main machine now has more than 11 years under its belt - i wouldn't know, why it should be retired...

You're right Karl. I opened https://www.xsharp.eu/forum/topic/4209 for this.

Dick