I too have never needed to adopt Microsoft Store, yes , sometimes by default it will open when i have been doing some stuff, but i can always find and install all my usual Programs as they have always been backed up and updated manually doing it the old school way. I do think less savvy users will use it to some point, but there will always be peeps like us who will not. I used to do a lot of work for clients on there Computers and always passed on tips and hints.

So far using Win 11 has been plain sailing based on settings we have all discussed, i do not think my Computer habits are anywhere mainstream as i have very specific interests and so far Windowblinds has been the only  Casualty, but after working in conjunction with PhoenixRising1, even that is no longer so, every other of my mainly used Programs have all had NO problems with this OS, installed and working as they should.

Interesting how your worded the "Newbie" Debate PhoenixRising1 and i can say , you put it across beautifully, it made complete sense to me and i hope other members. Even when i came to this forum 11 years ago as a newbie, my IT experience and understanding of all things Computer related was already at a higher level than any Newbie as i was working in the Industry and in the last 11 years that experience has grown hugely. I have watched the Industry grow huge and touch almost every aspect of our lives so feel i can offer what i have learnt and give an informed experience led response to Topics like this.

The divisive proof of Win 11 good or bad, will only be settled in time, do i think it will become a Lemon like earlier editions of the OS , NO as it still remains very similar to Win 10 so many will take up the offer of a free upgrade, something our informed minds know to be "Too good to be true" as free is never really free, can and will we be able to close down those privacy issues making Win 11 better to use, a big fat yes as we are already doing it now, others will follow and as this OS becomes popular more of us will help others by what we respond in forums like this one, and before we know it others who publish results and findings on the net will do the same.

So sure of this end result, i am willing to apologize in print saying my findings of this OS were wrong, but as of right now, and based on numerous hours going through settings etc..  i stick to my findings as i genuinely believe Win 11 can be made safe from spying and can be modified to limit the concerns we are all commenting on. If and when that changes, maybe after some feature update, i will continue to report back Honestly and give my Informed opinion. I am a Stand Up Guy and would never defend my reporting back comments if i found them to be wrong through hands on time using this OS.

It's a safe bet that casualty is only temporary.  There has been a Windowblinds available for every MS OS after 3.  No matter how much MS buggers up an OS Neil [and Stardock] has always come through [mostly] unscathed.

Same cannot be said for the reverse - engineered uxtheme patcher [a violation of the MS TOS/EULA] which was [maybe/maybe not] 'inadvertently' broken with every windows update...

I think Neil is still busy working on start 11, MS has him extra busy this time around ..There are still a lot of us wanting those taskbar features and there is no point dropping Windowblinds 11 until we know how the taskbar is going to look so that can get skinned as well.

Microsoft Business model: new vs old

For people able to spend 10,000 dollars on a PC, then the price tag of 150 dollars for a single license operating system may seem like a drop of the hat. But, by and large that price and that business model just wasn't working. Back when windows 7 came out, there were fewer pc's per household, and realistically that old model only worked "maybe" for the one pc households. That business model was barely working for a very good OS (Windows 7) and wasn't sustainable. Honestly, I prefer the "price" of having built in switches I can turn off to get 4 computers vs the price tag of 600 dollars no question.

Success of an OS

All success is dependent on a successful marketing strategy. I wouldn't have paid for Windows 11 yet if it cost 150 dollars as I stated that model wasn't really working. Likewise, some people do not want Windows 11 because they dislike the "price" as I myself prefer. Either way people are going to be lost along the way. Adoption rate is never going to be 100 percent because 100 percent of the people will never like the product plain and simple. However adoption rate is effective in measuring success. Is shows who is willing to pay the "price" they are presented with.. There is more then one way to lose afterall.

Your cynical thought

It definitely is cynical... Windows 8 and 8.1 cost Microsofts CEO his job, Steve Balmer was shown the door and the process to push out Bill Gates had also begun. Windows 10 began under a brand new CEO Satya Narayana who was never a part in the founding of Microsoft. So the cynical dots just don't connect there.

I disagree, I think the fact that Microsoft has built in advertisements is common knowledge. People are more smart then you give them credit for.

Windows 11 was made to sell hardware. Microsoft will make a lot of money off of hardware sales.

If Microsoft made all of its money off of being a personal information seller then they would have just stayed with windows 10 since it has the same capabilities there.. But Windows OS is just a small slice of their profits. They got to sell hardware. They got to sell xbox game pass and office subscriptions... Their business model is obvious

That is an unfortunate reality I am sure we can all agree with. There was no need to lock out the amount of pcs that they locked out

Microsoft's policy in regards to hardware requirements and security has made my head spin. First off they put out details themselves how to use a registry patch to bypass TPM and state that they would not try and stop people form upgrading their PC using this method.. Great a green light from Microsoft themselves! A week later they state that people better not try this method because Microsoft will refuse to update any PC that uses this registry patch that they themselves showed off. I think now Microsoft changed their statement from they wont update PC, to they might not but probably still will.

Hardware requirements are just as confusing. They keep changing the minimum requirements and hopefully they will figure out what they are doing here. There are still a lot of PC's that are very capable of handling security requirements that are not yet allowed an update. This needs to be fixed and Microsoft needs to figure it out and allow the right number of PC's in. Holidays are over.

Yes, this is an area Microsoft has really fumbled. I was lucky enough to have my pc pass the "requirements"

kona - Have you posted a request in the MS forums about the folders icons. I do know that they removed them as part of the process of making Windows 11 faster then 10. In the forums I havent really seen that request.

The big 3 in Microsofts own forums are

1. Lower security requirements

2. Start Menu customization are too little and the recommendations take up too much screen when turned off (it is now being changed in the DEV build, but is still a whole lot better with start 11)

3. Taskbar needs more functionality (Microsoft is working on drag and drop for this crowd but it will take a whole year to complete)

The TPM chip really caught a lot of people by surprise. Anyone that builds their own PC probably did not have installing a TPM chip in their plans and if you bought a PC it is really a game of luck if you already have this chip installed.

TPM 2.0 may have a little impact with security short term, but I really question the idea that it was needed as a requirement for PC security overall. At the end of the day protecting your PC really comes down to the same practices it always has. i.e. don't be stupid.

Unfortunately, some of the most brilliant minds are on the wrong side when it comes to cyber security.  TPM is just another egg to crack and therefore a bit of a false sense of security.

Oh come on, Kona .....you're on a Skinning site and you're saying Skinners cannot do better than Microsoft?  We've been doing it better than them ever since before Windows was invented...