Over the weekend, the talk on social media has been about Microsoft rolling back Windows 11 enshittification of its OS. In case you are lucky enough to not live on social media, Microsoft is saying sorry. Somewhat. It’s a corporate way of doing a YouTuber apology. A sorry if you’re offended kind of thing. “We are focusing on making Windows 11 more responsive and consistent, so performance feels smooth and reliable,” says Pavan Davuluri, EVP of Windows & Devices at Microsoft. “Over the course of the year, we’re improving system performance, app responsiveness, File Explorer and the Windows Subsystem for Linux, helping Windows stay fast as you move between apps and workloads.”
If you want a full detail as to what is being changed, you can check it out at Windows Central.They have a great write up about it. My take will cover some of the changes that will affect every user. However, I will give my take on this. Much of the internet is on the “too little, too late” train. Which is the same as all the tech accounts blasting the new MacBook Neo for what it isn’t. Instead of what it is.
Microsoft is bringing things back that they should never have taken away. For instance, the ability to change the location of the taskbar. Holding off of when you can install an update. Fixing the Start Menu, which hasn’t been good since Windows 7.
Microsoft Rolling Back Windows 11 Slop
One of the biggest points of contention has been their AI enshittification. As during an exchange with a friend, “they spent a lot of money on AI. They have to put it somewhere.” To which I replied, “No one asked for it, so they will sexually assault us with it anyway.”
“You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “As part of this, we are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad.”
This was something that was rumored to be happening earlier this year. Many users were complaining about every program that was asking you to use AI. Much of it didn’t make sense. In areas that made some sense, it was overpowering in “suggesting” to use it. In a recent report, only 3 percent of Office users actually used AI at all. Not to mention people complaining co-workers using AI to write emails.
While much of this is all fine and dandy, my main issue falls in the “reliability” section. “Reliability is the bedrock of trust,” the post reads. “You should trust that your PC is going to be there and function when you need it most.”
The biggest issue I have is their own incompatibility with their own updates. A recent March update broke login for services like Teams, Onedrive, and other services. Not to mention other updates that disrupted people from accessing their C drive.
Is It Too Little, Too Late?
No, it’s not. I know that tech blogs have to make clickbait adjacent headlines for clicks. You will see tons of YouTube videos with such headlines. However, the content will be more muted. Or, it runs 20 minutes and bury the lead to recap their grievances. Microsoft has always had issues. Ever since the beginning. For me, they never apologized for Windows 8, which was the worst OS ever.
Not everyone can change to Mac OS. The cost would be a major investment on the hardware alone. But, there isn’t a lot of news on how Apple fucks up their OS. The move to Linux is a reasonable solution, but again, compatibility issues. You will hear people say “I switched to Linux five years ago and never looked back.” Yeah, but I’m sure they installed Windows in a partition. There are some programs that don’t have an alternative – or a good one – on Linux. I switched to Linux when my old desktop was no longer being supported. It worked for a time but there were certain programs that only worked on Windows and Mac. They did not offer a superior or even a satisfactory alternative.
One thing you need to remember, not everything everyone says on the internet is true. Not even honest. Especially if they are being sponsored. Hell, many of these issues are manufactured. As I mentioned earlier about the MacBook Neo.
Tech “personalities” on social media – particularly TikTok – are hating on their budget MacBook. They keep complaining about how it can’t run 4K video editing programs. Or running the last first person shooter at max settings. It isn’t meant to do that. It is Apple’s version of a Chromebook for $500. Yet, there are videos that are proving all those haters wrong. Sometimes, I hate the internet.
So What Should You Do?
I’ll be honest, nothing. If you put up with Windows to this point, you have no reason to change now. So far, for me, I have been fortunate. I never encountered ninety percent of what is talked about online. I did have that issue where my computer wouldn’t turn off. Got stuck in that constant restart cycle. Pushing off updates for as long as you want, that is a great thing. I used to hold off and see what people say online. If issues arise, I stay away from it until the repair update is released.
But, we shouldn’t have to do that. People’s major issue, right now, is forcing their AI on us. I have no use for it. Not to mention AI has no originality. It is a regurgitated mess of things that have been done before.
No, I don’t think Apple’s MacBook Neo is forcing them to change their ways. Most people that use Windows aren’t into the niche of power users. If you are doing high-end activities like video editing, hardcore gaming, or running a crypto service, you aren’t getting much of these issues.
Microsoft is playing nice. For now. See how it plays out. Although, if you are in the market to make the change, go for it. I am looking at switching to Mac OS. I just need to get that cash to start that change.
