For those of us who remember the fun times of trying to find out where Microsoft relocated the email icon, now comes Windows 11. I’ve tried the “leaked” build this week, and it’s a yawner.
It’s mainly concerned with changing around elements of the UI, ostensibly making Windows work better, but in practice lowering everyone’s productivity until they figure out where everything went in the new system. I’ll spare you the details of an item-by-item review of the new arrangement of deck chairs on the Titanic; there are plenty of places to read about that. I’ll also skip the TPM flap that’s brewing- instead I will simply point out that since 2006, the minimum requirements for a computer to run the latest version of Windows have been essentially stagnant. How many useful new must-have features can the latest OS possibly include if its base hardware requirements are the same? Answer: not many.
This tailing off of innovation over time isn’t unique to Microsoft; the pace of innovation for the entire computer industry is slowing, and that’s to be expected. No exponential rate of change can be maintained for very long. On the upside, it means your investments in hardware are going to last longer even if your investments in software don’t. On the downside, it means we will see all manner of software begin to go light on actual innovation and heavy on appearance, glitz, and glamor- and that’s what Windows 11 is.
Some in the industry are calling Windows 11 a glorified appearance pack for Windows 10, and so far I agree. And I think it’s the sort of thing we’re going to see a lot more from the computer industry in the future.
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