Windows 11 Continues to Evolve by Moving the Cheese
Windows 11 is changing the search experience and it's not for the better
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 by BradSams | Discussion: Stardock Blog
When Microsoft released Windows 11 late last year, it was clear that the OS was still a work in progress. There were quite a few missing features, like being able to move the taskbar to the top of the screen, folders in the Start menu, and a lot more.
As the months have progressed, the company has been releasing updates within their Insider program to bring "new" features in order to backfill these gaps. While doing so, the company is also introducing new functionality - but at the same time, they are already moving content around within the OS.
Now that may not seem like a big deal, but in the latest build of Windows 11 on the Dev channel there is a new search experience that the company claims will enhance the search experience for users of the OS.
Image Credit: Microsoft
But, there is a problem: Microsoft has a habit of forcing users to stay within their own ecosystem and place ads inside your workflow. We have seen this already with the company making it harder to switch away from the Edge browser, pushing MSN content in the widgets, and now the search update looks to be the new home of external content invading your desktop.
There isn’t much you can do about it - at least, not natively. Microsoft is going to push this update out to everyone later this year and widgets will arrive inside the search panel as you can see in the image above.
Even if you don’t care about the content being injected into your search window, the experience is still a bit jarring, as searching on Windows 11 opens a separate window from the Start menu. When we built Start11, we aimed to address this awkward experience by building our search experience directly inside the Start menu.
The other benefit of the search experience with Start11 is that we do not inject third-party content from MSN or other sources – it’s your content, and your content alone. If you don’t like how Microsoft is moving your search cheese, Start11 lets you put it back where it belongs.
When we think about how Start11 has evolved the Windows 11 experience, we like to talk about how we are extending the functionality of the OS. However, the origins of StartX is with Windows 8 and bringing the Start menu back. And with Windows 11, Start11 returned classic functionality to Windows that was in Windows 10/8/7, but not in Windows 11.
Start11 keeps third-party content out of your workflow. While Microsoft is not saying they are going to put ads in the search experience, I would not be surprised to see it happen as they have already shown they will put ads in the Start menu itself.
Reply #2 Tuesday, March 15, 2022 3:05 PM
Looks like my tech guy was right. Should rename it MSBook. Or maybe ButtBook, since that's where MS is shoving everything.
Reply #3 Tuesday, March 15, 2022 3:37 PM
I just read on the betanews.com website that MS is bringing the same "feature" to Windows 10. Glad I'm using Start 10.
Reply #6 Tuesday, March 15, 2022 8:03 PM
The embedding of advertising is the new business model. It simply HAD TO HAPPEN when the OS itself was free.
If Microsoft hadn't given it away freely to existing users...and they told you about the 'new model' everyone would simply have said "Fuck that. I'll stay with Windows 7".
Of course....I did just that....
Reply #7 Tuesday, March 15, 2022 8:28 PM
Microsoft just isn't playing nice with others this time around. They are using several subtle tricks to make you feel obligated to stay in their ecosystem.
Start 11 really should be a day one install for everyone migrating to windows 11. It definitely un-hooks some of these tricks and the start menu also looks way better
Reply #8 Tuesday, March 15, 2022 8:44 PM
MS is slowly becoming a "WOKE" nightmare just like their Big Tech buddies. All the spying and control shenanigans are really pissing me off !!!
-- Ace --
Reply #9 Tuesday, April 5, 2022 11:40 PM
As Jafo mentioned embedding the ads is the new business model, we see so many smartphones brands these days doing the same thing. Xiaomi is the best example doing this since years now but honestly speaking the phone brand has not only increased it's sales over these years but also becoming popular due to the free stuff offered in comparison to Apple. Same thing MS is trying to do... It's all about competing in the market... Companies come up with such strategies.
Reply #12 Saturday, April 9, 2022 3:58 PM
Maybe they revive "Clippy" since getting clipped is what 11 is all about.
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Reply #1 Tuesday, March 15, 2022 2:21 PM
If Microsoft puts any Ads in Windows 11, I will never use it! Windows 11 is already a POS!