For years, Microsoft has been carefully toeing the line of including advertisements promotions inside of the Start menu, File Explorer, and Office applications. While some may argue that promoting your own products inside of your applications isn’t an advertisement, it’s certainly an annoyance - especially when you do not have the ability to permanently turn off these messages.

As I write this blog post in Word, there is a banner at the top asking me to download OneDrive, which I already have on my mobile device - this very file is even saved there as well! But, let’s not let the semantics of already using OneDrive - which Microsoft knows I am already using - stop them from telling me to use OneDrive.

But why stop at Word? Microsoft has already forced the “recommendation” section inside of the Start menu, and this month it has become apparent that they will continue to push more promotional material into the Start menu experience.

The latest flavor of “ads” that are showing up inside Windows 11 will appear in the shutdown menu. Take a look at the image below. Courtesy of Microsoft, you can see the different ways the company plans to incorporate its new messaging in a place that should not have any messaging at all.

Start11 removes these advertisements - or messaging, or whatever you want to call them - from your Windows 11 experience. While we didn’t build Start11 to be an adblocker, it’s becoming apparent that Microsoft has no plans of slowing down how they will inject corporate messaging into the OS.

So, how does Start11 work? It's pretty simple, actually. Once you install the utility, it replaces the default Windows Start menu with our own customizable version. This new Start menu not only offers a variety of different styles, but it also comes with a bunch of customization options that let you tweak it to the desired specification.

The best part about Start11 is that it completely removes ads from the Start menu. No more sponsored apps or suggested downloads - just a clean, ad-free experience that lets you focus on what's important: getting stuff done.

While we don’t know where the next advertisement in Windows 11 will show up, know that if you are running Start11, you won’t have to worry about it appearing in the Start menu.

You can learn more about Start11 here.

Today, we released Start11 v1.43. Within this update are improvements for users with dual monitors, touch input enhancements, and more.

The update is starting to roll out now for users who purchased the app directly from Stardock. If you don’t see it yet, you can find it by opening the configuration panel, clicking about, and searching for an update. For users who purchased Start11 on Steam, an update should be arriving in the next couple of days, too.

With this release, you will see improvements for scenarios that involve multiple monitors, enhancements for users who use touch-first navigation, and better alignment with the Winkey+X menu appearing in the desired location.

There is one new feature as well, but it’s a small one. If you are running Windows 11 22H2 with the Moment 2 update installed, small with wide icon spacing is a taskbar size option. As the name implies, it adds a bit of padding around the icons.

As with all of our releases, they first start out in our beta channel and typically go through several iterations before release. If you run into any hiccups with v1.43, please let us know in our feedback forum so that we can properly track any unintended scenarios with this release.

If you haven’t purchased Start11 yet, make sure to head on over to our app page which has all the details about the many features that make Start11 the industry’s most advanced Start menu.

Attention all customization enthusiasts! Stardock’s SkinStudio, the ultimate tool for creating and editing Windows desktop themes, is now available on Steam. This powerful software lets you personalize your Windows experience like never before. With an intuitive interface and a vast library of resources, SkinStudio is the perfect platform for both beginners and experienced designers.

For anyone who has purchased WindowBlinds 11 on Steam, the application is available as a free download (DLC) starting today.

Stardock SkinStudio allows you to create and edit Windows desktop themes, also known as skins. With this software, you can customize the appearance of Windows 10/11, including the Start menu, taskbar, window frames, and more. SkinStudio has a user-friendly interface and a wide range of tools and resources to help you create unique and visually appealing themes for your desktop whether you start from scratch or decide to modify an existing theme.

WindowBlinds 11 is the best way to personalize your desktop. The addition of SkinStudio gives you all the tools needed to create the perfect desktop interface that fits your exact specifications.

Once you have your perfect theme created, you can share it with the world on Wincustomize, where there is a community of enthusiasts actively building new themes.

As the snow starts to melt and spring slowly starts to arrive, why not kick off your spring cleaning with a bit of digital decluttering? There’s no better time than today to check out our two most popular apps, Start11 and Fences 4, both of which are on sale right now.

Start11 is an app that allows you to customize the Start menu on your Windows 10 and Windows 11 computer. With Start11, you can change the color, size, and style of the Start menu, as well as add your own custom Start icon and backgrounds. And with four different styles to choose from, you can make your desktop a more personalized experience.

Fences 4 is a program that helps you organize your desktop icons into customizable "containers" called fences. You can create as many fences as you need, and then drag and drop your icons into them. Fences 4 also includes a feature called "Quick Hide," which allows you to hide all of your desktop icons with a single click, giving you a clean slate to work with. You can also use a folder portal to streamline access to your cloud drives, too.

Both Start11 and Fences 4 are incredibly useful programs that will help improve your workflow and make your desktop feel a bit more personalized. Right now they're both on sale for 25% off, so there's never been a better time to try them out.

If you have multiple computers, Multiplicity is the unsung hero of multi-device interoperability. If you want to interact with multiple computers with a single mouse and keyboard, this app is the one didn’t even know you needed.

Many of our products are on sale for the next couple of days, so make sure to check them out before the sale ends on 3/23/23 at 1PM ET.

Today we are releasing Start11 v1.41 which makes Start11 ready for the next big update that Microsoft is shipping for Windows 11. Called KB5022913 or Moment 2, this release is currently available to anyone who is actively looking for new Windows Updates, but it will be pushed more aggressively starting on March 14^th.

March 14^th - often referred to as Patch Tuesday - is when we initially expected KB5022913 to be released, but since it went out early we expedited the work to get this patch out well ahead of schedule. You should be able to download this release today if you like, but it will be  rolling out to our users over the next couple of days, too.

For our Steam users, you should also see an update coming to your device as well. We have pushed the update to Steam and it will prompt you for an install as it rolls out.

The entire changelog for this release can be found here. If you run into any issues, please post them in our feedback thread. We also ask that if you are going to post any bugs, please make sure that you identify which version of Windows you are running and the build number.

While there are not any new features in this release, it is a significant update under the hood as it brings compatibility to Microsoft’s latest updates to the taskbar and system tray.

Start11 is the best way to enhance your Windows 11 (and Windows 10) desktop experience. We are frequently shipping updates and adding new features.

If there is something you would like to see in our next update, let us know in the comments below.

Everyone loves a good surprise! Sometimes it’s on your birthday, sometimes your anniversary - or sometimes, Microsoft ships an update ahead of schedule. This week, Microsoft announced several new features coming to Windows 11; which is exciting, but when they start shipping updates outside of a traditional patching window, it can cause a few headaches.

Microsoft unexpectedly released KB5022913, also known as Moment 2, about two weeks ahead of schedule. This release introduces a new system tray experience in Windows 11 that has compatibility issues with older versions of Start11.

There's good news, though! We have a compatibility patch for our application and were already prepared to ship it next week to meet Microsoft’s expected March 14^th (Patch Tuesday) deadline. The patch is currently available as a beta download. The version is Start11 1.4 and while there are no new features in this release, it is a significant update in terms of compatibility.

It is worth noting that KB5022913 is only being downloaded if you actively seek the update. But, anyone with Windows 11 installed who manually searches for Windows updates will be prompted to download the release. While we anticipate that the compatibility issues between Start11 and KB5022913 are only impacting a small number of users at this time, we are still moving quickly to migrate our 1.4 build from beta to general release.

If you are running Start11 on Windows 11 and are seeing oddities - primarily on secondary taskbars or in coloring around the system tray - we highly recommend you give the Start11 1.4 beta a spin. We believe it will resolve the compatibility issues that this update has introduced. If you are running into anything else after the update, please let us know in our forums so that we can accurately track bugs.

Late last week, we rolled out another update to Stardock.com. We overhauled the Fences app page experience to match its design to the recently updated Start11 page. With this new look, we have combined our consumer and business pages.

Read on to find out how you can save up to 25% by purchasing Fences this month.

Although Fences is loved and used by hundreds of thousands of users every day at home, it's not well-known that Fences 4 is also utilized by thousands of corporations. From manufacturing to healthcare, some of our largest clients are using Fences is in unique ways to not only keep their desktops organized, but for also sharing documents internally without having to use email or Teams.

One key difference on our new app pages is the “How It's Used” section in the middle of both the Start11 and Fences 4 pages. The intent of this section is to help highlight the various ways our applications are used not only at home, but also in the office. Especially with Fences, the various ways our clients are using the software to keep projects organized, share files internally, and reduce the amount of time lost from looking for lost files, can be enlightening for those who are not intimately familiar with the product.

If you haven’t tried Fences 4 yet, you can try it free for 30 days. Or if you are looking to buy or upgrade to Fences 4, you can save 25% for the remainder of the month with the discount code FENCES4FEB when applied at checkout.

Fences is the cornerstone of the Stardock productivity portfolio. Not only can it keep your desktop organized, but it can make your workflow across devices a seamless experience with Folder Portals. Also, when using Peek, you have instant access to all your content without having to leave your app.

If you want to learn more about Fences, head on over to our shiny new landing page.

For fans of personalizing their desktop who like to buy their applications on Steam, today is your day: WindowBlinds 11 is now available on that platform. You can get it as both a standalone product or in a bundle with Start11.

WindowBlinds 11 is the easiest way to truly personalize your desktop. With only a few clicks, you can theme your desktop with a retro style like Windows Classic, or jump ahead in time with a theme like Diamond, which rounds the taskbar and looks like the next version of Windows.

When you pair WindowBlinds 11 with Start11, you have a fully customized desktop experience tuned exactly to your specifications. If you've already purchased Start11 on Steam, you can easily add WindowBlinds 11 with a bundle to save a few dollars, too.

While working on bringing this application to Steam, we also took time to optimize the installation process as well. Starting with this build, we have reduced the time for installing from a couple of minutes to roughly 30 seconds or less (depending on your hardware).

WindowBlinds 11 is available on Steam today for $19.99 with support for 5 active devices running Windows 10 or Windows 11. If you prefer to buy direct, you can learn more about WindowBlinds 11 on our website here.

WindowBlinds 11 is the latest version of our popular Windows customization software that lets you truly personalize your desktop. Released late last year, WindowBlinds allows users to customize the look and feel of their Windows desktop, including changing the colors, textures, and styles of the windows, buttons, and menus.

Coming soon, WindowBlinds 11 will be available on Steam and you can add it to your wish list today.

Along with releasing the base application, we have added a couple of brand-new themes as well. Windows Classic is the best way to make your desktop look like a classic version of Windows - we also have a classic Mac version as well.

With WindowBlinds 11, users can completely transform their Windows desktops; the built-in browser includes thousands of skins to choose from, allowing for complete customization of the look of Windows, buttons, menus, and more. It also includes a powerful theme editor for creating custom skins.

While working on bringing this application to Steam, we also took time to optimize the installation process as well. Starting with new builds of WindowBlinds 11, we have reduced the installation time from a couple of minutes to roughly 30 seconds or less (depending on your hardware).

We do not have a current release date yet for WindowBlinds 11 on Steam as we navigate the final hurdles of bringing this complex application to Steam. That being said, the landing page is now live and you can add the app to your wish list so you'll be notified when it becomes available.

Earlier this year, we started to roll out updates to Stardock.com to improve the user experience for downloading applications and managing subscriptions. In addition, we have also overhauled our help portal and are now shifting focus to our app pages.

We've rolled out the first new app page update, bringing with it a new style and messaging for one of our most popular applications: Start11. The new page layout has larger images, new messaging for both home and business users, easier link discoverability, and more.

Start11 New App Page

Along with the new design, one of the bigger changes makes it easier to find the trial links for our software. In our old design, the software trial links for our applications were not easily discoverable – the new layout places an emphasis on making this link easy to find.

Bringing the business and consumer pages together will also improve our discoverability. While we do currently have pages dedicated to our enterprise clients, we know that most of them initially learn about our products from our consumer pages. By creating one page that can effectively serve both users, we can streamline our navigation and better serve both types of users.

Start11 Legacy App Page

With the first page nearly complete, we will start to roll out these design updates to more pages next month. We are still making a few optimizations to our design and mobile layout, but if you see any oddities, please let us know.

Updating all of our core app pages will push us closer to our goal of modernizing many aspects of our site experience, but the work is not done. We still have more plans to continue to update Stardock.com, but we will share more about those efforts when they are closer to fruition.