I finally replaced by decade-old HP PC with a new PC, a custom build from our excellent local computer store, United Computers. It is blazing fast, quiet, and has enough horsepower to run current games and do anything else I'm likely to want to do.
I briefly entertained the idea of switching to a Mac, but I have too much experience with Windows to want to switch, and Nancy and I have no Apple hardware. So I got the new PC with Windows 11 Pro. My feeling, after a week of installing and configuring the most essential software, is that I'd rather have stuck with Windows 10 had that been possible (it wasn't).
Windows 11 is easier to use that Windows 10, at least in some respects, and harder in others. The harder parts come with increasing complexity. What annoys me the most is that there are often multiple ways of accessing a feature or changing a setting. That's just bad UI design. It may be inevitable, given the history of Windows and the need to support legacy applications, but it's still a pain to deal with.
What has REALLY helped is Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 Field Guide. Thurrott is a tech journalist, host of the long-running Windows Weekly podcast, and has been covering Microsoft and Windows for over 30 years. The Guide is published on his website, thurrott.com, requires an subscription to access, and is continually updated.
I can't emphasize this enough: it is worth every penny. Already, in just a week, it has more than justified the $55 (US) cost of an annual subscription. Subscribers also get access to more articles and other benefits, but the big one is the Guide.
Even if you don't want to subscribe, there's quite a bit of useful content available on the website, including forums that cover a range of topics, not just Windows.
With the demise of Twitter, and probably Reddit, thurrott.com is an even more valuable resource. Check it out.
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