Microsoft is rolling out a set of updates to Windows 11 that bring a number of new features that had previously only been available to members of the Windows Insider preview program.
The Windows 11 File Explorer finally supports tabs, it’s easier to share files to nearby devices, and Microsoft is bringing back support for opening the Windows Task Manager by right-clicking the Taskbar to open a context menu.
If that Task Manager shortcut sounds familiar, that’s because it had been available in previous versions of Windows, but Microsoft killed it off when launching Windows 11. Users were not happy about that, and the feature has now returned.
Here are some of the new features available for Windows 11 users starting today:
- File Explorer tabs: You can switch between tabs to see different views without opening multiple windows. You can also pin frequently accessed files to the Favorites section.
- Suggested Actions: Windows will offer suggestions for certain types of actions depending on what you’re doing with your computer. For example if you highlight a phone number or a date, Windows may offer a pop-up asking if you want to make a voice or video call or schedule an appointment.
- Taskbar Overflow: If you pin more apps to the Taskbar than can fit on the screen, you’ll see a set of three dots that you can click to view an overflow Taskbar showing all of the app icons that aren’t visible on the primary Taskbar view.
- Task Manager shortcut from the Taskbar: Right-click the Taskbar and a menu will pop up asking if you want to open Taskbar settings or the Windows Task Manager
- Sharing: The Windows Share experience now makes more devices discoverable if they’re nearby. You can share files from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos app, Snipping Tool, Xbox app, or other apps.
Microsoft says it will also be rolling out a new version of the Photos app for Windows 11 by the end of October, with a new Memories experience that resurfaces pictures saved to OneDrive. And, as previously announced, the Photos app will be able to connect to iCloud starting in November, allowing folks with iPhones or other Apple devices to view their iCloud images on a Windows 11 PC with the native Photos app.
What if I don’t want to share photos? Sometimes I’d rather have an incognito local folder for adult material, like bikini mud wrestling or french maids with featherdusters. Privacy matters too!
Then you start to use Linux. I don’t see it very far off that in the EULA there’d be a small section how Microsoft/Apple/Google is entitled to parse through your storage to use the data for machine learning in order to sell you French maid outfits with featherdusters.
That’s basically already in there, EULAs are deliberately vaguely worded to give large corporations that issue them. I’ve assumed that Photos uploads everything you open in it to Microsoft, which is why I use WDAC to block it (since you can’t uninstall it). It’s not just about pirvacy; some of the things you view could be ITAR data and if you let Microsoft see that outside of the GCC High environment, oops, you just exported (incomplete) ITAR data (or a hash thereof).
Is it really necessary to repeat the thing with the “experience” in every article about Microsoft?