Stop upgrade to Windows 11

Well, I haven't paid for a copy of Windows since I moved full time to a laptop about 10 years ago. Even if I had, by the time all the updates are run, I may as well be on a subscription. So that doesn't really trouble me. Where I have problems is the release and push to "next versions" when it's not anywhere near ready. And then not even being done with all fixes but shifting focus to the next version. This is just compounded by the silliness of the new start bar and the loss of side/top/quicklaunch. What they don't seem to realize is that yes, there are plenty of people that say they like the new layout, but those people would like anything you throw at them because underneath it all, they just want to stand out from their peers.lol

They need to figure out really fast that Windows has a place simply because of a combination of backwards compatibility, faniliarity, and the availability of customizations so that each user can set their machine up to function however they would like it to function.

They need to stop and realize that the users they're losing aren't going away because apple or chromebook are functionally different. It's due to fashion/fad, positioning, and/or cost. This is particularly true of the small business market. I think that Phone Companion or whatever it's name is this year was a long-overdue and not quite complete addition that significantly helps stop the hemorrhaging. But that won't matter if they continue removing the reasons that people choose windows for higher order work. If they want a dumbed down version for small business they should repackage as "Windows Home & Small Business" with the simplified system, and then go the opposite direction with Pro and EXPAND flexibility and customization. A move like that would be much more likely to accomplish their goals. Stuff like the Windows subsystem for Linux would go hand in hand with expanded toolbar customization. Imagine being able to run a dual-stack taskbar with quicklaunch AND a side taskbar, both with flexible grouping. I could put nearly every app on the bottom to launch from, keep certain apps grouped there and other apps on the right, with each app grouped or ungrouped as they best fit. You could have a spreadsheet, browser, and inventory software next to each other, then spreadsheet, browser, and photoshop on the right, calculator on the bottome with email and a doc folder.... Or however works best for you for whatever you're doing. Then you need to access several spreadsheets on a folder in succession so you CTRL+ drag the folder to the left side and all of the spreadsheets in that folder doc individually on the left, ready to pop open as needed.... Or maybe there are too many in the folder so you drag the folder without CTRL or you CTRL+CLICK and drag just the sheets you need on the left.

Maybe that sounds crazy. Maybe I'm unique and I'm the only one who can imagine doing this and everybody else probably thinks I'm crazy. I don't know but that's the kind of flexibility that I want to see. And the beauty of it is that if that's not your kind of flexibility, you can change it to any other way that you like it. :-)

one of these days I will get determined enough to move to linux.

Yea, I don't think Microsoft understands what it is doing. And the more they force, the more they lose because a whole lot of us out here, will not follow along. Amiga came around when I was a kid. Fell in love with the Commodore Amiga but Gates and his marketing and underhanded ways, gave him one thing.. the market. I too am making a move, in fact just bought one of the latest modern Amiga systems and will be making a business transition to Linux or other OS if Microsoft continues on this path. If they truly lock down the OS even more than they have now in Win11 and if they are truly intending on going to a subscription based model for using Windows, I will be the first person to remove all Microsoft products and move to a competitor.

Microsoft are a bunch of ****. I like my task bar on the side of my screen, now I can only have it at the bottom, and yea, what is that junk about having it in the middle so that basically buttons/icons just keep moving based on how many things are open? Then there is this thing where you have any 2 or more related windows with their buttons on top of each other, I would like to do bodily harm to the jerk that came up with this. IT SLOWS DOWN MY USE OF MY COMPUTER, I AM LESS PRODUCTIVE!!!!!! So back to 10, now I can have my taskbar to the right and see everything that is open and go to it in 1 click not a mouse over, 20 seconds trying to guess which preview is the right one (seriously, try it with explorer!!!) and then click. which ever jerk came up with this had so much time on their hands clearly that they should be fired as they have nothing to do! I don't have such time to waste over microsofts naval gazing!

I too will NEVER upgrade past Windows 10. I have a buddy that works at Microsoft as one of the software development engineers. And he made it clear the direction, Microsoft is going. FULL control in THEIR hands of our computers. And eventually a subscription based use of Windows.

Microsoft can kiss my backside because I will not be beholden to a corporation for MY OWN systems, my OWN USE of those systems and how I want to do things. Windows 10 is the last money, Microsoft will ever get from me and Windows 11 is a clear example of why.

one of these days I will get determined enough to move to linux.

If you follow the group policy editor instructions, then in theory it should work. The only difference is that instead of selecting the target version, you would only input the product as "Microsoft 10". Per the microsoft learn site ( Prepare for Windows 11 - What's new in Windows | Microsoft Learn ), this field has to say Windows 11 in order to update the product to windows 11. By making the product field say "Windows 10" and leaving the target version blank, it should still allow updates for newer versions of Windows 10 (this part wasn't specified but rather inferred), as opposed to filling in the target version and locked into the version you are on which it did say. Currently testing this now on a new system. Clicked the "stay on windows 10" button in Update center and it hasn't popped back up yet. So, only time will tell.