We’re a tech company, and it’s definitely advantageous for us to stay on top of technological developments. That’s why, this morning, I got to be pleasantly surprised with an update from Windows 10 to Windows 11 – we had selected my computer to participate in the pre-release beta build. I’m going to take a quick moment to specify a few things:
- Windows 11 is not actually released yet, the primary Microsoft OS is still Windows 10.
- You can access the pre-release of Windows 11 for testing purposes
- You should not do so without a good reason.
If you are using your own home or work computer, you absolutely should not download the beta version of Win 11. It doesn’t offer any new features or optimizations, it is more prone to errors and crashing, and the basic operating system functionality has changed, which means its suddenly harder to use – and if you have an older computer, you may start having issues with lag and slowdown where you didn’t before.
That said, it does look pretty slick. They added a more toned-down color palette, things feel a little cleaner and smoother. Visually, it’s a little more MacOS-like. Its actual performance I’ll have to continue testing over the next week and longer, and I’ll make note of anything significant. They’ve advertised their plan to make Win 11 better for customization (such as Widgets and the ability to install Android apps), better virtualization and Microsoft Teams integration for work purposes.
So far, all of the programs I’ve tested work just fine: Google Chrome, Microsoft Office (of course), and our remote desktop programs. I haven’t done an exhaustive test of our tools, but one of Windows 11’s goals is to be compatible with Windows 10 programs – you should be fine unless your programs require older Windows compatibility.
I’ll be continuing to use the new Windows 11 build for my regular work days, and I’ll spend some time experimenting with new options and problems to see what comes up. If I find anything fun I’ll be sure to post it.
