Having always been one of those "first kid on the block" people, I used the "Installation Assistant" to force the Windows 11 upgrade on my gaming PC this morning, and I can't get over how polished it is compared to its abysmal predecessor: this feels like the jump from Windows Me to XP-- it's that large. Everything is so crisp and snappy! That disconnected feeling where Windows and Store updates would "hang" seems like it's been either eliminated, or at least mitigated. I immediately-- as in, fifteen seconds in-- adjusted to the centered "start button" and simplified pinning system.

Of course, that aforementioned comparison breaks down "under the hood" a bit: Me to XP involved a massive kernel shift from legacy "Win9x" to full-fledged NT-- whereas, 10 to 11 involves less "guts" reinvention by comparison, to the point where absolutely everything from my VPN client to my DisplayFusion Pro window position profiles to my Open Hardware Monitor widget "just worked", right out of the box.

They added a "widgets" menu, which flies open on the left-hand side of the screen. I was actually able to add Lazio to the sports one, so I can get to their results and schedule with one click. There is a fake news one which you can't remove or customize-- but if you add three widgets and set them all to large, it gets shoved off the bottom of the screen on a 1080p display, never to be seen again.

Now it's off to fire up New World to check on gaming performance and behavior.