customization

Microsoft’s push to embed Copilot deeper into Windows 11 — now reaching File Explorer with right‑click AI actions, contextual summaries, and editing tools — is not just a product update; it’s a strategic bet that Microsoft is doubling down on an AI‑first vision for the operating system. That bet...

A single‑click PowerShell tool that strips Windows 11 of its newly integrated AI components has crystallized into a one‑stop solution for power users who want the old, quieter Windows back — but it is not a simple "fix" and carries real technical and support risks that demand attention before...

The latest hands‑on head‑to‑head testing that compares Google’s Gemini 3 and Microsoft’s Copilot finds a clear practical winner for everyday, web‑grounded tasks — and it isn’t even close in several categories. The hands‑on review that sparked the debate ran seven real‑world desktop prompts...

FluentFlyout’s latest update signals a clear push to fill one of Windows 11’s most persistent usability gaps: the stock media and status flyouts. The open‑source utility—built around Microsoft’s Fluent 2 design language—now delivers a modern media flyout, an “Up Next” view, lock‑key status, and...

Microsoft’s return to desktop widgets in Windows 11 solved part of a long‑running frustration for power users, but the built‑in widgets board remains a closed, overlay‑style experience. If you want discrete, pin‑able widgets that live on the desktop itself — Notes, clocks, RSS feeds, quick...

Microsoft’s recent Copilot push has moved from product demos into a full‑blown public relations headache: executives are openly talking about an “agentic” Windows that acts for users, influencers and power users are mocking the demos, and prominent figures including Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney have...

Winaero Tweaker arrives like a pocket-sized Control Panel for people who still believe Windows should bend to the user, not the other way around — a free, single utility that collects hundreds of registry hacks, system rollbacks, and interface restorations and exposes them in a tidy, reversible...

Windows 11 can feel uncluttered at first, but a few months of installs, pinned apps, badges, and notification banners will quickly turn that polished shell into visual noise — and you don't need to reinstall or buy anything to get the calm back. By following four focused, reversible steps —...

Windows 11 can be made largely ad‑free by flipping a handful of built‑in toggles — take a few minutes to adjust Settings, File Explorer, Search, Widgets, and the Advertising ID and you’ll remove the bulk of Microsoft’s in‑OS promotions while keeping the system stable and fully supported...

Windows 11 ships with a lot of convenience and integrated services — and with them come background tasks, telemetry, and promotional nudges that can slow boot times, eat RAM, and leak more data than some users want. The following feature checklist distills the top 10 things you should consider...

Zorin OS 18’s public beta and rapid follow‑on release stake a clear claim: make leaving Windows 10 painless, keep existing hardware useful, and give Microsoft 365 users a familiar desktop bridge — all timed to the calendar that made migration a practical problem in the first place. Background /...

Windows still ships with a surprising amount of friction — from hidden recommendations and taskbar clutter to AI features that show up where you least expect them — and a few deliberate, low-risk tweaks can make a fresh install feel calm, fast, and private again. Overview Microsoft has been...

When I first started using Linux, the hours spent reading man pages and tinkering with lightweight desktops taught me habits that quietly, but dramatically, reshaped how I now run Windows — turning it from a passive, preconfigured product into a lean, personal toolkit that works the way I do...

Linux quietly offers a set of desktop comforts that many longtime Windows users have never experienced — from lightweight, kernel-integrated drivers to live-boot trial sessions and near-instant, space-efficient system snapshots — and once you see them in action, it’s easy to understand why they...

Windhawk arrives as a surprisingly polished bridge between what Microsoft ships in Windows 11 and what many users actually want: a lightweight, open‑source mod platform that makes the Start menu, taskbar, File Explorer and other core UI elements genuinely customizable — and, in many cases...

The Windows 11 taskbar looked like a fresh start—sleeker, centered, more modern—but for many users it felt more like a locked box than a customization canvas. A tiny, unofficial tool called Windhawk changes that: it’s a modular tweaking platform that restores missing functionality, unlocks...

Windows 11’s design choices have divided users since launch, and a growing cadre of third‑party developers has been quietly restoring the controls Microsoft removed. One of the most complete and community‑driven solutions is Windhawk, an open‑source mod manager that bundles dozens of focused...

Winaero Tweaker can turn Windows 11 from a one-size-fits-most OS into a personalized desktop with one-click rollbacks of Microsoft’s design choices — and the six changes described in the XDA piece are a solid starter pack for reclaiming control. Background Winaero Tweaker is a well-established...

Valve has quietly but meaningfully reshaped the Steam client with a sweeping UI and accessibility refresh that brings long-requested controls — UI scaling, high-contrast mode, reduced motion, and a dedicated customization tab for game artwork — to the desktop and SteamOS users, and the result is...

I dragged my Windows 11 desktop back into the late 2000s, and — to my surprise — the result isn’t just nostalgia porn: it’s a practical, usable environment that keeps modern security and features while restoring the things many people still prefer about Windows 7. The MakeUseOf walkthrough that...