Know It All Nev

On Demand Reviews – 2021

Category: Microsoft

Home windows 10 vs. MacOS vs. Chrome OS

Nifty Nev
Buying Guides, Chrome OS, Chromebook, Computing, Google, MacOS, Microsoft |

Deciding on the right operating system can feel downright overwhelming. There are so many factors to consider when choosing an OS, and it often comes down to your personal preference for features, capabilities, user-friendliness, and price.
If deciding on the best OS has been nothing but a headache, look no further. We’ve rounded up the most vital information on the latest from Windows, Mac, and Chrome to make the process a breeze.
Windows 10 (and 11)

Microsoft’s Windows holds around 77% of the global desktop market share, with just shy of two-thirds of that being made up by Windows 10. If you throw in laptops, Windows 10 controls a full 40% of the entire global market, making it by far the most popular OS in the world for those sorts of devices. There are several reasons why that is, but the most important is the depth and breadth of its supporting hardware and software.
Because Microsoft sells Windows licenses to more or less any PC manufacturer to load on desktops, tablets, the best laptops, and everything in between, you can get a Windows machine at almost any size, shape, or price. Microsoft even sells Windows on its own, so consumers and businesses can manually load it onto their PC. That wide-open approach has let it conquer all competitors over the last few decades.
Because of its worldwide availability and longevity, Windows also boasts the biggest library of traditional software on the planet. Windows users don’t get every new application that comes on the market, but even those they don’t receive initially tend to come to Windows eventually. Consumer, media, enterprise, gaming, it doesn’t matter — if you want the most comprehensive array of capabilities, Windows is the way to go.
Moreover, the app library is now broader than in years past, and with the advent of Windows 11, the Microsoft Store is getting compatibility with Android apps while adding new support for a wider range of compatible software.
Works with everything
Riley Young / Digital Trends
Windows boasts compatibility with the most extensive array of hardware, thanks to extensive driver support. That’s a significant consideration if you want to play graphically intense video games or work with high-powered software for media, video editing, or computer-aided design. There are some superpowered Macs as alternatives, but they tend to be far more expensive, and the breadth of hardware choice isn’t the same. Very few Chrome OS devices can even compete.
The Windows PC ecosystem also boasts a wide variety of shapes and sizes, more so now than in years past. There are the usual desktop and traditional clamshell notebooks, which are more powerful and higher in quality than ever. They range in price from just a few hundred dollars for entry-level options up to many thousands for premium machines. The 2-in-1 market has ballooned in recent years, too, most notably thanks to Microsoft’s own Surface range, which makes some of the best convertible laptops and tablets to date.
Though most accessories are universal since the introduction of the USB standard, Windows still technically boasts the most compatibility with third-party add-ons, too. Just about any mouse, keyboard, webcam, storage drive, graphics tablet, printer, scanner, microphone, monitor, or other doodads you care to add to your computer will work with Windows, which is something that can’t always be said for MacOS and is true to an even lesser extent for Chrome OS.
Rapid and meaningful updates

If you haven’t used Windows in a few years, then you may associate it with slow, tepid progress. That’s no longer true. With Windows 10, Microsoft committed to twice-a-year updates. We’ve seen these updates introduce new features, security improvements, and performance enhancements.
For those who want to access the cutting-edge, they can join the free Insider program, which puts out new updates almost every week. Insiders get access to fixes, tweaks, and major new features — and they do add up over time. Not only do Insiders get immediate access to the latest capabilities, but they also help shape the OS by providing ongoing feedback to Microsoft.
Over time, this rapid update policy has given Windows an edge over MacOS, which updates every year, usually with just one or two significant new features (with the exception of Big Sur). Chrome OS also updates quickly, but Google only rarely introduces major new features — which has slowed progress relative to Windows and MacOS.
The only downside to the rapid updates with Windows is that they can occasionally cause more problems than they fix. For instance, the October 2018 update deleted user data and caused all sorts of driver issues. It took months to fix and prompted Microsoft to change its update practice to be a little less ambitious in the future.
Compatibility problems and version confusion

With all that said, Windows isn’t perfect. The open nature of Microsoft’s relationship with desktop and laptop manufacturers means that two different machines, often with the same specifications, can and do perform very differently. Production quality can vary wildly, even within hardware from the same manufacturer. That makes choosing a new Windows PC a challenge. Research devices first to get the most for your money.
Windows also has the reputation of being less secure than MacOS and Chrome OS, simply because it’s the most-used desktop OS and thus the most targeted. Windows includes numerous Microsoft tools and safeguards to prevent and clean viruses and other threats, and third-party tools are also available. Therefore, Windows is much more secure than it once was despite remaining the most-attacked OS — it’s simply no longer quite the security risk it once was.
The wide variety of Windows hardware can cause problems as well. Windows’ complex driver system can cause system errors that force the user to diagnose and solve, and frequent updates from Microsoft might break software or devices that it hadn’t considered or anticipated. For that reason, Windows is more difficult to administer for the typical user, although the Windows update infrastructure does make things easier than they were in the old days of scouring the web looking for updates and new drivers.
Moving to Windows 11

Windows 11 isn’t out quite yet, but it’s slated for a full release in 2021, which means Windows 10 users will have to consider upgrading. The good news is that Windows 11 isn’t changing too much from Windows 10 functionality. Native apps have a friendlier, more streamlined interface on Windows 11, but are otherwise very familiar. More customization options are available, from where to place the Start to bringing back Windows Widgets, the mini-apps you can set up on your home screen to show all kinds of useful information.
Microsoft is also ditching some of the less popular features from Windows 10, such as Live Tiles. The Microsoft Store is receiving an update that will allow users to run Android apps with the Amazon App Store, and the company is pointedly allowing developers to maintain their own commerce engines, something that Apple has repeatedly refused to entertain.
Given this user-friendly optimization and the similarities to Windows 10, there’s little reason to not at least examine with Windows 11 when it becomes available — it appears to be a worthy upgrade for almost all users.
Is Windows for you?

Windows increasingly improved quality of life throughout Windows 10, and the trajectory looks similar for Windows 11 as well. The result is one of the most elegant and user-friendly versions of Windows that receives frequent feature updates.
The problem of complexity does remain, however. You will likely encounter more bugs with Windows than with MacOS and Chrome OS. But these bugs are rarely the fatal errors that used to drag Windows systems to a halt, and they’re balanced by features and hardware compatibility that is simply unavailable with Microsoft’s competition.
MacOS
One of Apple’s older promotional messages for Mac computers and their software was “it just works.” That philosophy is applied to more or less everything that the company sells, including laptops, desktops, and the associated MacOS software. Formerly called OS X, MacOS runs on all Apple computers, and buying an Apple machine is the only legitimate way to access it.
Because of this unique top-down approach to its products, Apple enjoys tighter control over MacOS than any of its current competitors. MacOS is designed to run on only a relatively small — and highly controlled — variety of computers and parts, compared to millions of possible combinations for Windows. That allows Apple to do more intense quality testing on its products, optimize software for only a few PC configurations, and provide targeted services that can diagnose and fix problems with much more speed and accuracy than Windows manufacturers.
For users who want a computer that “just works,” Macs are an appealing proposition.
It just works

The OS itself is designed to be easy to operate, even for novices. While the interface of Windows 10 is simple on its face, Microsoft’s OS has an infinitely deep layer of menus beneath. Troubleshooting can be bothersome and confusing.
New computer users often find MacOS to be more intuitive than Windows 10, though long-term Windows users may need some time to adjust to the interface. Some important features — like the MacOS file explorer, called Finder — are not as easy to understand.
Though the software market for MacOS is nowhere near as broad as Windows, it has its own expansive collection of cross-platform and bespoke apps. Apple includes a suite of in-house programs for basic tasks, and most popular third-party software, like Google’s Chrome browser, is available on MacOS. Microsoft even produces a version of its Office application suite for Apple hardware, and some of the best creative applications are available in superior versions for MacOS. It’s no surprise that MacOS is a popular option for design and media production, and many art-focused applications are available only on Mac, including Apple’s iconic Final Cut Pro video editing suite.
That said, MacOS is disadvantaged for gamers, as many new games are not immediately available on Apple’s platform. In 2021, more games are supporting Mac than ever before, and the new M1 chips are more gamer-friendly than previous processors, but it’s still a paltry list compared to Windows. For people who really love MacOS but still want to game, they can always leverage Apple’s Bootcamp application. This utility helps users prepare any Mac computer to run Windows instead of — or as a switchable option to — its built-in OS, allowing access to most Windows applications and capabilities.
This requires a separate Windows 10 license purchase, though it’s possible to run other operating systems, like Linux, on Bootcamp as well. (Windows machines can also boot Linux and other third-party operating systems, but MacOS cannot be licensed for use on non-Apple hardware.) Macs can even run Windows at the same time as MacOS through virtualization tools like Parallels or VMWare, offering even more flexibility for those who like the way MacOS operates but need access to some specific Windows software.
Better together

MacOS computers work in parallel with Apple’s mobile products, like the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Users who go all-in on Apple hardware for both desktop and mobile enjoy a unified design language, tools like Siri and Apple Pay that work with both devices, and cross-functionality through an Apple account for apps like iMessage. Apple’s Continuity function is perhaps the most exciting example of how well PC and mobile are integrated, with the ability to pick up where you left off in a document on any device and take phone calls and answer texts on your Mac.
Owners of the Apple Watch can even log in to the latest version of MacOS without a password. This synergistic approach simply doesn’t exist to nearly the same extent on Windows, although Microsoft is pushing Windows back into the mobile space with Android and incorporating some Windows 10 X features into Windows 11. While it’s technically possible to acquire many similar features on Windows with third-party tools, it’s much more difficult than using MacOS.
Limited options
Photos by Riley Young
Apple only offers a few product lines running MacOS, and that’s a problem for many. The hardware (especially storage) is often expensive yet not always up-to-date, and it may not fit your needs. There is no 17-inch MacBook, for example, and Macs don’t offer a touchscreen in any form save for the miniature Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro. In fact, unless you want to add a keyboard to your iPad, the 2-in-1 isn’t a thing at all in the MacOS world, leaving behind anyone who’d rather carry just one device compared to lugging around a notebook and a separate tablet.
Apple does have some high-end solutions, though, if you need real power. They’re expensive, but the likes of the iMac and iMac Pro are some of the most capable workstation desktops and all-in-ones in the world.
Apple’s desire to trend-set when it comes to style can often leave users with limited options elsewhere, too. It has been several years since Apple effectively ditched anything but USB-C Thunderbolt connectors, in some cases limiting devices to just one or two ports. That means using an adapter if you want to plug in legacy or multiple devices and accessories at once, especially if you’re charging at the same time.
Is MacOS for you?
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Mac computers and MacOS are for users who want a premium, fine-tuned, maintenance-free desktop experience. Apple’s top-to-bottom philosophy makes its software relatively accessible to newcomers. It’s also a great pick for people who are dedicated to Apple’s mobile products.
However, Mac systems are expensive and often don’t offer hardware on par with Windows alternatives. The OS also lacks certain features that can be found on Windows, like touch support. You’ll need to commit yourself to USB-C or grab a few adapters if you’re interested in Apple’s MacBook line.
Read our coverage of MacOS Catalina
Chrome OS
Google’s approach to the world of desktop-class hardware is an interesting one. Chrome OS was originally designed as an OS that mostly relied on constant access to the internet — which made sense because it was designed as an extension of the Chrome desktop browser. Chrome hardware — usually called a “Chromebook” for laptops and sometimes a “Chromebox” for desktop designs — was intended for users who rely primarily on the web and only occasionally use more complex desktop software.
Today, Chrome OS feels more like an OS than a bloated browser. It packs an integrated file manager, a messaging app for sending and receiving texts via a linked Android phone (think iMessages), and more. It also supports both Google Play Android apps and Linux-based software. Users essentially get three platforms in one at a lower cost than a Windows PC or Mac.
It’s a web world
Riley Young / Digital Trends
Because Chrome OS revolves around a web browser, it’s the least complex of the three major operating systems. Calling it a “browser in a box” isn’t the whole story, but it’s a good way to think about it. Though Chrome OS includes some basic desktop tools like a file manager and a photo viewer, its primary focus is content on the web. Android app compatibility does expand its capabilities significantly, but not all the apps scale well with a laptop or desktop display.
The interface is designed to get users to the web quickly and easily and to present as few barriers to internet content as possible. Anyone who uses the Chrome browser on a Windows or MacOS machine will be instantly comfortable with the interface, and all their saved history, bookmarks, and extensions will sync over.
Chrome devices excel at web browsing, streaming video and music, chatting and video conferencing, and other relatively simple web tasks. It can do anything that the Chrome browser on a desktop can do, including advanced Flash and Java applications. Chrome extensions and apps can change the interface and add extra functionality to a certain degree, but they lack the fine controls and more advanced “power user” options of Windows and MacOS.
That’s where Android app compatibility comes in, providing millions of new app options that greatly expand the Chrome OS experience. Support for Linux desktop programs, currently still in beta, builds on the Chrome OS ecosystem for users who prefer more powerful, traditional software over mobile and web-based applications.
Since Google designed the system to rely on Chrome, it’s understandably reliant on Google tools, to a greater degree than Windows relies on Microsoft software and MacOS relies on Apple software. That’s either a good or a bad thing, depending on how completely a user has bought into Google properties.
If you already use Gmail, Sheets, Drive, and other Google services, Chrome OS is a fantastic platform for better integrating those tools with your everyday tasks.
Cheap and easy

The focus on the web gives Chrome OS some dramatic advantages over Windows and MacOS. It can run comfortably on very low-power, inexpensive hardware. Laptops with cheap processors, tiny solid-state drives, and very little RAM can run Chrome OS easily, all with expansive storage in the cloud. Sometimes, these inexpensive designs run faster and more reliably than Windows and MacOS, even when the latter is used primarily for a browser anyway.
If you want the best Android app experience, particularly gaming, then you’ll want a fast processor, but you’re much less reliant on high-end components for a usable experience. Options for high-end Chromebooks are more expansive than they’ve ever been, even if they aren’t the focus of the range. The Pixelbook leads the way, but there are plenty of other great Chromebooks to choose from.
Whether you go high- or low-end, if you aren’t running intensive applications, Chrome OS is essentially the same experience on every single Chromebook and Chromebox. It doesn’t suffer from the “bloatware” problem that Windows has, even though Chrome OS devices are sold by third-party manufacturers like Dell, Samsung, and Toshiba. And the administration of such devices is easier, making Chrome OS popular in educational environments.
The combination of this all-in-one approach and low-power requirements means that Chromebooks can be extremely inexpensive, sometimes even less than $200. More expensive models offer high-resolution screens, backlit keyboards, fold-back touchscreens, and other fancy features, including the top-of-the-line Pixelbook 2-in-1 sold by Google itself, complete with touch and pen support.
Is Chrome OS for you?
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Chrome OS originally offered virtually no compatibility with external software. Google is changing that dynamic by supporting mobile Android apps and traditional Linux-based software. Chromebooks won’t work with advanced accessories like USB monitors or complex gaming hardware — Google simply doesn’t provide the drivers. It can handle basic keyboards, mice, USB drives, and Bluetooth add-ons, but that’s about it.
Meanwhile, gaming on Chrome OS is one of the most meaningful beneficiaries of Android and Linux support. While you won’t be running the massive gaming titles available for Windows, and to a much lesser extent MacOS, there are at least hundreds of thousands of Android games that should run fairly well on newer Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. That’s a significant improvement over the early days of Chrome OS when gaming took a real back seat.
On the Linux front, you can install Steam along with any game you purchase that offers a Linux-based version. However, given that most Chromebooks offer lower-end specifications, storage, and GPU processing will be the limiting factor. Google’s own Stadia streaming service and Nvidia’s GeForce Now offer ways to play your favorites without those software and hardware limitations.
In short, Chrome OS is almost all web, all the time. If you’re a Windows or Mac user and you often find that the only app you’re using is a browser, or you’re okay with the huge ecosystem of simpler Android apps, then it’s worthy of consideration. But the almost complete lack of the most advanced third-party software is a deal-breaker for anyone who relies on a computer for more complex tasks.
If you conduct the vast majority of your business online, you’ll find Chrome OS incredibly appealing. Compared to competitors, it’s budget-friendly, easy to use, and designed with durability in mind. While it’s an excellent choice for students, it might fall short for users who need software to handle more complex tasks.
Verdict: Windows is the best all-rounder, at a price
Overall, Windows 10 delivers practical user design, competitive pricing, and the broadest hardware selection, making it the best all-around platform for most users. If you’re not entirely sure about what features you’ll need from your operating system, you can bet that Windows has everything you need. Windows 11 will shake things up in the future too, potentially bringing some of the aesthetic qualities and fluid animations of MacOS to the Windows experience.
Students, folks on a limited budget, and loyal Google users can’t go wrong with Chrome OS. Generally speaking, MacOS tends to be the best option for professionals who are comfortable paying extra for optimized hardware and software.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Microsoft Groups brings main enhancements to look and breakout rooms

Nifty Nev
chat, Collaboration, Computing, Microsoft, Microsoft Teams, News, teams |

Microsoft Teams is getting some major updates that will help boost your day-to-day experience when using the collaboration service. Coming soon are changes to the search experience, as well as breakout room controls.
Over on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Microsoft describes the changes coming to search in the Microsoft Teams desktop app, which are targeted for September and November 2021. Microsoft details that a new search experience in Teams will make finding messages, people, answers, and files faster and more intuitive. Part of that change involves critical intelligence-powered relevance that’s based on the people and content you’re already engaging with.

The other big change to search involves top hits in Search Autosuggest. With the incoming improvements for September, Microsoft is adding a new section at the top of the autosuggest results in search. This should help reduce search times and improve discovery.
Other than the search improvements, the blog OnMSFT reports that Microsoft is also working to add more controls for Breakout Room managers. A new feature coming in the middle of September should allow meeting organizers to assign specific presenters to Breakout rooms. With it, Breakout room users will be getting a toggle button to enable meeting organizers to add presenters as managers.
Also new for Breakout Rooms will be the ability to add or delete rooms, assign users to rooms, set timers, and make announcements. These changes will be coming to the desktop Teams and not the mobile apps, according to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap.
With more than 250 million monthly active uses, these features are sure to be appreciated. Microsoft has actively added features for consumer, enterprise, and education users. These include things like Together Mode, as well as the ability to lock meetings, translate PowerPoint slides, and mute meeting attendees.
According to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, there are over 185 features in development for Microsoft Teams, with seventy-three of those features rolling out. And 270 others have launched. You can see the full road map, which offers more details on when you can expect additional features to launch.

Editors’ Recommendations

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The best wireless mice for 2021

Nifty Nev
best of everything, bluetooth, Buying Guides, Computing, Gaming, Logitech, Microsoft, Wireless Mice |

Wireless mice are a dime a dozen, but only a select few make our list of the best. It doesn’t matter if you’re shopping on a budget, focused on gaming, or have ergonomic needs, there’s a wireless mouse for you.
We’ve rounded up the top wireless mice available in 2021, from a large trackball mouse like the Kensington Expert to an inexpensive portable powerhouse like the Microsoft Mobile Mouse 1850. Our top pick, however, is the Logitech MX Master 2S. It’s comfortable, has excellent battery life, and comes with simultaneous multidevice support.
If you don’t mind a wire and want a few more options, make sure to check out our guide to the best mice. If you’re looking for savings, check out the best wireless mouse deals going on now.
The best wireless mice

The best wireless mouse: Logitech MX Master 2S

Building on the sterling legacy of its predecessor, the MX Master 2S is a sublime wireless mouse offering great accuracy, comfort, and features. With an adjustable sensitivity ranging from 200 to 4,000 dots per inch (DPI), it supports fan-favorite sensitivities and use styles.

Also found on our list of the best ergonomic mice, the MX Master 2S features great thumb and finger rests, with a shape that caters to different grip types and helps prevent repetitive strain injury and carpal tunnel. The 500mAh fast-charging battery lasts up to 70 days, so you won’t need to worry about running out of juice.
However, one of the Logitech MX Master 2S‘s best features is multidevice support. It can pair with up to three devices at once and switch between them at the touch of a button. With support for both Logitech’s unifying receiver and Bluetooth technology, you don’t even need to switch the wireless receiver.
The best minimalist mouse: Microsoft Surface Mouse

Although it targets Surface owners who want a little more functionality than the standard touchpad, the Surface Mouse is equally capable on any system you choose. It’s elegant, streamlined, ergonomic, and, most importantly, lasts up to a year on two AAA batteries.
Even though it’s a Microsoft product, the Surface Mouse is compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, MacOS, and Android. It uses Microsoft’s own “BlueTrack” technology for the low-energy Bluetooth connection.
The scroll wheel and mouse switches are rated for thousands of hours of use and an enormous number of actions. The Surface Mouse also ships with a one-year warranty, so you’re covered if you face any short-term problems. The Microsoft Surface Mouse is not packed with loads of extra features, but that’s the point of a minimalistic mouse!
The best gaming mouse: Logitech G Pro Wireless

Logitech has a lot more competition in the gaming peripheral space than some of its other markets, but that doesn’t mean it’s not at the top of its game in this space. The G Pro Hero is one of our favorite gaming rodents with good reason: A 16,000-DPI optical sensor, a 1ms latency, and an acceleration of up to 400 inches per second for high-speed gaming.

But even with all of that technology under the hood, it weighs less than 3 ounces, making it comfortable to use for all hand sizes, but not so lightweight that it escapes across the desk. Its ergonomic shape makes it supremely comfortable in our long gaming tests, and thanks to tweaks to its overall shape, there’s no accumulation of dirt and grime over time.
If you don’t like the default button mapping, the G Pro Wireless supports Logitech’s free desktop software so you can remap any of the peripheral’s eight buttons. You also can tweak the polling rate and the logo’s cool RGB lighting, then save it all to the mouse’s onboard memory for use on different systems.
The G Pro Wireless remains our top pick for wireless gaming, but Logitech’s own G502 offers some stiff competition. It’s slightly more expensive, but the mouse enjoys a 25,600-DPI sensor and wireless charging through the Logitech Powerplay charging mouse pad.
The best mobile mouse: Logitech MX Anywhere 2S
Logitech manages to cram great speed and functionality into this compact wireless mouse, making it a comfortable fit for your hand.

It includes two well-positioned left buttons for your thumb and a clickable button behind the scroll wheel, bringing the total usable buttons to seven. That scroll wheel is both durable and fast, although you also can click the wheel to enter a click-to-click mode for more precise work.
The 4,000-dpi sensor allows the mouse to run across most surfaces. It’s powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts for up to 70 days on a single charge … not bad at all. That means you don’t need to swap out batteries continuously but at the cost of connecting the peripheral to your PC for a recharge.
You can pair the Logitech MX Anywhere 2S with your Windows, MacOS, or Linux PC in several ways — via the provided USB cable, Bluetooth, or by using the included Logitech Unifying Receiver (2.4GHz wireless). It supports the Logitech Easy Switch platform, too, meaning you can pair up to three compatible computers and switch between them with a simple button press.
The best ergonomic mouse: Logitech MX Vertical

If you spend a lot of time computing and want to minimize long-lasting effects like carpal tunnel syndrome, an ergonomic mouse is ideal.
The MX Vertical’s design is a level above any of its competitors with a look that resembles a sculpted piece of cloud, perfectly molded to fit your hand. This design relieves physiological stress, potentially minimizing fatigue and the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
The Logitech MX Vertical is one of the most comfortable and intuitive mice we’ve ever used despite its unique, on-the-side design. It considers wrist position, so it’s designed in a way that that feels more natural. This means you’ll be less likely to have carpal tunnel complications down the line.
The best budget mouse: Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 1850

The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 1850 is an economical, no-frills mouse. It doesn’t have many customizable aspects like click force, but at under $20, it’s a great budget buy.

One unique feature of this mouse is that it has an ambidextrous design to use it — and benefit from the grip — whether you’re right-handed or left-handed. It’s compact, too, so you can easily throw it in a backpack or briefcase. You can store the included nano-transceiver inside the mouse when it’s not in use, and it’s barely noticeable when plugged into a USB-A port.
The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 1850 comes with an AA battery that will last for about six months of everyday use before you’ll need to replace it. If something goes wrong with the mouse, you can take advantage of its three-year warranty. This budget-friendly mouse works with Windows 10, MacOS, and Android. 
The best wireless trackball mouse: Kensington Expert
Kensington
There are two types of trackball mice: Mice that put the trackball on the side and mice that put it in the center. The Kensington Expert wireless mouse fits in the latter category with a large trackball in the center and a scroll ring around it. Navigating is easier with a larger trackball, and the design is ambidextrous.

The mouse has four buttons positioned around the trackball, and you can customize them using the bundled KensingtonWorks software. You can remap your basic right and left clicks, but also customize some buttons to trigger macros or act as media keys. More importantly, KensingtonWorks allows you to customize the trackball sensitivity. It’s hard getting used to a trackball, but the Kensington Expert gives you granular control over mouse movement and scrolling.
For connecting, you can use the 2.4GHz receiver, Bluetooth, or both across devices. The mouse can run for up to a year on two AA batteries thanks to its auto-sleep functionality, and it comes with a wrist rest to reduce wrist strain. There are other trackball mice on the market, but it’s difficult to find one that beats the Kensington Expert.
The best wireless mouse for large hands: Logitech M720 Triathlon
Logitech
The Logitech M720 Triathlon is perfect for large hands. It’s a full-size mouse with a generous bump in the rear, providing enough material to rest comfortably in your palm. Outside of the fact that it’s large, the M720 is a great mouse. It comes with an optical sensor, eight remappable buttons, and up to two years of battery life with a single AA battery.

It comes with unique features, too. The standout is Flow, which allows you to seamlessly use the mouse across computers and operating systems. It’s a software/hardware hybrid feature, allowing you to not only move the mouse between screens, but also move text, images, and files across them. Additionally, you can switch the scroll wheel between precision and speed modes — slowing down or speeding up the scrolling speed — and scroll horizontally by tilting the wheel to the side.
Like most Logitech peripherals, the M720 Triathlon connects through Logitech’s Unifying receiver that allows you to connect up to six accessories at once. It also supports Bluetooth, but you shouldn’t need to use it. Out of the box, the M720 works natively with Windows, MacOS, Chrome OS, Linux, and iPadOS.
The best ambidextrous mouse: Razer Viper Ultimate
Razer
There are multiple excellent ambidextrous mice on this list, including the Kensington Expert, Microsoft Surface Mouse, and Logitech MX Anywhere 2S. So, we’re using this slot to recommend something a little different. The Razer Viper Ultimate is undoubtedly a gaming mouse, fit with a 20,000-DPI sensor and weighing just 74 grams. It’s also a comfortable mouse regardless of your dominant hand, with two customizable thumb buttons on either side.

The Viper Ultimate can last up to 70 hours on a full charge, and you have a few different charging options. The recessed micro USB port allows you to charge the mouse while using it in wired mode, or you can purchase the mouse with a dock. In addition to cable-free charging, the dock provides a convenient spot for the USB receiver, bypassing any issues with connectivity.
Although the Viper Ultimate is built for gamers, Razer offers the mouse in a few different colors, and you can turn off the RGB lighting through the Razer Synapse software.
The best USB-C wireless mouse: Logitech MX Master 3
Logitech

The Logitech MX Master 3 is an updated version of the 2S version we recommend as our top pick. However, the two mice are almost identical. They both feature the same Darkfield sensor, the same number of buttons, and a similar design and size. The 2S even is better in a few areas, with a higher polling rate and slightly lower latency. That said, the MX Master 3 has a key advantage: USB-C for charging.

That makes plugging in the charging cable easier, but also introduces fast charging. You can extend the life of your MX Master 3 by three hours with a one-minute charge. On a full charge, the mouse can last up to 70 hours.
Like Logitech’s previous flagship, the MX Master 3 comes with all the bells and whistles. It features Logitech Flow for transferring between screens, application-specific shortcuts, and a dedicated gesture button to quickly switch between windows. The MX Master 3 is the best wireless mouse made better. It’s just a shame its price is so notably higher.
The best wireless Apple mouse: Magic Mouse 2

Apple’s iconic Magic Mouse remains the best choice for Mac fans. The more recent Magic Mouse 2 is available with the classic silver color scheme, fit with a white top shell. Apple also offers it in Space Gray with a darker underbelly and black upper shell. It doesn’t matter if you want to use the Magic Mouse 2 with an older iMac, an iPad Pro, or a brand new MacBook Pro, you can match your mouse with the rest of your setup.

Keeping in line with the previous version, the Magic Mouse 2 only features a single physical button. Apple does a lot with that button, though. You have access to standard right and left clicks, as well as multitouch support for gestures. Once you learn how to use the Magic Mouse, it feels like second nature.
There are some clear downsides, though. The mouse is small, which might be uncomfortable depending on the size of your hand, and you can’t use it while it’s charging. Still, Apple’s design language and common-sense features win the day, making the Magic Mouse 2 an easy recommendation for Mac users.
Wireless mouse research and buying FAQs
Wireless mice come in so many different shapes, styles, and designs, and the selection can be overwhelming if you’re in the market for a new mouse. Whatever your preferences are for your next mouse, there are a few key things to consider when choosing a wireless mouse, including battery life, tracking accuracy, latency or speed, grip, and the number of buttons or dials for added control and flexibility.

Battery life
Battery life on wireless mice vary greatly, and most modern mice last between a few months to even a few years on a single charge, or replaceable batteries. While older mice may rely on replaceable batteries — like the AA variety that you can conveniently pick up if your battery dies — a lot of newer ones have internal lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable internal batteries are not only better for the environment, as they result in less waste, but can save you money in the long run since you won’t have to keep buying new batteries.
When choosing a mouse with a rechargeable battery, it’s important to note what type of connector or cable is used to recharge. Some older mice may rely on the aging micro USB standard, while more modern ones use USB-C. Some of Apple’s first-party mice use a Lightning connector. Depending on what devices you have in your ecosystem, you may have to carry yet another cable just to charge your wireless mouse for travel.
Aside from rechargeable batteries, another benefit with a more modern mouse is that the cable that you use to recharge your mouse can also transform your wireless peripheral into a wired one. This is not only useful when you need to work on a project when the battery runs out, but a wired mouse can also help to reduce any lag or latency in use.
What type of mouse should I get?
Optical LED mouse are often cheaper than their laser counterparts while still offering accurate and reliable tracking. The main difference is that LED mice work best on a flat, uniform surface, such as a fabric-covered mouse pad. Laser mice offer more versatility and can work on a number of different surfaces that prove challenging for LED mice. While laser mice are more accurate, they can be over-sensitive in certain environments.
What does DPI mean?
Mouse sensitivity is measured in dots per inch, or DPI. The greater the DPI, the higher the sensitivity. Higher sensitivity means that you can move the pointer further distances on your screen with less hand movement. This can be useful if you use multiple high resolution monitors, or for moving quickly in certain games. However, high-end professional gamers tend to use lower sensitivities — sub 1,000 DPI, and some considerably so — as it improves accuracy.
More advanced mice will allow you to adjust the DPI, sensitivity, and pointer acceleration through software, and these settings are often found in the Control Panel on your PC, or in a bespoke application. Be sure to download the latest software and drivers available for your model. An adjustable DPI through software will ensure that you have the best mouse for different types of games and applications.
What wireless technology should my mouse use?
Most modern wireless mice will rely on Bluetooth to connect to your PC or Mac. However, some office or gaming mouse can also ship with their own wireless adapters. The adapter plugs into your computer’s USB port, and the mouse communicates with the adapter using radio frequency in the 2.4GHz spectrum.
Logitech is one manufacturer that uses its own adapter, though many of the company’s products give you the option to switch between Bluetooth or using its proprietary adapter. The adapter allows a number of Logitech peripherals to connect simultaneously, and the advantage of using the adapter is that speeds and accuracy can be improved while latency is minimized.
What does latency mean?
When it comes to input, latency is a measurement of lag. In recent years, wireless mice have improved on latency, so you’ll experience less lag when you move the mouse to when that motion is reflected on your computer screen. For general applications, latency isn’t as important, but a mouse that lags is not ideal for gaming. With modern advancements, latency is almost non-existent on wireless mice, and performance is generally on par with wired solutions.
Design and ergonomics
If you’re traveling, you may want to choose a lightweight and compact mouse that can easily slip into a travel bag. However, you may want a bigger mouse with a more ergonomic design if you need a tool for use at your desk. A mouse that better fits your palm will be better in the long-term, leading to less hand and wrist strain. If you’re left-handed, there are also a few models that are designed for southpaw users, so be sure to check those out as well.
In general, most mice fall into one of three categories depending on the type of grip you prefer. Larger models rely on the palm grip, allowing you to rest your entire palm across the mouse. Smaller mice are optimized for the fingertip grip, where you grab the mouse with your fingertips and move it, while mice with a narrow design are used using a claw grip, where the palm rests on the rear of the mouse and the finger rest on the top of the mouse.
Buttons and controls
Most mice will come standard with two buttons and some even come with a scroll wheel. Having a scroll wheel can be useful if you’re scrolling through websites, large PDF files, or long documents, and it’s a standard feature of many office mice.
Gaming mice come with additional buttons on the top or sides that can be remapped to trigger specific controls or actions. These can be useful if you’re working in specific applications, as the buttons can be configured as shortcuts. If you don’t have a complex workflow, having too many buttons can cause unnecessary confusion and frustration, especially if they trigger an unintended action when pressed.
If you want to use gestures with your mouse, you can consider a mouse with a touchpad on the top surface, such as Apple’s Magic Mouse 2. The touchpad allows you to swipe as you would on a touchpad or trackpad on your laptop and brings added convenience when navigating your PC or Mac.

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Microsoft Floor Professional vs. Microsoft Floor Laptop computer

Nifty Nev
Computing, Laptops, Microsoft, surface, Surface Laptop, surface pro |

Since releasing the original Surface tablet in 2012, Microsoft has grown its PC business into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. The Surface line now includes the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Go 2 tablets, the Surface Book 3 detachable 2-in-1, the traditional clamshells Surface Laptop 4 and Surface Laptop Go, and the high-end all-in-one desktop Surface Studio 2. That’s quite the lineup, and you’ll find a Surface on a number of our best-of lists such as best tablets and best laptops.
The two most mainstream lines, though, are the Surface Pro and the Surface Laptop. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll want to keep them in mind if you’re looking for a Surface and choosing between the two.
Design

In the simplest terms, the Surface Pro 7 is a tablet, and the Surface Laptop 4 is a traditional clamshell. That makes the former a very thin and light slate that can morph into something akin to a clamshell when you snap on the detachable keyboard. How thin and light? Try 0.33 inches and 1.74 pounds for just the tablet. The Surface Laptop 4, on the other hand, is a traditional clamshell design that’s wider, deeper, thicker at 0.57 inches in its 13.5-inch version and 0.58 inches in its 15-inch version, and 2.84 pounds and 3.4 pounds, respectively.
The Surface Pro 7 can do real work, just like the Surface Laptop 4. It’s not as comfortable in laptop mode, especially on your lap, where the combination of tablet and detachable keyboard can be a little wobbly, but the keyboard itself is comfortable enough for fast typing without fatigue. The Surface Laptop 4 is excellent in traditional laptop form, obviously, and it has an excellent keyboard with deep travel and a precise, clicky mechanism.
The difference is that while the Surface Laptop 4’s display is touch- and pen-enabled, the Surface Pro 7 is made for touch and pen use. Inking on the tablet is smooth and accurate, letting you handwrite your notes and create professional sketches with ease. Pop off the keyboard, and you have a device that can be used more comfortably in more places than the larger Surface Laptop 4.
The Surface Pro 7 is constructed of magnesium alloy and can be purchased in the traditional Surface Platinum or a Matte Black color scheme. The optional Surface Type Cover keyboard can be covered in either standard or Alcantara fabric. The Surface Laptop 4 is made of aluminum alloy, with color and keyboard deck material options that vary by size. The 13.5-inch model can be configured in Platinum or Ice Blue with Alcantara fabric and Matte Black or Sandstone with a metal palm rest. The 15-inch model is available in Platinum or Matte Black, and Alcantara fabric is not an option. Both machines offer top-notch build quality with no bending or flexing in the chassis or display.
In terms of connectivity, the two machines are surprisingly similar. The Surface Pro 7 has a USB-A port, a USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and the Surface Connect port to attach to the charger and Microsoft’s docking options. The Surface Laptop 4 has the same ports, exactly. The one difference is that the Surface Pro 7 also has a microSD card reader, where the Surface Laptop 4 does not. Both machines offer Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 wireless connectivity.
Performance

The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 offers a choice between 11th-generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 and i7-1185G7 processors and a special Microsoft Surface edition of the AMD Ryzen 5 4680U CPU. The 15-inch model offers just the Core i7-1185G7 or a faster Ryzen 7 4980U Microsoft Surface Edition. That gives the laptop a faster option than the Surface Pro 7, which is limited to 10th-gen Intel low-power Core i3-1005G1, Core i5-1035G4, and Core i7-1065G7 CPUs. In terms of processor performance, the Surface Laptop is the faster option by a wide margin.
Graphics performance is more similar. The Surface Pro 7 is limited to Intel UDH or Iris Plus graphics, while the Surface Laptop 4 offers Intel Iris Xe or AMD Radeon onboard graphics. That means both machines are limited to integrated graphics with no options for a discrete GPU for gaming or speeding up creative applications. The Surface Laptop 4 will be faster than the Surface Pro 7, but not by the same margin as with the CPU.
You’ll find the Surface Pro 7 to be best for lighter productivity tasks like working with Office documents, browsing the web, and handling email. The Surface Laptop 4, particularly the AMD version, can handle more strenuous productivity as well as tackling low-end creative work. Neither is going to be a video editor’s dream laptop, but neither is meant for that kind of work.
Display

The Surface Pro 7 is built around a 12.3-inch IPS display in the 3:2 aspect ratio and with a high 2,736 x 1,824 (267 PPI) resolution. The Surface Laptop 4 offers a choice of 3:2 IPS displays, a 13.5-inch inch version at 2,256 x 1,504 (201 PPI) and a 15-inch version at 2,496 x 1,664 (201 PPI) resolutions.
We tested the Surface Laptop 4 15-inch display and the Surface Pro 7 display, and both offer similar quality. Both are bright at around 377 nits, exceeding our preferred 300-nit threshold, and offer good contrast ratios at 970:1 and 1140:1, respectively. We prefer to see contrast at over 1,000:1, and so the Surface Pro 7 wins out here.
In terms of color support, the Surface Laptop 4 provides 73% of AdobeRGB and 96 of sRGB, while the Surface Pro 7 covers just 70% of AdobeRGB and 93% of sRGB. The Surface Pro 7’s color accuracy was poor at a DeltaE of 3.51 (1.0 or less is considered excellent), compared to the Surface Laptop 4 at a much better 1.44.
Neither of these machines offers displays that will please creative professionals who crave the widest and most accurate colors, but the Surface Laptop is closer. The difference, in contrast, weighs in the Surface Pro 7’s favor, meaning it will have blacker text on white backgrounds, for example. Overall, both are good displays for the premium laptop segment, although not the best you’ll find.
Portability
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
We’ve already established that the Surface Pro 7 is the thinner and lighter device, even with its detachable keyboard. But the Surface Laptop 4 is very thin and light for its class, especially the 15-inch model. Neither will weigh you down or take up too much space in your backpack.
We didn’t run the Surface Laptop 4 AMD version through our full suite of battery tests, but the 15-inch model achieved a very strong 13.5 hours in our web browsing test. We consider anything longer than 10 hours to be an achievement in this benchmark. That compares to the Surface Pro 7 at just 8.35 hours, clearly considerably less. The Surface Laptop 13.5-inch AMD version is expected to get slightly better battery life, while the Intel versions are expected to get slightly less.
The Surface Pro 7 just isn’t big enough to pack in as much battery life, and it has a higher-resolution display than the Surface Laptop 4, albeit considerably smaller. The Surface Laptop 4, therefore, will likely last you a full working day and then some, where you might be pulling out your Surface Pro 7 charger to finish the day.
Laptop or tablet? That’s what the decision comes down to
The Surface Pro 7 starts at $750 for a Core i3, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive, up to $2,300 for a Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It’s clearly a premium tablet with a low entry-level price to go with its entry-level configuration.
The Surface Laptop 4 13.5-inch starts at $1,000 for an AMD Ryzen 5 4680U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD and tops out at $2,300 for a Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The 15-inch model starts at $1,300 for an AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, and you can spend as much as $2,400 for a Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Again, the Surface Laptop 4 is very much a premium device with higher low- and top-end pricing.
Which is the right device for you comes down to whether you want a tablet or a traditional laptop. Either way, you’ll get excellent build quality, a great display, and support for Windows 10’s full suite of touch and ink. If you want a faster machine with better battery life, the Surface Laptop 4 is the way to go, but the Surface Pro 7 will support your writing and drawing needs in a way that the laptop cannot.

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Functions OneDrive and Time Machine? The very best methodology to Repair One Annoying Error with time Machine Simply!

Nifty Nev
Apple, Application, Articles, Backup, error, General, How To, HTD Tech Tip, Microsoft, onedrive, Software, Time Machine |

I love the simplicity of using Apple’s Time Machine for doing backups. You plug in an external hard drive, and magically it will create backups and snapshots in the background. That is until you get a cryptic error like “An error has occurred while copying files.” Huh?! Ok, tell me more, Time Machine! But, part of “keeping things simple” means hiding away the details of what is causing a Time Machine error. After some digging around, I found the easy fix to this Time Machine error, and it hasn’t occurred since I corrected the problem. It turns out, in my case, Microsoft OneDrive and Apple Time Machine were not playing nicely together.
I’m actually not a stranger to Time Machine errors. Back in 2019, I was getting Error Type 11 issues with my backup. There are some good troubleshooting tips in that Fix-It article, so if what you find in this article doesn’t help, I encourage you to look at that one as it has more general approaches to fixing Time Machine errors. This How-To article is a bit more specific. But it took a while to figure out what was exactly causing it.
This Fix-It article tells you how to find the logs that may be showing the specific error and then use that information to correct it. There may be some other Time Machine errors that you encounter in the process that you can identify and fix as well. (Hint: if you don’t care about how I figured this out and just want the fix, skip to the end of the article.)
The Time Machine Error & Getting Details On It
Here’s what happened. For quite a while, Time Machine was just chugging along, doing its thing. Then, I started getting alerts saying that the Time Machine backup had failed. When I went to the Time Machine preference pane within the System Preferences, there was the usual red circle information icon.

Clicking on the red information icon launched an “amazingly informative” description of the error. It said: “Time Machine couldn’t complete the back to ‘Time Machine Backup’” (obviously, if you encounter this error, instead of “Time Machine Backup,” it would be the name you gave your backup drive).
But then came the super-informative Time Machine error message: “An error occurred while copying files.” That’s it.
As some quick troubleshooting, I did some of the tips I mentioned in my other repair article, including the Disk Utility to analyze and repair the backup drive. And actually also completely reformatting the backup drive and starting the Time Machine process from scratch. I did this a few times.
But the error would keep coming back. Not after the first few backups, but a while later. It was extremely odd. And, I couldn’t get any information on it because, as I said, Apple likes to hide the error details away.
I realized I needed to look at the log files to see exactly what Time Machine was complaining about. But Time Machine doesn’t have easy to access log. I checked in the Console utility app, but there was too much information to go through; it wasn’t an efficient way to do this.
This is where a Terminal command actually helped me tremendously. Because macOS is essentially Apple’s version of Linux (sort of), using the Terminal app can be extremely powerful, useful, and helpful. Linux commands can be executed from within the Terminal app, giving you superpowers you didn’t know you had.
First, let me say I am NOT a Linux expert. Nor do I pretend to know much if anything about working with the command line. What I do know is that there are lots of really smart people who do Linux commands all of the time – these people are geek gods in my mind!
I have, however, run enough Linux commands to have a decent understanding of them. And to truly appreciate their power.
I digress. Let me share the Linux command that helped me figure out this particular issue with Time Machine (and how I came to learn that Microsoft OneDrive was the culprit).
Using Terminal to get Time Machine Errors
I needed the details. What was causing this error? After searching around for an easy way to get detailed Time Machine logs, I stumbled across the Terminal command that would allow me to do this. Here it is:
printf ‘e[3J’ && log show –predicate ‘subsystem == “com.apple.TimeMachine”‘ –info –last 6h | grep -F ‘eMac’ | grep -Fv ‘etat’ | awk -F’]’ ‘{print substr($0,1,19), $NF}’
I can’t tell you exactly what all of this translates to. It says to look into the “com.apple.TimeMachine” log and look at the past 6 hours (note, you can change that number). It will also look for the phrases “eMac” and “etat” and then print it all to the screen. You just run that command using the Terminal app which is found in the Utilities folder.
It turns out this was exactly what I needed. I did decide to reformat my backup drive one more time and then let the backup run overnight without me using my Mac – I wanted to run the command right after the error appeared. So I did just that, and voila, the error popped up again.
I ran the command.

I was a bit shocked by the result. The log file was huge. I saved the results as a text file, and that file was 72 MBs in size!!! Ummm…that’s a lot of errors. (By the way, after doing the fix that I note later in this article, I reran the same command. The resulting file size was only 41 KB! So something did, obviously, work.)
So, I started digging through the errors and started to notice a common thing. Almost 100% of the “Failed to copy” errors were for files that resided on my local machine’s OneDrive!
The Culprit: Microsoft OneDrive
When I started to think about it, that made absolute sense. Microsoft OneDrive is a complicated beast. And, there is a feature that I love and use within OneDrive that I am guessing may have been confusing Apple’s Time Machine. Within OneDrive, you can make some files on-demand to save space on your laptop. The file name exists, but the file is essentially just a pointer to something stored in the cloud. I wrote about on-demand and select-sync, two extremely useful OneDrive features.
If, for example, you have an image that is marked as on-demand and you want to preview it by tapping on the space bar, you won’t get a preview. You will need to store the file locally to be able to do that.
I hypothesize that Time Machine was getting confused with these virtual or pointer files. It was trying to back up these files but not being able to because they weren’t really there to back up. So that is why it said an error had occurred.

You could, I guess, allow Time Machine to have the permission to download the files in the OneDrive drive automatically. Still, I think that would completely defeat the purpose of using the on-demand aspect of OneDrive because Time Machine would automatically keep copies locally.
The whole point of the on-demand feature of OneDrive is to keep things in the cloud and save space on your hard drive.
Then I started to think…if everything within my OneDrive directory is already synced within the cloud, why the heck do I need to take a Time Machine backup of that entire directory?
At that point, I had two reasons why I really didn’t need OneDrive to be backed up by Time Machine:
it was causing errors because of the on-demand feature, I believe, and it was already backed up to the cloud.
The Fix: Exclude OneDrive from the Time Machine Backup
Long story short (TL;DR version), the way that I fixed this was to simply exclude my Microsoft OneDrive directory from the Apple Time Machine Backup. Honestly, you don’t need to do it since that directory is already in the cloud and backed up there.
To exclude a directory from Time Machine, simply open the Time Machine System Preferences pane. Then click on the Options… button.

Next, click on the + button to add a directory (or file) to the exclude list. Another window will open when you do that, allowing you to navigate to the directory you want to exclude. In this case, I selected my personal OneDrive account (I do have a Business one as well).

And once you click on the Exclude button, OneDrive will show up within the “Exclude these items from backups” list. Just click Save and you are done.

Now, all that you have to do is let Time Machine work its magic! So I let it run a few days before I declared victory. And to be sure, I ran the Terminal command I listed earlier multiple times a few hours and days apart. And as I mentioned before, the Time Machine error disappeared (the log file went from 72 MB to 41 KB, and there was no sign of any file copying errors within the error log).
Also, interestingly, because I had put my personal OneDrive directory into the exclusion list, when I tried to put my Business OneDrive directory into the same list, it was greyed out and couldn’t be selected.
But that was the easy fix! I just had to figure out what was causing the generic Time Machine error; that was the hard part. (Removing the OneDrive directory actually has sped up my backup as there are fewer files to process.)
Do leave a comment if this fix helped you or if you encountered another type of error that couldn’t be resolved like this.
HTD says: The lesson I learned from troubleshooting a Time Machine backup error of not being able to copy a file was that perhaps some things don’t even need to be backed up in the first place! Especially if it is OneDrive which is already backing things up in the cloud.
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Home windows 11 made a change to how default apps work — and persons are upset

Nifty Nev
Computing, Google Chrome, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows 10, News, Windows 11 |

Microsoft is making it harder to set default apps on Windows 11. In the forthcoming version of Windows, if you don’t select the Always use this app box when opening a new app for the first time, Microsoft will never change the default.
In the current version of Windows, you can simply go on the Start Menu, type Default Apps, look for the drop-down menu and select the desired apps for all your browsing needs. However, this is not how it currently works in the upcoming Windows 11.

Since it’s very easy to forget to toggle the Always use this app option and simply launch the app, it’s disappointing to know that you will never see this option again if you miss your chance. Users who have tested Windows 11 are upset about this, as evidenced by the number of upvotes on a complaint published on the Windows Insider feedback hub.
On the upcoming Windows, default apps have to be set by file or link type instead of a single switch that can be toggled. For instance, in the case of Chrome, this involves changing the default file type for HTM, HTML, PDF, SHTML, SVG, WEBP, XHT, XHTML, FTP, HTTP, and HTTPS.
It is a much more time-draining process as compared to Windows 10, which allows you to switch default email, maps, music, photos, videos, and web browser apps much faster. Microsoft Edge, which is the default browser that Microsoft often pushes people to use, is a good example of the company forcing apps on people.
Windows 11 brought with it quite a number of changes, some of which fans are anticipating and others that are more controversial. According to the more than 600 upvotes on the complaint filed in the Windows Insider feedback hub, these changes to default apps clearly fit into the latter category.
In a statement to The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson says: “We’re constantly listening and learning, and welcome customer feedback that helps shape Windows. Windows 11 will continue to evolve over time; if we learn from user experience that there are ways to make improvements, we will do so.”
Windows 11 is currently in beta, where Microsoft is constantly testing changes that have been made. Let’s hope this is one change that doesn’t make it into the final version of Windows 11.

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