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Everything you say is possible. MS presumably earns quite a bit from its "cloud" storage, and would like to increase that. I believe, however, that they reversed themselves on local accounts etc. after the outcry from their clients, which just shows good business sense; there is no need to assume benevolence or anything else on MS's part.
As for your paranoia, even paranoiacs have enemies. 
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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I can understand your frustration. Sometimes the UI changes are 'unnecessary'.
But then: There is a shortage of available resources - not in manpower or CPU cycles, but in input alternatives. I have been arguing with *nix (/x11) people who reject Windows because you cannot simply left click a word (or double click for the line), and then right click to paste it somewhere else: Windows designers decided that we cannot occupy the mouse buttons for one single functions! Sorry, you *nix oldtimers, even though your old cut&paste was very efficient, you will have to abandon it. Mouse buttons must be available for other functions as well.
There are only so many F keys available, so many control keys, Alt-keys, ... Furthermore, we would like functions to be reasonably logically grouped: Win<key> functions make one functional group, Ctrl<key> another one. If we want to keep some order, not even all the theoretically available functions can be used. Keystrokes are in short supply.
You have a similar situation with menus: Which entry should be on top? Which should be in the main menu, rather than the submenu? Different demands can go into a dogfight, and sometimes, the "newcomer" wins, and the old established top menu entry is moved. For several applications, you can allow them to report 'telemetry data' to some statistics center: One essential purpose is to see which functions are rarely if ever used: In the next release, those are moved over to a submenu, or maybe even left out.
One curious example: A generation ago, HP introduced a new 'scientific' calculator - it may have been with HP-41C, but I think the story is even older. Some users complained to HP that the calculator could no longer do factorials (!), which had been available on all earlier scientific models. 'Oh yes, but it can do factorials', HP support replied, 'it is just that we didn't have any key position available for it!' Factorial was provided in a math plugin, which calculated it 'longhand', as if user programmed - several times slower than the old built-in one.
For menus such as right click in the task bar, there is no hard limit on the number of entries. Studies have shown that an average person can overview seven menu entries at a glance. Beyond that, we have to search the menu from top down. My current Win10 context menu has 14 entries. If Win11 really would like to add, say, another six entries that are more requested by users, they could accept a huge 20-entry menu, or shorten it down by removing those entries used by very few. Sure, it doesn't cost lots of resources to keep that one menu entry available to those six users worldwide who still use it, but if it is just clutter to ten million other users, can we sacrifice it anyway?
Sometimes, the explanation is code internal. I have myself been cleaning up old code, doing fundamental refactoring, and adapted dozens of UI level functionality to new kernel code. Then comes a couple user functions that I haven't heard of anyone using for many years, and they require some functions or data structures that no other 'modern' function makes use of. Should I keep significant parts of the old kernel code, and some semi-obsolete user functions that no one uses anymore? Or should I clean up the code to make it smaller and more maintainable?
Sometimes, developers decide to do the cleanup. Sometimes that reveals that the functions wasn't obsolete after all ... In my first job, 40 years ago, the maintainers of the internal system programming language Planc distributed an internal memo "To: Everyone in R&D, Everyone in SW support. Subject: I/O of reals will be removed from Planc." - that was all. It caused the developers to march three abreast to the offices of the Planc maintenance guys, and I/O of real values was not removed from Planc.
Maybe Win11 developers misjudged the users when they decided to remove the shortcut to Task Manager. They wanted to simplify the UI, making it as simple as possible, not simpler. But this was. So they backed up.
For those who enjoy stories of backwards compatibility issues: Raymond Chen has published a book with a large selection of his blog posts at The Old New Thing[^] (which is also the title of the book). Quite a few of the stories included in the book regards backwards compatibility, and several of them have a crazy humor to them. Highly recommended! (That goes for the day-to-day blog as well!)
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What gets me about a lot of changes (especially to UI) with MS is that they never actually seem to research the effects of the changes on actual, real-world, not in the MS eco-system users, so things that make no sense get through, only to be retracted or tweaked later when real users start bitching! Like so many dev firms, its more important to have something new and shiny than to provide something actually useful.
The latest Windows 11 upgrade has, for example, severely impacted my 4K laptop usability:
Until now, if using in laptop mode (ie with keyboard and mouse) all file search menus were like my desktop (also 4K Win 11) with nice compact lists of files, easy to scan and select from with the mouse.
Now, because my laptop CAN be folded into a tablet (which used to switch tablet mode on automatically) it is now in tablet mode permanently, so file search lists are widely spaced for better usability with touch and the option to use 'desktop' mode has been removed. So despite having 4K desktop and 4K laptop, the usability of the laptop has been reduced by the removal of a very useful and long-lived feature for no apparent reason.
This is a minor thing but reflects the whole MS culture around UI. Think back to the win8 debacle, when a whole new UI was introduced but with absolutely, positively no on-screen help or prompts as to how to drive it. Turn on the machine, you are faced with maybe an icon to launch something, no indication or guides as to the touch or mouse gestures needed to interact with the machine and - if you had a keyboard attached - nothing about the UI in the F1 help either - which in any case didn't work at all if you weren't displaying the desktop rather than the (default) front touch menu.
Another major UI failing is the introduction of the 'button' bars across the top of Office applications etc. Just as the world was adopting ever wider ie landscape screens, the apps for working on documents (the vast majority of which are portrait) removed large vertical spaces from the screen for their 'menus' making viewing significant portions of the thing you are working on much harder. Likewise the recent decision by MS to stop you from moving the taskbar to the side of the screen to give you more vertical working area - why? Who's work is made easier by doing that?
Sorry, rant over, but this kind of stupidity really boils my piss!
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I refuse to use any Word later than 2003, the last one before the button bar appeared. As well as taking up screen area, the bar was more difficult to use than menus because you have to scan the whole bar looking for a function.
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I've always used ctrl-alt-del to get to the task manager. Never knew there is a direct shortcut or context menu. And I exist by PC since Win95.
There is only one Vera Farmiga and Salma Hayek is her prophet!
Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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Sure, one of these johnny-come-lately! Were were you in the times of Win 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 
Mircea
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And where were you in the time of CP/M?
...
And where was I in the time of OS/360?
...
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Considering that my first program ran on an IBM-7040 (in WATFOR, of course), I think I've been around for long enough to qualify for a free ticket to the land where programs have no bugs 
Mircea
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I don't know where you'd find bug-free programs. I can't imagine that there are computers in Heaven, and in Hell the programs wouldn't be bug-free.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Daniel Pfeffer wrote: I can't imagine that there are computers in Heaven
They sure must be! And they all answer to "Hello, Computer" 
Mircea
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IBM 1620 here, built two years before the 7040 in 1959.
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CP/M That was the OS I used at home while working on by BSCS it allowed me to program at home vs classmates going to the LAB to do homework. In those days you needed to program in ASM just to get peripherals to work.
Good memories 
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Those were some of the most fun days of my computer building. I built a number of interesting and useful peripheral boards for my home build CP/M based system (S100 bus). A 4K RAM board, a control board for an IBM selectric typewriter mechanism (no dot matrix printouts for me!), a Votrax based speech synthesizer board and a cassette tape backup board. I just loved the low level design and programming.
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Oh Wow, I forgot about that I bought the Vortrax chip (I think it was about $65 a lot for the mid 80's) wire wrapped a S100 Board with an ADC and an RTC and had a talking Clock as well as a talking voltmeter The system also greeted me on Powerup.
You can Thank the movie 2001 and the HAL 9000 for some of the that went into that system.
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It was a fun project. I wrote a text to speech program so I could make it say whatever I wanted. It really brought home how funky english language spelling can be!
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The direct shortcut is CTRL+Shift+ESC, and this is what I am using.
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im still pissed with the context menu.
90% of use for context menu is open in notepad++ (multiple times a day ir not hourley), 7zip, and folder search agent ransack
"show more options" 
I know regedit to change this, but works machine I don't want to mess that much with.
glad to hear that maybe when get update task manager
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Now they just need to make the taskbar side-dockable again.
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i skipped windows vista and windows 7 and went directly to windows 8.1, because in windows explorer there was no "up directory" button
people trying to explain to me that i am stupid and that breadcrumbs are a better way to navigate the file system just made my decision firm to stay on windows xp. i am infinitely more grateful if someone declares that my opinion doesn't matter at all, than telling me that they switched to a better solution for me, that i would love to use
cheers
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Hi all,
Planning to buy a Netgear Orbi Pro SXR80 router and SXS80 satellite.
OUR USE CASE
The SXR80 would be connected to our router (that we will configure as bridge) in the right side of first floor and the SXS80 in the left side of the basement.
Both floors are +/- 100 m2.
In the basement we have the work office, with a server, a nas, a printer, two laptops, a FireTV, two IoT devices and two cell phones.
In the first floor we have the ONT + Old router (in bridge mode) + Phone (landline connected to the old router), another printer, a couple of computers (that need connection to the server), a Chromecast, a FireTV and two cell phones.
My idea is to connect both Orbi products using their WIFI 6 specific link channel, no cable linking them together.
The server, the NAS and my laptop will be wired to the SXS80 all the other devices will be connected using WIFI.
The ChromeCast, FireTV, IoT devices should be in their specific VLAN not sharing connection with all the other (important) devices.
Using those 2 devices I would remove the need of extra switches and I would have a free LAN port in each floor for future updates (or to be able to connect a switch if needed).
QUESTIONS
Have you used those devices?
Should I be aware of anything annoying on that setup?
Is there a better choice of devices out there?
As always, thank you in advance! ![Beer | [beer]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/beer.gif)
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They had a production line going: a short queue to get into the hall (local Rugby club), hand the invitation letter over. Sign here, take this, go over there to short queue. Take off outer clothing (to tee shirt level for access to upper arms).
Two seats, two nurses per seat.
Sit down, quick questions about your last jab, "3 ... 2 ... 1 ... jab in each arm" - Covid in left, flu in right. Stand and move away, dress (it's cold outside), and leave. Total time in building about 5 mins, and I'm up to date, and had my first flu jab to boot.
Now I suspect I'm going to have sore arms from the injection sites for a few days, but here's hoping I don't get any side effects (I did with the first jab, but hardly any last time IIRC).
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I had the same last year Paul ( also my first flu jab ) and didn't suffer any repercussions apart from a dull ache at the Covid injection site. Hope you have a similar experience.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I had slight bruising for a day after the Covid jab, but it was nothing serious. I declined the flu jab, but SWMBO did have it, and says that arm still feels a little bruised some two months later.
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Got my fifth Covid jab with Moderna last week, also a 5 minute experience, no crowds or queues. No side effects 
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Six or seven months ago I had my 4th COVID and regular flu shot together, on a Tuesday morning.
Fine all day Tuesday, overnight and Wednesday morning.
Then about 4pm Wednesday a freight train ran over me; I lay down on my bed and passed out.
Had about 5 hours of the most intense flu symptoms, then all gone.
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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