- Repositioning the Windows 11 taskbar is a priority solution for Microsoft
- An executive was also candid about dark mode’s progress
- This new openness and transparency from Microsoft, along with how more executives are interacting with users, holds promise for the future of Windows 11.
It seems like we’ve entered a very different space with Windows 11, as Microsoft executives are actively busy dealing with feedback on social media about what needs to be fixed. And as more revelations about what’s going on behind the scenes come in, I’m becoming more and more hopeful about the future of the operating system.
As Windows Central informs us, one of the big changes to Windows 11, namely work on repositioning the taskbar, has become a top priority at Microsoft according to internal sources.
This includes being able to move the taskbar away from the bottom of the screen – where it has been firmly anchored since the release of Windows 11 – and other customization elements, like having a more compact bar (which is useful for smaller screens).
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These features will work pretty much the same as in Windows 10 (unsurprisingly), although moving the taskbar will be implemented slightly differently (it won’t be directly draggable, you’ll have a selection of choices in the settings).
Windows Central informs us that repositioning the taskbar is a “priority 0” task, which is the most urgent level, with resizing the taskbar being a slightly lesser but still important “priority 1” task.
So we should soon be able to move the taskbar in Windows 11, unless Microsoft has many problems running it smoothly enough.
Elsewhere, Windows Central also reports that Marcus Ash, head of Windows design and research at Microsoft, has provided an update on dark mode in Windows 11.
In case you didn’t know, the introduction of Dark Mode was an extremely slow process for Windows 11, taking what seemed like forever to gradually creep into more areas of the interface. And yet many jarring sections remain stubbornly white, when they should be a dark, eye-pleasing shade with the mode enabled.
In response to a question on
Even if it’s not a firm promise, it’s good to get an answer – and it’s an open and honest answer.
Analysis: precious hope for the future
It’s great to see that more Microsoft executives are now communicating with Windows 11 users in a way that’s refreshingly candid and largely positive. This adds to many responses that have been made recently on
The inability to move the taskbar to the sides or top of the desktop in Windows 11 has long been an issue, so it’s great to see that it’s one of Microsoft’s biggest priorities. It may not be a feature that everyone needs, but those who want it have been very vocal about its absence for years.
There’s clearly a new willingness within Microsoft to stay glued to social media, respond to common complaints about Windows 11, and address and fix them. Now, whether all of the additional issues that surfaced and were resolved in this manner – aside from the many promised fixes released in Microsoft’s lengthy initial blog post – will be resolved is another question.
However, the way Microsoft executives are behaving now gives me hope that this is a whole new attitude from the company as it realizes the serious threats to its dominance in desktop operating systems, such as macOS being pushed by the new and very well-received MacBook Neo.
We’ll soon know how badly Microsoft wants to fix everything that’s wrong with Windows 11 – which seems to be the end goal – because fixes have been promised on a monthly basis, starting now. Therefore, we should see Taskbar work being tested fairly soon, barring any unfortunate complications as noted.
The other point that skeptics will undoubtedly take note of is that if Microsoft wants to move quickly in this area, can it also avoid breaking things? Because in the past, even when Microsoft moved slowly, features would eventually be broken. This is one of the biggest potential obstacles, and Microsoft needs to invest enough resources to make sure it doesn’t happen this way.
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