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Windows 11 users will no doubt be pleased to see Microsoft scrapping an idea introduced during testing late last year, which was recommended websites popping up in the Start menu (and a second unpopular change has just been put on the agenda as well) .
The latest preview version of Windows 11 witnessed the exit of these changes, which is build 25272 which has just been introduced in the Dev channel (early testing).
The shelved Start menu feature first appeared in November 2022, in preview build 25247, and it allowed general websites to be recommended at the bottom of the menu panel.
As crazy (opens in new tab) spotted, in the blog post (opens in new tab) Microsoft provided details of the changes for the latest preview of Windows 11, further noting that a proposed action for searching copied text in the Edge browser has also been dropped. This meant that if you marked text to copy in, say, a document, an inline panel would pop up where you could click and search for that marked text in Edge.
Microsoft said: “Thanks to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on these two experiences. As a reminder, features and experiences we try in the Dev Channel may be removed and never released outside of the Dev Channel as we develop new ideas and get feedback from Insiders.”
Analysis: receding from the edge
Build 25272 also applied a slew of fixes, including the fix for an issue where the taskbar search box was corrupted by visual glitches, and a slew of bug fixes with the Task Manager.
There’s definitely some useful stuff going on here, even if there are no new feature introductions. And it’s good to see the back of the two bits of functionality mentioned, the first of which pretty much amounted to unnecessary Start menu clutter, and raised concerns about Microsoft pushing third-party websites – and of course its own Edge browser in both cases.
While Microsoft carefully noted when introducing the recommended sites feature last year that it could be turned off for those who didn’t want it, it’s clear that user feedback has come through loud and clear about even trying to include it in the Start menu. – the good news is that the company is listening to this feedback.
Still, the constant attempts to push the Edge browser in Windows are getting quite tiresome, it must be said.