Microsoft is asking for your help to fix Windows 11 — and I’m hopeful this isn’t just a desperate move

microsoft-is-asking-for-your-help-to-fix-windows-11-—-and-i’m-hopeful-this-isn’t-just-a-desperate-move
Microsoft is asking for your help to fix Windows 11 — and I’m hopeful this isn’t just a desperate move
People using Windows 11 laptops
(Image credit: Microsoft)

  • Microsoft has started a new research panel
  • It’s aiming to get feedback on the Windows 11 interface from testers
  • The program will consist of a number of studies going forward, focusing on different areas of the user experience

Microsoft is making further efforts to get feedback from Windows 11 users on how to improve the operating system, with a new program aimed at Windows testers.

Yes, this is part of the campaign to fix Windows 11 (pretty much everything Microsoft does these days is). As Windows Latest reports, invitations are being sent out for a new ‘Windows Insider Panel’ whereby testers are being asked to put themselves forward to offer feedback on the Windows 11 interface.

Those invited (via email) need to fill in a survey which gives Microsoft a good idea of the way in which they use Windows 11 (productivity, creative apps, gaming and so forth).

The Windows and Devices UX (user experience) research panel is going to run various studies going forward, and if you’re a good fit for whatever Microsoft is looking at in the way of changing Windows 11 in any particular study, they might bring you in to provide your opinions.

In the email sent out, Microsoft observes that this is a chance to: “Join and help shape the future of Windows.”


Analysis: a new hope

Happy PC gamer shows heart sign with hands

(Image credit: Parilov / Shutterstock)

As if we hadn’t received enough in the way of signals that Microsoft really is taking its revamping of Windows 11 very seriously, this is another clear sign. Indeed, the company has already run a meeting with Windows Insiders (testers) in Seattle, noting back at the time that it is “really directly influenced” by what it’s hearing from Windows 11 users.

This new research panel is set to be an ongoing project and series of studies to improve the user interface of Windows 11, which is an exciting development. I suppose you could argue that it smacks of Microsoft getting a bit desperate and clutching at straws for ideas on how to make things better, but I’m inclined to give the software giant the benefit of the doubt here.

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Indeed, I’m genuinely impressed at the lengths Microsoft is going to with this whole ‘fix Windows 11’ initiative, and while I was initially skeptical about all the big promises the company has made, it has, so far, followed through with them in a commendably thorough fashion.

Of course, there’s still a long way to go on the path of improving Windows 11 in terms of not just its interface, but performance levels. However, if Microsoft can keep up this level of commitment, I’ll remain optimistic – and that’s been a very difficult feeling to muster with Windows 11 in the past.


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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel – ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ – was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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