Microsoft confirms Windows 11’s File Explorer Properties dialog is a real WinUI rebuild, and more legacy dialogs are moving to WinUI next.
Microsoft says that their plan is to convert more Windows UI elements to WinUI3, while confirming that the new File Explorer Properties dialog was rebuilt from scratch in WinUI, and not just a fresh coat of paint.
Windows 11 has felt inconsistent for a while now. Modern panels are right next to decades-old dialogs, RAM usage keeps creeping up in apps that are supposed to be native, and popular Windows apps keep turning into web wrappers because developers don’t trust Microsoft to stick with a UI framework.
Great. How about stop spying on us first?
Months of work to redo one super basic dialog box.
It blows my mind how slow large companies are.
This comment in a different thread from someone who used to work for them gives some great background as to why.
I recently HAD to switch to Win11, and it looks like a child’s toy. I cannot express how much I hate its look. It feels like a 30-year step backwards.
Sooner or later, I will be able to 100% leave the Microsoft (Microslop/Enshitifiaction environment.) On that day, I will be a lovable and righteous mother fucker.
They’ve decided their AI shit hasn’t fucked up enough of the program, and found more spots for it to trash
I was talking about the Windows UI on Mastodon the other day, particularly in reference to how I have it set to dark mode on my PC at work, but when I hit Send/Receive in Outlook I get a bright white, XP-ass-looking box pop up. Someone replied, “the older the settings boxes look, the more useful they are”. And I can’t disagree.
I’ve been half wondering if they are already vibe coding everything, given the number of bugs that I’ve noticed in outlook online over the last few months
Yep. It was the same in Windows 10 where all their newer setting panels were just useless and you could do so much more with the old control panel.
I honestly cannot believe how bad the new UI feels. It’s like they just flattened all elements and reduce information density by increasing whitespace, followed by a shrug and no additional thought into what was lost and what should be added. Which… now that I think about it, is Windows 8. hmm.
It’s been downhill since Metro design (which was just beautiful on mobile phones)
I don’t know if this is a hot take but-
In my mind, Aero is peak UI. It had contrast, depth, high information density in all the applications. Well… high-ish. That’s also when they started putting Ribbon in everything. I’m not a fan of Ribbon menus.
Windows 98 was clearly the peak
Win 2000 was the shit. Last one I liked.
Yeah, its insane how shitty it is. Its malaevolance for the user.
It’s vibe coded guaranteed.
And still Control Center will survive somehow like an undead cockroach.
I think we’re already at the point where Linux is more compatible with Windows software than Windows itself is.
The other day I tried installing Star Wars Dark Forces 2 from disk, complete with a ‘windows 95/98 compatible’ blurb on it. Heroic launcher got the installer running without issue and within a few minutes it was playing.
I ended up using the Openjkdf2 engine instead for some nice quality of life improvements, but it was still quite something to see Linux run a piece of software from 1997 so effortlessly.
Long past, if you consider compatibility with older software. ironically, linux is also more compatible with windows software than it is with linux software themselves :D
We’re what, 14 years past when they should have done that? Windows 8 introduced the new UI style, and then Windows 10 was their chance to cement it. You can’t even blame compatibility, Microsoft’s own controls were all behind the legacy UIs. You can tell they were pushed and rushed out the door when nothing was ready.
At this point their UI has been so hacked and slashed that the fact that it compiles is a shock to me.
I hope they actually follow through and start making the OS less a gallery of 2 decades worth of half-assed redesigns and more a cohesive, responsive design. Dare I say their last actually decent UI update may have been Windows 8 which was also half-assed but at least it worked well from what I hear. Windows being a centrally controlled OS should be better at this than Linux and yet they aren’t!
Windows
111087Vistaxp has felt inconsistent for a while now. Honestly I’m not even sure if I should stop at xp, even then it had UI elements from the 90s.Laughs in gnu
Time to give the Windows 8 “Metro” UI another shot, after all the only reason it wasn’t accepted (according to numerous Microsoft employees) is “People are afraid of change.”
