With the Windows Insider moving on to Windows 11 2.0, the Beta channel is stuck with testing some bug fixes as we march towards the initial release of Windows 11 1.0 on October 5.
Oh, and a curiously pandering explanation of how to remove the Search, Task View, Widgets and Chat icons from the taskbar now that the taskbar context menu has been hobbled to single item, “Taskbar settings.” Hint: You can do this now from Taskbar settings. Go figure.
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Let’s be honest here. Neither of these things—the list of bug fixes nor the explanation—is of any interest. But I think we’ve learned something today. And that’s that Windows 11 1.0, for lack of a better term, is “done,” and that we’re just a few series of bug fixes away from this thing heading out to PC makers.
Tied to that, a bit of speculation: Microsoft is not unexpectedly moving forward with the next release of Windows 11, 2.0 for lack of a better term, and this may really just be a series of cumulative updates that will release over time before next October. As always, I guess we’ll see what happens. Since Microsoft never explains itself clearly, at least when it comes to Windows.