Is this a whole new Microsoft? The fix Windows 11 campaign is already in high gear, and I'm loving that execs are seriously engaging with users

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  • Windows 11's taskbar repositioning is a top priority fix for Microsoft
  • An exec has also been frank about progress with dark mode
  • This new openness and transparency from Microsoft, and the way more execs are engaging with users, is promising for the future of Windows 11

We appear to have moved into a very different space with Windows 11, as Microsoft executives are busily engaged in dealing with feedback on social media regarding what needs fixing. And as more revelations about what's happening behind the scenes pour forth, I'm becoming increasingly hopeful about the future of the OS.

As Windows Central informs us, one of the big changes being made to Windows 11, namely work on repositioning the taskbar, has been made a top priority at Microsoft according to inside sources.

This is about being able to move the taskbar away from the bottom of the screen — where it's been firmly anchored since the release of Windows 11 — and other customization elements, such as having a more compact bar (which is useful for smaller screens).

These features will work pretty much as they do 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 within Settings).

Windows Central informs us that repositioning the taskbar is a 'priority 0' task, which is the most urgent level, with resizing the bar a slightly lesser but still important 'priority 1' affair.

So, we should soon be able to to move the taskbar land in Windows 11, unless Microsoft runs into a bunch of problems executing this smoothly enough.

Elsewhere Windows Central also reports that Marcus Ash, Microsoft's head of Windows Design and Research, has provided an update on dark mode in Windows 11.

In case you weren't aware, introducing dark mode has been a glacially slow process for Windows 11, taking what's seemed forever to gradually creep across more areas of the interface. And still there are numerous jarring sections that remain stubbornly white, when they should be a dark, eye-friendly shade with the mode enabled.

In response to a query on X about getting dark mode into 'Regedit' (the Registry editor), Ash said: "We are pushing to get our tools/techniques to the point where we can get dark theme into more areas across Windows. No timelines to commit to yet for Regedit. As we make progress in various legacy system panels/dialogs, we will keep improving consistency."

While that isn't a firm promise, it's good to get a response — and it is an open and frank reply.

Analysis: precious hope for the future

A woman sitting in a chair looking at a Windows 11 laptop

(Image credit: Microsoft)

It's great to see that more Microsoft execs are now communicating with Windows 11 users in a refreshingly frank, and largely positive, way. This comes on top of a lot of responses that have been made on X and other social media outlets recently, from the likes of Pavan Davuluri (who heads up Windows) to Scott Hanselman (a VP who's been the most active of all, and is clearly an integral part of the 'fix Windows 11 in 2026' campaign).

The inability to move the taskbar to the sides or top of the Windows 11 desktop has long been a bugbear, so it's great to see this is one of the highest priorities for Microsoft. It may not be a feature everyone needs, but those who do want it have been very vocal about its absence for years.

There is clearly a new drive within Microsoft to stay glued to social media and respond to common complaints about Windows 11, and take them on board for fixing. Now, whether all the extra issues that have popped up and been addressed in this way — outside of the many promised fixes aired in Microsoft's initial lengthy blog post — will be resolved is another question.

However, the way Microsoft execs are conducting themselves now gives me hope that this is a whole new attitude from the company, as it realizes the serious threats to its desktop OS dominance – such as macOS being pushed by the new and very well-received MacBook Neo.

We'll know soon enough how serious Microsoft is about curing everything that's wrong with Windows 11 — which pretty much appears to be the end goal — as fixes have been promised on a monthly basis, starting immediately. Therefore, we should see that taskbar work coming through into testing soon enough, barring any unfortunate complications as noted.

The other point skeptics will no doubt pick up on is that if Microsoft is going to move fast here, can it avoid also breaking things? Because in the past, even when Microsoft has moved slowly, features have somehow ended up broken. This is one of the biggest potential hurdles of all, and Microsoft must invest enough resources to ensure that it doesn't go this way.



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