Prompted by European regulators and digital market laws, Microsoft is significantly expanding its ability to keep Windows PCs organized. Specifically, we’re adding an uninstall option to some Microsoft apps that previously didn’t have that option. That’s a pretty big deal!
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Windows (the operating system) has value in its own right to Microsoft, thanks to PC manufacturers paying royalties on every new PC they sell. However, that is just basic income. Windows is even more valuable in that it can bundle and promote a collection of free and paid apps and services, many of which are owned and operated by Microsoft. These are installed alongside Windows and pop up occasionally to pester you with the goal of getting you to spend more money on Microsoft services, thereby increasing the value to Microsoft Corporation (MSFT:NASDAQ).
For example, here we’re talking about a new Windows 11 Pro virtual machine that we just set up using a Microsoft account.[スタート]Shows what the menu looks like.
Of course, there are also third-party apps among them. In this example, Spotify, WhatsApp, and Camo pay Microsoft for the privilege of being included in the Start menu. These are not actually installed apps, just shortcuts that download and install apps when you click on them. Right-click on one of these third-party shortcuts, Unpin from the beginningit’s as if it never existed.
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However, this does not apply to Microsoft-branded apps and utilities included in Windows 11.Want to see the entire collection? Go to setting > app > installed apps and enter microsoft in the search box at the top of the page. When I tried it on my Surface Pro 9, the list included nearly 50 apps, some essential and others completely unnecessary.
And this is where the aforementioned European competition rules come into play. Thanks to recent updates, you can now uninstall most of these apps.
This is not about disk space or system resources. These built-in apps take up little disk space and don’t use your CPU or graphics power unless you choose to run them. The real problem is simple. If you don’t want an app on your PC, you have the right to delete it.
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I’ve done just that with the systems I use every day to improve my productivity. Some apps have achieved prestigious status by being pinned to Start, the taskbar, or both. Others are completely uninstalled because they are known to have no use. And the third group represents apps that you don’t want to clutter your Start menu, but still want to be available in the All Apps list just in case.
Here’s an overview of how I decided which apps to keep and which to retire.
Apps I use
On my PC, some apps pay the most.
- microsoft store
Please do not uninstall this app. This is required to update many built-in system apps, but with recent changes to the Store design, it’s also a great way to find and install legacy desktop apps from secure sources.
2. Microsoft Edge
Microsoft’s default browser is at the top of my list. Because it’s based on his open source Chromium engine, it doesn’t suffer from the serious compatibility issues that plagued previous versions (which, confusingly, had the same name). It is also compatible with extensions from the Google Chrome Store. It also has tracking protection so you don’t need to install an ad blocking extension.
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Edge has its annoyances, especially the persistent display of coupons from shopping sites and the difficult-to-customize homepage. But I still consider it a keeper. If you want to use a different browser,[スタート]Remove that shortcut from , and replace it with your browser of choice.
3. Snipping tool
I love this little utility that lets you capture all or part of your screen with just a click. He can save the results as a PNG or JPEG file or paste the cut directly into an email message or social media post.It hasn’t been replaced snap itis my go-to program for capturing screenshots at work, but it’s good enough for day-to-day tasks.
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Amazingly, Microsoft developers continue to add features to the product that actually improve it, such as the recently added ability to extract text from captures and the soon-to-be-released ability to record screencasts. I am.
It’s worth remembering the keyboard shortcut Windows + Shift + S.
4-5. Microsoft OneNote and sticky notes
These are all combined together, so we’ll put them in the same entry.
I’ve been using OneNote since it was introduced 20 years ago. I have a collection of notes that represent my entire career. My wife and I also use a shared notebook to handle countless household chores. Originally part of Microsoft Office, it’s now built into Windows and uses the free OneDrive account you get when you sign in with your Microsoft account. If you don’t use OneNote, you can safely uninstall it without any consequences.
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The Sticky Notes app for Windows should look familiar. Apps that let you paste virtual Post-it® notes onto your PC display have been around for as long as I can remember. It’s built into Windows 10 and 11 and retains the simplicity of the original. Its best feature is that you can create sticky notes on your smartphone and sync them with your Windows PC. Since Android phones and iPhones have corresponding widgets installed (which sync seamlessly with Apple’s own Notes app!), it’s super easy to jot down a quick note to yourself and find it later. .
6-8. Notepad, Paint, Calculator
Hear about the throwback apps that have been around since the early days of Windows and are still in active development. All three of these apps have received updates to support the latest UX standards. Notepad now runs multiple tabs and autosaves your work. Paint can perform format conversions with minimal effort. The good old calculator can also do more than just numbers, like converting units and calculating dates. You can also create graphs!
9. Solitaire
This is my guilty pleasure. I pay $10 a year to remove the ads, but they’re too annoying to play otherwise.
10. Microsoft One Drive
I have a Microsoft 365 Family subscription and a Microsoft 365 Business subscription, each with 1TB of online storage, which I use regularly. But even if you don’t use the Office apps included with Microsoft 365, the 5 GB of storage included with your free Microsoft account can help you quickly transfer files between devices, even when you’re signed in with a local account. You can access it. We do not recommend deleting this app.
11. Media player
Microsoft is notorious for giving its apps confusing names, so this deserves more recognition. The Media Player app in Windows 11 is different from Windows Media Player, which has been part of Windows for over 30 years and is still available in Windows 11 for no apparent reason. The new app with the old name is the successor to Windows 10’s ill-fated Groove app, which can trace its lineage back to the ill-fated Zune app.
Also, can I get Windows 10 upgrades for free?
Anyway, this is a great option to play random audio and video files. We recommend leaving it installed and replacing it with your favorite alternative media player. (For me it is media monkey. )
12. Microsoft Photo
Microsoft Photos is a more than capable way to view your photo library and make minor edits. You probably have an alternative that you prefer, so consider doing what I did.Keep this app installed and its shortcuts[スタート]Remove it from your menu and replace it with your favorite photo editing app.
The app I dumped
We don’t mean to belittle the apps on this list, but some have already been deprecated, and given they haven’t received much attention in recent years, others may become deprecated as well. there is. If you are a fan of these apps, feel free to continue using them. The rest of you can happily right-click. Uninstall Select an option to proceed.
1.What Microsoft should do
A simple task list becomes very complex.
2.Xbox Live
I’m not a gamer so this is an easy decision for me. Uninstalled.
3. Movies and TV
This app is primarily a front end for protected video content that you purchase or rent from the Microsoft Store. You can also find content from Amazon Prime Video in the Microsoft Store.replace with VLC media player.
4. Map
When Microsoft was developing its mobile strategy, it made sense to have an app that worked with GPS. Today, when you search for places on your Windows PC, you use Google Maps or Bing Maps. I suspect this app will disappear when the next major version of Windows is released.
5. News and Weather
Why these two apps are still available on Windows is a mystery. They haven’t been updated in years, and Microsoft’s current strategy is to cram news into Windows 11 widgets and Edge’s default home page.
6. Cortana
This app has been officially retired. If you try to do so, a message will appear informing you.
7. Diary
This was supposed to be a showcase for the digital pens that come with tablet PCs, but I’ve never seen anyone using them other than as part of a demo for a Microsoft product.
8-10.email, calendar, people
These legacy apps will be replaced by the new Outlook.
11. Microsoft Teams (Free)
Unless you have a specific reason to keep this around, feel free to throw it away. This is not the same Teams app that I use at work, so it just confuses me.