Last week, I took a trip to the beach with my family to enjoy the pouring rain of England. Despite the weather, it was a lovely getaway. Between going to a Sea Life center to show my daughter jellyfish for the first time and taking my dog along the beach, I took a peek at the Windows Central front page a few times.
Much to my surprise, Microsoft is working to allow people to move and resize the Windows 11 Taskbar. People have begged for that feature for years, so I'm glad to see Microsoft implement it.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see some deals worth taking advantage of. The ASUS ZenBook S 16 is $500 off at the moment.
Of course, it was possible to move the Taskbar for decades in previous versions of Windows. Microsoft rebuilt the Taskbar for Windows 11 and did not include the option to move or resize the Taskbar.
The move is part of Microsoft's push to make 2026 a better year for Windows 11. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden shared the news regarding the plans of the tech giant. If things go to plan, we should be able to move the Taskbar later this year.
Windows 11 users mocked Microsoft for the move, referencing the fact that it was Microsoft that removed the feature in the first place.
"Oh good, crowing about bringing back standard features they arbitrarily ripped away. Should I get some balloons for the party?" said Reddit user MSD3k.
The comments shared online are right, of course. Removing the option was frowned upon and adding it back has been a highly requested piece of feedback since Windows 11 was released.
Better late than never though, I say. This could prove to be a change made in good faith to improve the image of Windows 11 and start a trend of listening to user feedback.
I'd rather have Microsoft change than dig in its heels and refuse to improve Windows 11.
Weekly Windows Wrap: The Big News
Meanwhile, Microsoft continues distancing itself from OpenAI. The two companies have reportedly had a strained relationship for quite some time.
Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI and holds 27% of the "for profit" arm of OpenAI. But Microsoft reworked its deal with OpenAI near the end of last year, making it easier for both companies to work with other tech giants.
Microsoft AI Chief Mustafa Suleyman spoke with The Financial Times about the company creating its own foundation models.
To be clear, Microsoft plans to continue to use OpenAI's models. "We are in a multi-modal world," said Microsoft Communications Chief Frank Shaw. He emphasized that OpenAI has a "huge role" for Microsoft.
It's not like using multiple models or working with several companies is wrong. I do wonder if Microsoft would be looking to create its own model if things were going swimmingly with OpenAI. Why invest the time, money, and effort to create your own product if your multi-billion dollar partnership was yielding desired results?
Weekly Windows Wrap: How-to guides
Sales on Windows 11 PCs
Normally, I include a bunch of deals on PCs here. But since it is Presidents' Day, many of the best deals are in flux. Stock runs out quickly on some discounted items and prices can change throughout the day.
I've highlighted a small handful of my favorites below, but you'll want to check out our roundup of the best Presidents' Day PC deals to see everything on sale.
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