Over the last month or so, there has been a surge in reports and discussions regarding how Microsoft is shaping the future of Windows. Rumors suggest that with Next Valley (commonly referred to as Windows 12), the tech giant could be moving back to revive its Windows 10X ambitions with a new "CorePC" modular approach. A senior exec has already talked about how cloud and AI are going to play a big role in next-gen systems. As such, the company seems to be slowly adding Cloud PC options inside the Settings app. These settings are already quietly being expanded upon in the more recent Canary Insider build. A prototype UI for Next Valley has revealed what next gen Windows could potentially resemble.
In case you wanted a look and feel of what that would be like, Stardock's WindowBlinds 11, which was released earlier this year in February, introduced a new Diamond-themed taskbar option with a rounded taskbar. This design makes it appear like the taskbar is floating, somewhat similar to what you can see in the image above for Next Valley prototype.
The blog post describing the feature says:
WindowBlinds 11 is the easiest way to truly personalize your desktop. With only a few clicks, you can theme your desktop with a retro style like Windows Classic, or jump ahead in time with a theme like Diamond, which rounds the taskbar and looks like the next version of Windows.
And with the latest version of WindowBlinds 11, the support for Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 (KB5022913) has been added, which means those on Moment 2 can now have a Windows 12-like taskbar experience. Here is what it looks like:
The release notes for WindowBlinds 11.0.2.1 says:
Tweaks how the address bar transparency is handled on Win11 in explorer and has a small fix for taskbar support for Windows update KB5022913
This has support for 22H2 Moment 2
You can download WindowBlinds 11.0.2.1 from Neowin's dedicated story page here, where you will also find additional details regarding the software. You can also download the entire Object Desktop package. Object Desktop includes programs such as Fences, Start11, Groupy, SoundPackager, DeskScapes and Multiplicity.
Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock
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