A new Windows 11 update has arrived
It brings forth some great features such as right-click menu customization, faster resumes for laptops, and a speed boost for Edge
A security feature being enabled has proved more divisive, though, as memory integrity protection can slow down gaming frame rates in some scenarios – but there’s a reason Microsoft is force enabling this
Windows 11 has a new update which packs quite a number of features, but also what some gamers regard as a bit of a sting in the tail. The best news about the November update is that it introduces a capability that a whole lot of Windows 11 users have wanted since launch (myself included), namely the choice to fully customize the right-click menu (and streamline it). As for the more controversial addition, that’s a security feature Microsoft has decided to roll out to all PCs which can have a negative impact on gaming frame rates in certain circumstances. I’ll look at that move last, but before that, I’m going to list the main goodies that you can expect with the November update (as previously detailed in the preview patch from last month). Note that many of these features are on a gradual rollout, meaning that you won’t necessarily get them immediately (although you might), and I’ll indicate where this is the case. 1. Right-click menu customization
(Image credit: Antonio Guillem / Shutterstock) It’s finally arrived – you can now pick and choose what you’d like to see in the right-click menu , which contains context-sensitive options for the files or folders you’ve selected. Don’t want it to be chock-full of nonsense that you never use? Then get the virtual shears out and prune away those unwanted options. I say this has arrived, but it’s one of those pieces of functionality that’s on a gradual rollout, so you may have to be patient. Rest assured it’s inbound, and hopefully not one of those features that’s on a glacial timeframe with its deployment – given how keenly this is sought after, I’d hope that isn’t the case. As well as fully tailoring the context menu to your needs, you can switch the layout so you don’t have the top panel present (with cut, rename and so forth), and the right-click menu opens much more swiftly too. This is the change I’ll be grabbing the November update for. 2. Edge gets turbocharged
(Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft Edge now loads a lot faster if there’s already one instance of the web browser running. In other words, the first app launch will be ‘cold’ and at the normal speed, but whenever you fire up Edge after that it’ll appear a good deal more swiftly. This is a major boon for those who use Edge, but the good news is that Microsoft is planning to allow the use of this speed-up trick with other apps in the future. With the ability being realized pretty swiftly for Edge, hopefully we’ll see the benefits elsewhere before too long. This is one feature that’s immediately deployed for everyone, so Edge users have an extra incentive to download the November update. 3. Faster resumes from standby
(Image credit: HP) Microsoft has changed the adaptive hibernate policy with this update, so it’ll provide a faster resume from Modern Standby when your battery level is nice and high (above 80%). In other words, laptop users will find resumes happening much more swiftly when they lift that lid…
