Making Windows 11 Usable

Introduction:

After several years of avoiding the Windows ecosystem, I recently decided to reinstall it on one of my secondary machines. My primary goal was to refresh my technical knowledge, especially given the increasing number of requests I’ve received for Windows-related troubleshooting.

I’ve never been a fan of the restricted "Home" experience, so I went straight for a Windows 11 Pro lifetime license. One lesson learned: because modern licenses are often tied to an Outlook account, this makes the machine slightly less resale ready than I originally anticipated.

The Hardware: 

The machine in question is a ThinkPad Yoga 11e (6th Gen). While it isn't a powerhouse, its form factor makes it a personal favorite for "on-the-go" tasks. It has a dual core Intel m3-8100y CPU with a base frequency of 1.10GHz that supposedly can reach 3.4GHz. The 8GB of RAM is soldered on.

The Installation Hurdle: The setup was largely predictable, with one exception: Windows 11’s insistence on a network connection. Since the native drivers weren't recognized during the OOBE (Out-of-Box Experience), I had to manually install the drivers via the command shell during the setup process just to finish the installation.

Optimization:

Even after a clean install, Windows 11 felt sluggish on this hardware. To fix this, I utilized the AME Wizard to apply the AtlasOS playbook.

By stripping away unnecessary background processes, telemetry, and bloatware, the Yoga 11e became significantly snappier. It’s an essential step for anyone trying to run a modern OS on modest hardware.

AtlasOS

Solving Terminal Lag:

The biggest remaining pain point was the UI responsiveness—specifically the Windows Terminal. When paired with PowerShell, the input lag was unbearable. If a prompt can’t keep up with my typing speed, it disrupts my entire workflow.

My solution was to install Cmder (Full). It is lightweight, portable.

CMDer

WSL:

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is arguably the most significant move Microsoft has made for power users in recent years. It acts as a vital bridge, allowing Windows to perform the tasks we actually want to do—all within the Windows environment. While I personally believe Microsoft should simply release its own Linux distribution and port its drivers and proprietary tech, WSL is a highly capable compromise.

For my setup, I opted for Ubuntu, immediately swapping out the default bash for zsh and Oh My Zsh. This configuration provides the robust command-line environment I am used to, effectively turning this "turd of an OS" into a functional development machine.

The Snappiness of KDE on Windows

Coming from macOS, I’ve grown fond of using Homebrew to install KDE and GTK Linux applications; they tend to run well. I wanted to see if I could achieve a similar workflow on Windows without relying entirely on WSL.

I searched winget for Kate (the KDE text editor) and installed the AppX version. The result was baffling: this KDE application, built on the Qt framework, is significantly snappier than almost any "native" Windows 11 application.

UI Woes:

We are seeing a massive shift in desktop UI development toward web technologies (like Electron or WebView2). When done correctly—such as in GNOME with GJS—it’s actually quite decent. In that environment, I rarely notice lag, and the integration makes extension development straightforward.

Windows 11, however, seems to struggle with this implementation. The interface feels perpetually sluggish, and I am quickly losing patience with the constant "Working on it..." progress messages. It is a strange reality where a cross-platform KDE app provides a more responsive user experience than the OS’s own native tools.

Kate

Now I just need to install python and probably deno instead of nodejs just to give me a js runtime that's still sort of lightweight.

Conclusion

My experience with Windows 11 on this laptop isn't all bad, so I wanted to add a few points about it that it has gotten right over other OSes I have used on this machine. The Yoga 11e is a touchscreen with the fold around screen that puts it in tablet mode when you flip it around. With several Linux distributions this was a problem. Some failed to orient the screen properly, others didn't deactivate the keyboard and mouse pad. Windows 10 did ok but it was still a bit clunky. On Windows 11 though tablet mode is pretty awesome. it enlarges the task bar icons for a touch friendly experience but also auto shrinks not hides to allow apps more screen real estate.