Oracle Current Date Without Time

Oracle date/time functions, comparable to SYSDATE() and SYSTIMESTAMP(), return the present date and time of the database server time zone regardless of the consumer or session time zone settings. But PostgreSQL date/time features return the time as per your consumer or session time zone settings. The inner values don't include details concerning the unique time zone. Future operations over the parallelized dates and timestamps worth will consider solely Spark SQL periods time zone based on the TIMESTAMP WITH SESSION TIME ZONE variety definition.

As the instance demonstrates, Spark takes under consideration the required time zones however adjusts all neighborhood timestamps to the session time zone. The TIMESTAMP datatype is an extension on the DATE datatype. In addition to the datetime components of the DATE datatype, the TIMESTAMP datatype holds fractions of a second to a precision between zero and 9 decimal places, the default being 6. There are additionally two variants referred to as TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE and TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE. As their names imply, these timestamps additionally retailer time zone offset information. One of the primary issues with the DATE datatype was its' incapability to be granular sufficient to work out which occasion may need occurred first in relation to a different event. Oracle has expanded on the DATE datatype and has given us the TIMESTAMP datatype which shops all of the knowledge that the DATE datatype stores, however in addition contains fractional seconds.

This is simply due to the fact when changing from the DATE datatype that doesn't have the fractional seconds it defaults to zeros and the monitor is defaulted to the default timestamp format . If you desired to point out the fractional seconds inside a TIMESTAMP datatype, investigate Listing E. In Listing E, we're solely displaying three place holders for the fractional seconds. In this weblog post, we described Spark SQL DATE and TIMESTAMP types. Since variation 3.0, Spark switched from the hybrid calendar, which mixes Julian and Gregorian calendars, to the Proleptic Gregorian calendar (see SPARK for extra details).

This allowed Spark to get rid of many points similar to we demonstrated earlier. For backward compatibility with earlier versions, Spark nonetheless returns timestamps and dates within the hybrid calendar (java.sql.Date and java.sql.Timestamp) from the bring together like actions. To evade calendar and time zone decision points when utilizing the Java/Scala's bring together actions, Java eight API should be enabled by way of the SQL config spark.sql.datetime.java8API.enabled.

Try it out as we speak free on Databricks as component of our Databricks Runtime 7.0. The java.time.Instant object should be changed to any neighborhood timestamp later independently from the worldwide JVM time zone. This is one in every of some great benefits of java.time.Instant over java.sql.Timestamp. The former one requires altering the worldwide JVM setting, which influences different timestamps on the identical JVM. Collect() is completely different from the show() motion described within the earlier section.

Show() makes use of the session time zone whereas changing timestamps to strings, and collects the resulted strings on the driver. Intervals give a means of storing a selected time interval that separates two datetime values. There are presently two supported varieties of interval, one specifying intervals in years and months, the opposite specifying intervals in days, hours, minutes and seconds.

SYSDATE returns the present date and time set for the working system on which the database resides. The datatype of the returned worth is DATE, and the format returned is dependent upon the worth of the NLS_DATE_FORMAT initialization parameter. In distributed SQL statements, this perform returns the date and time set for the working system of your native database. You can't use this perform within the situation of a CHECK constraint.

Calculating the time distinction between two TIMESTAMP datatypes is far extra straightforward than the previous DATE datatype. This means no extra worries about what quantity of seconds in a day and all these cumbersome calculations. And subsequently the calculations for getting the weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds turns into a matter of choosing out the quantity through the use of the SUBSTR perform as could be seen in Listing G.

This is the datatype that we're all too accustomed to once we expect of representing date and time values. It has the power to retailer the month, day, year, century, hours, minutes, and seconds. It is usually good for representing info for when a factor has occurred or have to take place inside the future. The trouble with the DATE datatype is its' granularity when attempting to work out a time interval between two occasions when the occasions take place inside a second of every other. This difficulty is solved later listed here once we talk about the TIMESTAMP datatype.

In order to symbolize the date saved in a extra readable format, the TO_CHAR operate has historically been wrapped across the date as in Listing A. Now the conversions don't undergo from the calendar-related points seeing that Java eight varieties and Spark SQL 3.0 are each dependent on the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The collect() motion doesn't rely upon the default JVM time zone any more. The timestamp conversions don't rely upon time zone at all. Regarding so far conversion, it makes use of the session time zone from the SQL config spark.sql.session.timeZone.

For example, let's examine a Dataset with DATE and TIMESTAMP columns, set the default JVM time zone to Europe/Moscow, however the session time zone to America/Los_Angeles. Please discover that because the column InvoiceDate is a timestamp statistics type, we have to specify the interval, if we had put simply 7 it will have returned an error. Hibernate maps a ZonedDateTime to an SQL TIMESTAMP with no time zone information. It converts the ZonedDateTime into the nearby time zone of the JVM after which shops it within the database. And when it reads the TIMESTAMP, it provides the nearby time zone details to it. The instance under exhibits making timestamps from Scala collections.

In the primary example, we assemble a java.sql.Timestamp object from a string. The valueOf system interprets the enter strings as a neighborhood timestamp within the default JVM time zone which may be completely completely different from Spark's session time zone. If you could assemble circumstances of java.sql.Timestamp or java.sql.Date in unique time zone, we propose to take a have a glance at java.text.SimpleDateFormat or java.util.Calendar. As we did for dates, let's print the content material of the ts DataFrame employing the show() action. In an identical way, show() converts timestamps to strings however now it takes under consideration the session time zone outlined by the SQL config spark.sql.session.timeZone. And conversely, any worth on wall clocks can symbolize many various time instants.

The time zone offset enables us to unambiguously bind an area timestamp to a time instant. Usually, time zone offsets are outlined as offsets in hours from Greenwich Mean Time or UTC+0 . Such a illustration of time zone facts eliminates ambiguity, however it's inconvenient for finish users. Users want to indicate a location across the globe comparable to America/Los_Angeles or Europe/Paris.

In addition, UNIX_TIMESTAMP() assumes that its argument is a datetime worth within the session time zone. In printed reviews the date formatting could relatively match the expectations of the meant viewers than the regional settings of the consumer creating the report. You can use the report controls' Format-Property to outline the output format of dates in your report.

For time values one could explicitly drive a 12hr AM/PM formatting by including the "AM/PM" clock format element to the time format definition. Just like with the SYSDATE function, this operate returns a DATE statistics type, which in reality features a date and a time. To present the time element of this value, both use the TO_CHAR operate or alter your session to incorporate the time format.

It is a variant of TIMESTAMP that features a time zone area identify or a time zone offset in its value. The time zone offset is the distinction between native time and UTC. This information kind is beneficial for accumulating and evaluating date information throughout geographic regions.

I even have defined an summary and its varied use instances of SQL Server GETDATE function. This operate could be very helpful to return the present timestamp in a number of codecs counting on our requirement. You can realize it extra by watching into a number of examples given on this article. You can even test different SQL Server date and time capabilities if the SQL Server GETDATE operate is simply not acceptable in your requirement. Explore extra about these capabilities as effectively within the above sections the place I even have in contrast them with the GETDATE function. CURRENT_DATE returns the present date within the session time zone, in a worth within the Gregorian calendar of datatype DATE.

What could be realized when doing the calculation is that as soon as you do subtraction between dates, you get a wide variety that represents the variety of days. You could then multiply that wide variety by the variety of seconds in a day earlier than you proceed with calculations to work out the interval with which you're concerned. Check out Listing B for my answer on how one can extract the person time intervals for a subtraction of two dates.

I am conscious that the fractions can be lowered however I desired to point out all of the numbers to emphasise the calculation. NEXT_DAY returns the date of the primary weekday named by charthat is later than date. The return variety is usually DATE, whatever the datatype of date. The argument char have to be a day of the week within the date language of your session, both the whole identify or the abbreviation. The minimal variety of letters required is the variety of letters within the abbreviated version.

Any characters quickly following the legitimate abbreviation are ignored. The return worth has the identical hours, minutes, and seconds half because the argument date. If you must convert a DATE datatype to a TIMESTAMP datatype format, simply use the CAST function. As one can see, there's a fractional seconds portion of '.000000' on the top of this conversion. If you're transferring a DATE datatype column from one desk to a TIMESTAMP datatype column of a further table, all you could do is a INSERT SELECT FROM and Oracle will do the conversion for you. DATE is the datatype that we're all aware of once we take into consideration representing date and time values.

The trouble with the DATE datatype is its' granularity when attempting to work out a time interval between two occasions when the occasions occur inside a second of every other. TIMESTAMP WITHOUT TIME ZONE, when you consider that a worth of this sort can map to a number of bodily time instants, however any worth of TIMESTAMP WITH SESSION TIME ZONE is a concrete bodily time instant. The SQL variety should be emulated through the use of one mounted time zone offset throughout all sessions, for example UTC+0. In that case, we might give some thought to timestamps at UTC as nearby timestamps.

LOCALTIMESTAMP Similar to the current_timestamp function, however returns the present TIMESTAMP with time zone inside the periods time zone to the required precision. It shops the year, month, and day of the DATE datatype, together with hour, minute, and second values. Now, run the to_date question to transform the string format of date up to now values with a date information type. Below is the pattern code to monitor Oracle to_date format 24 hours.

We'll use the GETDATE() perform to get the present date and time. Then we'll use the CAST() perform to transform the returned datetime information variety right into a date information type. SYSDATECONVERTED_TIME10/SEP/1710/SEP/17This converts the present date and time from a GMT timezone to a PST timezone.

Note that you'll solely see the dates right right here and never times, due to the fact that I haven't modified the session settings or used a perform reminiscent of TO_CHAR to format the output. So, if you're accessing a database in a unique time zone, it is going to return the time and timezone of the place the place the database is stored, not your nearby time zone. Now is the present timestamp or date on the session time zone. Within a single question it invariably produces the identical result.

Both datetime and interval facts sorts include fields. The values of those fields decide the worth of the info type. The following desk lists the fields and their workable values for datetimes and intervals. Whether you have an curiosity within the time on the database server or in your session. If in your session, then use a operate that returns session time zone.

If for the database server, then use a operate that returns the database time zone. With a single argument, this operate returns the date or datetime expression expr as a datetime value. With two arguments, it provides the time expression expr2 to the date or datetime expression expr1 and returns the end result as a datetime value. Returns the seconds argument, changed to hours, minutes, and seconds, as a TIME value.

The vary of the result's constrained to that of the TIME facts type. A warning happens if the argument corresponds to a worth outdoors that range. CONVERT_TZ() converts a datetime worth dt from the time zone given by from_tz to the time zone given by to_tz and returns the ensuing value.

Time zones are specified as described in Section 5.1.13, "MySQL Server Time Zone Support". This operate returns NULL if the arguments are invalid. SQL Server has supplied two capabilities CAST and CONVERT to deal with date-time format issues. You can convert the present date as per your native requirements applying the CONVERT function. Here I will present you ways to transform present date-time codecs applying CAST and CONVERT functions.

Only the clock_timestamp() operate returns diverse timing information in a single transaction. Therefore, the closest match for an Oracle SYSDATE operate option for PostgreSQL is clock_timestamp(). But this isn't enough, on account that these values are only timestamps. Because diverse time zones have diverse timestamp values on the identical level in time, it's essential to additionally give some thought to the time zone and DST. SQL extract delivers entry to the parts of temporal knowledge types—i.e. The distinct Date knowledge variety doesn't add a lot to its Double core.

By being a Date as opposed to only a Double the numeric worth will get its true meaning. Additionally, a Date when being displayed as or changed to a string will use the General Date format for the textual content illustration of the Date. However, once I mentioned that it really is very imperative understand the best way to add to a date that wasn't a lie. Adding a period of time – aninterval– to a date is one factor builders are referred to as on to do all of the time. As you know, if we wish to discover what the date might be in 1 – and even one hundred – days one factor we might do is simply add 1 – or one hundred – to systimestamp.

Is Microsoft Release Windows 11

Warren noted that he rarely used the Widgets panel or Microsoft Teams, citing that he preferred the weather display that later versions of Windows 10 offered, and didn't use Teams to communicate with his friends and family. He also acknowledged the expansion of Microsoft Store to include more "traditional" desktop applications. Overall, he concluded that "I wouldn't rush out to upgrade to Windows 11, but I also wouldn't avoid it. After all, Windows 11 still feels familiar and underneath all the UI changes, it's the same Windows we've had for decades." In October 2019, Microsoft announced "Windows 10X", a future edition of Windows 10 designed exclusively for dual-touchscreen devices such as the then-upcoming Surface Neo.

Legacy Windows applications would also be required to run in "containers" to ensure performance and power optimization. Microsoft stated that it planned to release Windows 10X devices by the end of 2020. Internet Explorer has been replaced by the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge as the default web browser, and Microsoft Teams is integrated into the Windows shell.

Microsoft also announced plans to allow more flexibility in software that can be distributed via Microsoft Store, and to support Android apps on Windows 11 . Cunningham concluded that "as I've dug into and learned its ins and outs for this review, I've warmed to it more", but argued that the OS was facing similar "public perception" issues to Windows Vista and Windows 8. A redesigned user interface is present frequently throughout the operating system, building upon Fluent Design System; translucency, shadows, a new color palette, and rounded geometry are prevalent throughout the UI.

A prevalent aspect of the design is an appearance known as "Mica", described as an "opaque, dynamic material that incorporates theme and desktop wallpaper to paint the background of long-lived windows such as apps and settings". Windows 11 release date is set for October 5, Microsoft on Tuesday announced — a couple of months after unveiling the new operating system. The new Windows version will bring a list of changes, including the refresh interface and a centrally placed Start menu. However, it will not include support for Android apps at the time of its official release in October. Minor complaints aside, we like to see Microsoft giving its marquee software some attention. For the last few years, the company has focused more on its Azure cloud computing services—justifiably given that business's profitability.

Windows 11 brings slick new looks, useful new tools, updated default apps, extra capabilities, and performance advances. Regardless, it's still early days for the desktop OS that's used on 1.3 billion PCs, so we look forward to Microsoft fine-tuning and perfecting Windows 11's design in future updates. For the past six years, Windows users have watched on the sidelines as the tech landscape changed at a breakneck pace.

When Microsoft's sporadic "feature updates" did arrive, they were often plagued with bugs, some so damaging the updates were suspended. And yet, despite its rocky path, Windows 10 will go down as a success, a stopgap to the mess its predecessors left behind. It brought back the traditional desktop interface, gave PC owners reliable performance, and popularized touchscreen displays and hybrid 2-in-1 laptops. Perhaps the most important thing to know about the release of Windows 11 is that we should expect it to change significantly over the next few years.

I've been using beta versions of Windows 11 for a month in the lead-up to writing this review, and it seems like every few days there's a minor new feature or redesigned app to check out. We may not see that feature fully realized in Windows until next year. The new Windows OS takes cues from its smartphone relatives, simplifying basic settings changes and making them easy to access. One click or tap in the corner of your taskbar to pull up a control panel similar to Apple's Control Center, which lets you futz with settings like brightness and volume, connectivity, and more. Windows apps now feature more aesthetically pleasing curved corners, and the Settings app has more options to change how you interact with the OS thanks to more accessibility features. New sounds and audio cues are available for blind users, and themes for people with light sensitivity or those working long hours have been updated to be easier on the eyes.

As before, Microsoft doesn't recommend installing Windows 11 on a device that doesn't meet the system requirements — though you can still do so. One thing to keep in mind is you might not get updates on a PC with an unsupported processor. When Microsoft first released Windows 11 on October 4th, the company said it expected it would offer the upgrade to all eligible devices by mid-2022. If your existing Windows 10 PC is running the most current version of Windows 10 and meets the minimum hardware specifications it will be able to upgrade to Windows 11. The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalized, but for most devices already in use today, we expect it to be ready sometime in early 2022.

Not all Windows 10 PCs that are eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 will be offered to upgrade at the same time. To see if your PC is eligible to upgrade, download the PC Health Check app. Once the upgrade rollout has started, you can check if it is ready for your device by going to Settings/Windows Updates. Windows 11 has higher technical requirements than Windows 10, is possible to install Windows 11 on devices that don't meet the minimum requirements.

Upgrading unsupported hardware to Windows 11 will require you to install the update manually using an ISO. There is a different set of minimum minimum requirements your PC will have to meet including 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage space, and two-core 64-bit 1 GHz processor. Anyone with one of the newer chips should have no trouble installing Windows 11 via Windows Update.

Microsoft made a downloadable ISO disk image file for the beta Insider version available for installing Windows 11, allowing in-place upgrades or clean installations on a PC or in a virtual machine. A similar installation option is now available for the release version of Windows 11 via Microsoft's Download Windows 11 page. Some sources have reported that installing the OS with the ISO installer bypasses the system's hardware requirements, but that's not advisable as you may not get future OS updates if you install it on unsupported hardware. As with Windows 10, you can let the company know what you'd like to see added to the software, and you may be surprised at how often it listens.

Anyone can sign up for preview builds of the OS through the Windows Insider Program. It lets you experience new features before they're available for general release. The next major update, 22H2 is expected to add Start menu options along with some redesigned stock apps. As part of the minimum system requirements, Windows 11 only runs on devices with a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 security coprocessor. According to Microsoft, the TPM 2.0 coprocessor is a "critical building block" for protection against firmware and hardware attacks. In addition, Microsoft now requires devices with Windows 11 to include virtualization-based security , hypervisor-protected code integrity , and Secure Boot built-in and enabled by default.

The operating system also features hardware-enforced stack protection for supported Intel and AMD processors for protection against zero-day exploits. In January 2021, it was reported that a job listing referring to a "sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows" had been posted by Microsoft. A visual refresh for Windows, developed under the codename "Sun Valley", was reportedly set to re-design the system's user interface.

The biggest change to Windows 11 is its more stringent hardware requirements. If your PC is recent, say, within the past five years, you should be alright, but older devices may be stuck with Windows 10 for the foreseeable future. That's not to say the company won't be providing security updates to Windows 10, but that's about as much as you can hope for. Since the controversial hardware decision—implemented for both performance and security reasons—Microsoft added Windows 11 support for some older computers, but the company still recommends against it.

Microsoft has promised to relaunch the PC Health Check app soon to let users check the eligibility status of their Windows 10 PCs. In the meantime, you can get the PC Health Check app in preview if you're a member of the Windows Insider programme. You can also look at Windows 11 minimum system requirements to determine whether your PC stands eligible to receive the new operating system update. While Android apps won't be available from the day Windows 11 will be released to everyone, users will get most of the promised features. These include Microsoft Teams integration, a new design with an updated Start menu, Snap Layouts, Groups, Desktops for improved multitasking, and an improved Microsoft Store app. Windows 11 brings a refreshed user interface, better performance and security, and a variety of new features.

Based on my initial experience using a review version of Windows 11 for the past two days, it's a solid upgrade with some nice benefits, but not a drop-everything-and-get-this update for Windows 10 users. Windows 11, unfortunately, ditches a couple of its best tablet- and touch-friendly features. Most importantly, you can no longer swipe in from the left to open the task-switching view, a gesture I use all the time on my Surface Go tablet. This omission is less of a big deal because you can still hit the X in the window's upper right corner as you'd do in desktop mode. Again, though, for a handheld device, the down-swipe is more direct and requires less dexterity.

There are, however, new three-finger swipe gestures to show the Task View and to minimize and app on the desktop. You can use the Task View button in the Taskbar, but it's not as immediate as a swipe of the thumb. I'd argue that switching tasks is more important to tablet users than accessing Widgets, which is what swiping your thumb now gets you. Windows Widgets are back in Windows 11, accessible via the dock, with Microsoft touting AI-powered dynamic features that enable widgets, as with the Start menu, to change depending on the apps you're using and the time of day.

On the touchscreen, you can slide from the left on the desktop to have widgets appear. Windows 11 features a new version of the Microsoft Store, with a new interface and a broader selection of apps. This new store is meant to have an easier to use and better-curated digital storefront. It should also be faster, "We rebuilt for speed", said Panos Panay during the Windows 11 announcement. So far our experience of it is much the same as the rest of Windows 11...

But it's also still mostly filled with apps you'd likely download direct from your browser, or wouldn't want to touch at all. Original equipment manufacturers can still ship computers without a TPM 2.0 coprocessor upon Microsoft's approval. Some third-party software may refuse to run on unsupported configurations of Windows 11.

Windows 11 SE was announced on November 9, 2021, as an edition exclusively for low-end devices sold in the education market, and a successor to Windows 10 S. It is bundled with applications such as Microsoft Office for Microsoft 365, Minecraft Education Edition, and Flipgrid, while OneDrive is used to save files by default. Windows 11 SE does not include Microsoft Store; third-party software is provisioned or installed by administrators.

The "Widgets" button on the taskbar displays a panel with Microsoft Start, a news aggregator with personalized stories and content (expanding upon the "news and interests" panel introduced in later builds of Windows 10). Microsoft Teams is similarly integrated with the taskbar, with a pop-up showing a list of recent conversations. Instead of the somewhat clunky tiling system found in the previous iteration of the iconic taskbar, Windows 11 peels away the cruft and gives you what you need. In my case, it's a list of recently accessed files along with a tray of pinned apps for easy access, with a universal search bar at the top for easy web (or on-device) searching. The clean lines and use of widgets to display information like weather, news, and photos is a welcome change of pace from the busy screen in Windows 10.

Depends on how you feel about some of the biggest changes coming to Microsoft's primary OS. Windows 11 is being hyped by Microsoft as the next big thing, and expectedly so, because at the time of the launch of Windows 10, the company had said that that would be where the Windows lineup would end. And then, after a hiatus of six years, Redmond launched Windows 11, which is essentially redesigning everything, including the start menu. The start menu is no longer going to be at the corner of the task bar, mostly in the bottom left corner . Basically, the entire set of apps and icons would now move to the centre of the task bar, instead of remaining to the left side.

Windows 11 will be provided as a free update to all eligible devices that are currently running Windows 10. Eligibility for automatic upgrade is based on certain minimum hardware requirements. If the Microsoft Surface family of products isn't your style though, other brands like Dell, Asus and HP have all released pages online that specify what devices are Windows 11 ready. Note that many won't come with the new operating system installed, but as they all meet the minimum system requirements, you can simply buy the laptop or 2-in-1 as normal and then update it yourself. Windows 11, the first major Windows release since 2015, builds upon its predecessor by revamping the user interface to follow Microsoft's new Fluent Design guidelines.

The redesign, which focuses on ease of use and flexibility, comes alongside new productivity and social features and updates to security and accessibility, addressing some of the deficiencies of Windows 10. With the PC Health Check app soon, users can check to see if their current PC will be eligible to upgrade. Microsoft commercially released Windows 11 on Oct. 4, and noted that it's a free upgrade for Windows 10 systems that meet the new operating system's minimum requirements. Individuals with Windows 10 systems that pass Windows 11's stringent hardware requirements will be offered the new OS via the Windows Update mechanism. It'll replace the underlying Windows 10 bits with Windows 11 bits via an automated "in-place upgrade" approach.

However, it's possible for users to decline the upgrade and continue with Windows 10. After weeks of leaks and hype, Microsoft today officially announced Windows 11, the next version of its desktop operating system. One of the most notable additions in this version of Windows is in the area of multitasking. Like in macOS with Spaces, users can create multiple virtual desktops for different sets of apps. In addition, a new Snap Assist feature appears when the mouse pointer hovers over the maximize button, and offers up several window layouts that app windows can snap to.

These layouts are remembered by Windows and appear as Snap Groups in the taskbar. Microsoft is all set to release Windows 11 OS on October 5, but the update won't include Android app support. The ability to natively run Android apps on a PC is one of the biggest features of Windows 11 and it seems that users will have to wait a little more for that. For details, seeMicrosoft's Security Update Guide and the November 2021 Security Update notes. It also fixes a bug that causes improper rendering of some user interface elements or when drawing within some apps. And it makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates.

If you haven't seen it through Windows Update yet, you can still get the final build through the Beta and Release Preview channels of the Windows Insider Program, as long as you have a compatible PC. The Dev channel is already running rs_prerelease builds to test out new features, so be careful with that. If you enroll in the Dev channel, you'll have to do a clean installation of Windows 11 to roll back.

And of course, you can also get it on a bunch of new laptops and desktops like the Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Pro 8. For example, Windows 11 has new Contrast themes, redesigned closed caption themes, and AI-powered Windows Voice Typing. The new OS also adds APIs for programming assistive apps, and even the Windows Subsystem for Linux now has accessibility options. Windows 11 has a new Widget panel, which shows you tiles for news, weather, stock quotes, sports scores, and more. It's not entirely new since the News and Interests Taskbar popup that arrived in Windows 10 recently is exceedingly similar. I've gotten used to it being in the Taskbar in Windows 10, and thankfully a Windows Insider preview build shows that Microsoft is considering bringing back this useful button.

To see the same info in Windows 11, you have to click on the Widgets icon in the Taskbar. In addition to Microsoft-produced first-party tiles, third-party developers can offer content through Windows 11's widgets, too. Touch screen users can easily swipe in from the left to open them and you can full-screen the widget panel if you want a bigger view. File Explorer is a good example of Windows 11's new look, particularly its updated left panel controls and folder icons. Note the simplified ribbon along the top, which is far less busy and distracting than the previous File Explorer's.

Is Microsoft Going To Release Windows 11 The New button at the top left works for new folders or documents supported by your apps, and the same viewing options for files are available. The overflow menu offers file compression, selection, and Properties options, as well as the old Folder Options dialog. The right-click context menus, which have grown longer and longer over the years, get shorter, smarter, and clearer in Windows 11. Pinned app buttons (they're larger than icons but smaller than Windows 10's tiles) are at the top of its panel. The Start menu's new mini-tiles are still good for touch input, but you lose info that live tiles offer, annoying as those could sometimes be. Another quibble I have with the new Start menu is that it's harder to get to the All Apps view than in Windows 10.