In my view, this is unacceptable…
They changed my background (previously there was a default blue window), placed an icon in the bottom corner of the screen that read “Learn more about this photo”, and re-added the search bar that I had previously removed.
Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with this on a daily basis.
I have a virtual machine with WinXP and one with 98, for when I’m feeling nostalgic :)
Sorry to hear you have to use Windows… I’m still stuck on 10 but I’ve been enjoying the hell out of Mint Xfce and I’ll complete the move soon enough!
Have you tried React OS?