Overview
- Stardock has released Start11 v3 in a release‑preview channel and is offering a discounted $8 preview price while also including the update in its Object Desktop bundle.
- Start11 v3 places more than 20 interactive widgets directly inside the Start menu, including calendars, system monitors, notes and clocks that surface information without opening separate apps.
- The new Taskbar Islands option gives the Windows 11 taskbar a rounded, dock‑like appearance with support for both centered and left‑aligned layouts, a change Windows Central said makes the taskbar feel a bit like macOS while matching Windows 11’s design.
- Users can create taskbar groups by holding Alt and dragging apps together, pin those groups as workspaces to launch multiple apps at once, and use a new quick‑access taskbar button to reopen recently closed apps and reach overflow items.
- Start11 v3 adds a built‑in Start menu sharing gallery and thousands of Start button designs to enable community distribution of layouts, and Stardock says the preview label means features and the user experience may be refined through iterative updates.