I think this one in particular, like many others before it, always fail at replicating the Explorer look. This is probably a limitation in Dolphin and other linux file browsers, but it just doesn't look like Windows Explorer at all to me, it just looks like a ugly vista skinned dolphin.

That's one other thing too (also probably a limitation on a few widgets) like the calendar and system tray, which look more Vista than WinAero/7.

It had me until I saw the file explorer. Oh God, the design hurts me in so many ways.

Could you explore this more? Except for the tab bar, I can't even identify differences. It's been a while since I used this version of Windows.

On the plus side it has tabs, which is one of the main redeeming features of Windows 11 for me. It kind of looks like one of those alternate Explorer-replacement tools that were popular for a while. A little ugly, but more functional.

QtTabbar has been great for me, used it on Windows 7 and 10. I'm waiting for the respect the user EU version of 11 before switching.

this is like being unhappy about the particular shade of lipstick that a pig is wearing

It still has an uncanny valley vibe because of the worse Linux font rendering which makes it look a bit weird.

That’s an essential part of the charm. Windows font rendering looks terrible, especially period correct 1080p