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So, here I am, actually creating an account here to add feedback to Ross' GUI video. Hello! These are just a few, hopefully constructive points that came to my mind while watching the video. Maybe this helps to give the default Windows 10 GUI a shot. Not everything is bad. In fact, I believe that with the notes below I work quite efficiently, and I do not really have any need for major improvements. But sure, you never know, what you might be missing out, until you see it.

(This was initially intended as a YouTube comment, so it is written in direct speech)

You use hopelessly outdated, deprecated software (I mean your UI apps as well as your general work-apps). All those weird apps from those old 2000-aera websites, which have last been updated in 2005. Get rid of them and look for more modern alternatives. Sure, some programs simply don't exist anymore - in that case check your workflow, maybe you're doing something unnecessarily complicated, and that's why no one bothers to update that specific old app. But I get it, there are some very specific programs that simply have no alternative (besides your UI apps).

E.g. your usage of that text-editor and quick-access to specific opened files. The last time I had a separate task-bar entry for each opened file was probably 10 years ago. Get VS Code or something similar, which will then handle the opened files in tabs. No need for 10 editor-icons in your dock/taskbar. In e.g. VS Code you can again use ALT+TAB or ALT+[Number] or CTRL+PGUP/PGDWN cycle through opened files (all rebindable to your likings). There also exist lots of extension to adjust the editor to your liking.
True, you can't access the desired file instantly from the taskbar, but if I have 10 files open, it probably takes more or at least an equal amount of time to find that file on the taskbar, than to access VS Code via mouse-click or ALT+TAB and then selecting the file in-program via commands/shortcuts.

To quickly switch between opened programs, try using ALT+TAB + Arrow Keys or even WIN+TAB more.

Try multiple virtual desktops. Helps to keep your desktop clean and specific to a certain task. Also manageable with keyboard shortcuts, e.g. WIN+ALT+D to create a new virtual desktop.

Try Microsoft Powertoys: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
This will add a lot of nice features to Windows, like custom-defined drop-zones for your programs, a quick-launcher by pressing ALT+SPACE (very useful) and stuff like batch-renaming in Explorer.

Everything https://www.voidtools.com/ is also an idea. Indexes your files and provides a quick search for everything or specific things on your PC. However, I'm currently satisfied with Microsoft Powertoys' ALT+SPACE feature.

I still use AutoHotkey for some things, but honestly, I rarely have used it in recent years.

For programming get used to PowerShell and setup WSL, e.g. with Ubuntu https://ubuntu.com/wsl. Use https://conemu.github.io/ to quickly access your consoles/shells.

I'm a programmer and it is key for me to work efficiently and fast. Main target for me is to use the mouse as little as possible, I want to keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible. You seem to use your mouse quite frequently, which rarely translates to a fast workflow. There definitely is an initial learning curve when trying to incorporate lots of shortcuts into your daily workflow, but it definitely pays out.

By the way, I moved by taskbar to the left screen side. I feel like that gives me more vertical working space, and my taskbar never runs out of space anyway.

A few other random things:
- You mentioned, that CTRL+C not working sometimes. Never have I had that happen to me. But I'm not surprised of these side effects, if you clutter your OS with that much deprecated software and shell replacements.
- "Why do I have to go to the bottom corner [to show the start-menu]?" I never do this. Just press the WIN-Key, done. I personally use the full-screen start menu with some important apps, but in general I do not use the start menu that often.
- Yeah, there can be a lot of clicking on small icons when dealing with system settings, hardware configurations or internal services like gpedit.msc or taskschd.msc. However, that does not affect me in my daily working routine. Those are system settings, I do not touch them that often.
- There are quite a few mouse-gestures addons for Firefox. I really like them. Would be interesting to have something like that for Windows, definitely. However, I doubt that using lots of gestures would be faster than shortcuts. It would also probably tire out your wrist/fingers more after a day of work. Would be interesting, to see a comparison for that.
- Windows styles/looks: Well, thats's entirely subjective. I don't mind the styling of Windows 10. I quite like the flat colors and sharp corners. But to be honest, I do not care how it exactly looks, as long as it's somewhat pleasant to look at. Most important for me is dark mode, as much black as possible. Just helps to prevent hurting your eyes when you are working a lot with editors and such. Btw: there are Firefox addons that automatically darken all websites dynamcially, which prevents burning your eyes on a blank white page when previously looking at nothing but pitch black programs.
- Windows explorer: well, you got me there. I don't mind it that much, as most of the time I'm browsing files in my IDE, but yeah, could be better. Microsoft Powertoys helps a bit, but a second file-tree or similar like with TotalCommander would be nice.
- Your mouse-flick to the bottom right to open the browser: Why would I need that? Firefox opens automatically with Windows, and I access it via ALT+TAB/Numbers or clicking on the taskbar. Firefox never get's closed once it's opened. Besides that, I use a 1440p privately and 4k monitor for work, which means may main programs can share space nicely, no need to switch apps at all. Furthermore, I use a pretty slow mouse speed, and I tried that on my 1440p screen: Takes me about 30cm of travel to get to the bottom right from the center of the screen - so for my setup, that's kinda cumbersome.
- The wheel-navigation around the mouse-cursor: Cool idea. However, wouldn't that again require lots of precision? I prefer typing to get to the app I want (see Microsoft Powertoys ALT+SPACE to type for a app you want).

Back in the day, and I mean like 15 years ago (at least it feels like that), I had a somewhat similar setup to your current one. I used bb4win/blackbox, and really loved it. However, looking back at it from my current setup, it was much, much worse. It's just a bad shell to begin with, to be honest, with all those conf-Files and 1337-haXXor-GUI components, that are not really providing an useful improvements to workflows. I used RocketDock at some time as well, which I also liked back then. But again, I absolutely don't miss it now.

In conclusion, I really don't mind the Windows 10 GUI. Call it Stockholm-Syndrom, but I happen to enjoy it with a relatively small amount of extra-apps. I have previously also worked on MacOS and Linux, both have their advantages but also disadvantages. When switching from Windows to Linux, I wish certain Windows-Features were available in Linux, and vice versa. At the current time however, I'm satisfied with my Windows 10 setup and can work quite efficiently with it.

So, here I am, actually creating an account here to add feedback to Ross' GUI video. Hello! These are just a few, hopefully constructive points that came to my mind while watching the video. Maybe this helps to give the default Windows 10 GUI a shot. Not everything is bad. In fact, I believe that with the notes below I work quite efficiently, and I do not really have any need for major improvements. But sure, you never know, what you might be missing out, until you see it.

(This was initially intended as a YouTube comment, so it is written in direct speech)

You use hopelessly outdated, deprecated software. All those weird apps from those old 2000-aera websites, which have last been updated in 2005. Get rid of them and look for more modern alternatives. Sure, some programs simply don't exist anymore - in that case check your workflow, maybe you're doing something unnecessarily complicated, and that's why no one bothers to update that specific old app. But I get it, there are some very specific programs that simply have no alternative.

E.g. your usage of that text-editor and quick-access to specific opened files. The last time I had a separate task-bar entry for each opened file was probably 10 years ago. Get VS Code or something similar, which will then handle the opened files in tabs. No need for 10 editor-icons in your dock/taskbar. In e.g. VS Code you can again use ALT+TAB or ALT+[Number] or CTRL+PGUP/PGDWN cycle through opened files (all rebindable to your likings). There also exist lots of extension to adjust the editor to your liking.
True, you can't access the desired file instantly from the taskbar, but if I have 10 files open, it probably takes more or at least an equal amount of time to find that file on the taskbar, than to access VS Code via mouse-click or ALT+TAB and then selecting the file in-program via commands/shortcuts.

To quickly switch between opened programs, try using ALT+TAB + Arrow Keys or even WIN+TAB more.

Try multiple virtual desktops. Helps to keep your desktop clean and specific to a certain task. Also manageable with keyboard shortcuts, e.g. WIN+ALT+D to create a new virtual desktop.

Try Microsoft Powertoys: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
This will add a lot of nice features to Windows, like custom-defined drop-zones for your programs, a quick-launcher by pressing ALT+SPACE (very useful) and stuff like batch-renaming in Explorer.

Everything https://www.voidtools.com/ is also an idea. Indexes your files and provides a quick search for everything or specific things on your PC. However, I'm currently satisfied with Microsoft Powertoys' ALT+SPACE feature.

I still use AutoHotkey for some things, but honestly, I rarely have used it in recent years.

For programming get used to PowerShell and setup WSL, e.g. with Ubuntu https://ubuntu.com/wsl. Use https://conemu.github.io/ to quickly access your consoles/shells.

I'm a programmer and it is key for me to work efficiently and fast. Main target for me is to use the mouse as little as possible, I want to keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible. You seem to use your mouse quite frequently, which rarely translates to a fast workflow. There definitely is an initial learning curve when trying to incorporate lots of shortcuts into your daily workflow, but it definitely pays out.

By the way, I moved by taskbar to the left screen side. I feel like that gives me more vertical working space, and my taskbar never runs out of space anyway.

A few other random things:
- You mentioned, that CTRL+C not working sometimes. Never have I had that happen to me. But I'm not surprised of these side effects, if you clutter your OS with that much deprecated software and shell replacements.
- "Why do I have to go to the bottom corner [to show the start-menu]?" I never do this. Just press the WIN-Key, done. I personally use the full-screen start menu with some important apps, but in general I do not use the start menu that often.
- Yeah, there can be a lot of clicking on small icons when dealing with system settings, hardware configurations or internal services like gpedit.msc or taskschd.msc. However, that does not affect me in my daily working routine. Those are system settings, I do not touch them that often.
- There are quite a few mouse-gestures addons for Firefox. I really like them. Would be interesting to have something like that for Windows, definitely. However, I doubt that using lots of gestures would be faster than shortcuts. It would also probably tire out your wrist/fingers more after a day of work. Would be interesting, to see a comparison for that.
- Windows styles/looks: Well, thats's entirely subjective. I don't mind the styling of Windows 10. I quite like the flat colors and sharp corners. But to be honest, I do not care how it exactly looks, as long as it's somewhat pleasant to look at. Most important for me is dark mode, as much black as possible. Just helps to prevent hurting your eyes when you are working a lot with editors and such. Btw: there are Firefox addons that automatically darken all websites dynamcially, which prevents burning your eyes on a blank white page when previously looking at nothing but pitch black programs.
- Windows explorer: well, you got me there. I don't mind it that much, as most of the time I'm browsing files in my IDE, but yeah, could be better. Microsoft Powertoys helps a bit, but a second file-tree or similar like with TotalCommander would be nice.
- Your mouse-flick to the bottom right to open the browser: Why would I need that? Firefox opens automatically with Windows, and I access it via ALT+TAB/Numbers or clicking on the taskbar. Firefox never get's closed once it's opened. Besides that, I use a 1440p privately and 4k monitor for work, which means may main programs can share space nicely, no need to switch apps at all. Furthermore, I use a pretty slow mouse speed, and I tried that on my 1440p screen: Takes me about 30cm of travel to get to the bottom right from the center of the screen - so for my setup, that's kinda cumbersome.
- The wheel-navigation around the mouse-cursor: Cool idea. However, wouldn't that again require lots of precision? I prefer typing to get to the app I want (see Microsoft Powertoys ALT+SPACE to type for a app you want).

Back in the day, and I mean like 15 years ago (at least it feels like that), I had a somewhat similar setup to your current one. I used bb4win/blackbox, and really loved it. However, looking back at it from my current setup, it was much, much worse. It's just a bad shell to begin with, to be honest, with all those conf-Files and 1337-haXXor-GUI components, that are not really providing an useful improvements to workflows. I used RocketDock at some time as well, which I also liked back then. But again, I absolutely don't miss it now.

In conclusion, I really don't mind the Windows 10 GUI. Call it Stockholm-Syndrom, but I happen to enjoy it with a relatively small amount of extra-apps. I have previously also worked on MacOS and Linux, both have their advantages but also disadvantages. When switching from Windows to Linux, I wish certain Windows-Features were available in Linux, and vice versa. At the current time however, I'm satisfied with my Windows 10 setup and can work quite efficiently with it.

So, here I am, actually creating an account here to add feedback to Ross' GUI video. Hello! These are just a few, hopefully constructive points that came to my mind while watching the video. Maybe this helps to give the default Windows 10 GUI a shot. Not everything is bad. In fact, I believe that with the notes below I work quite efficiently, and I do not really have any need for major improvements. But sure, you never know, what you might be missing out, until you see it.

(This was initially intended as a YouTube comment, so it is written in direct speech)

You use hopelessly outdated, deprecated software. All those weird apps from those old 2000-aera websites, which have last been updated in 2005. Get rid of them and look for more modern alternatives. Sure, some programs simply don't exist anymore - in that case check your workflow, maybe you're doing something unnecessarily complicated, and that's why no one bothers to update that specific old app. But I get it, there are some very specific programs that simply have no alternative.

E.g. your usage of that text-editor and quick-access to specific opened files. The last time I had a separate task-bar entry for each opened file was probably 10 years ago. Get VS Code or something similar, which will then handle the opened files in tabs. No need for 10 editor-icons in your dock/taskbar. In e.g. VS Code you can again use ALT+TAB or ALT+[Number] or CTRL+PGUP/PGDWN cycle through opened files (all rebindable to your likings). There also exist lots of extension to adjust the editor to your liking.
True, you can't access the desired file instantly from the taskbar, but if I have 10 files open, it probably takes more or at least an equal amount of time to find that file on the taskbar, than to access VS Code via mouse-click or ALT+TAB and then selecting the file in-program via commands/shortcuts.

To quickly switch between opened programs, try using ALT+TAB + Arrow Keys or even WIN+TAB more.

Try multiple virtual desktops. Helps to keep your desktop clean and specific to a certain task. Also manageable with keyboard shortcuts, e.g. WIN+ALT+D to create a new virtual desktop.

Try Microsoft Powertoys: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
This will add a lot of nice features to Windows, like custom-defined drop-zones for your programs, a quick-launcher by pressing ALT+SPACE (very useful) and stuff like batch-renaming in Explorer.

Everything https://www.voidtools.com/ is also an idea. Indexes your files and provides a quick search for everything or specific things on your PC. However, I'm currently satisfied with Microsoft Powertoys' ALT+SPACE feature.

I still use AutoHotkey for some things, but honestly, I rarely have used it in recent years.

For programming get used to PowerShell and setup WSL, e.g. with Ubuntu https://ubuntu.com/wsl. Use https://conemu.github.io/ to quickly access your consoles/shells.

I'm a programmer and it is key for me to work efficiently and fast. Main target for me is to use the mouse as little as possible, I want to keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible. You seem to use your mouse quite frequently, which rarely translates to a fast workflow. There definitely is an initial learning curve when trying to incorporate lots of shortcuts into your daily workflow, but it definitely pays out.

By the way, I moved by taskbar to the left screen side. I feel like that gives me more vertical working space, and my taskbar never runs out of space anyway.

A few other random things:
- You mentioned, that CTRL+C not working sometimes. Never have I had that happen to me. But I'm not surprised of these side effects, if you clutter your OS with that much deprecated software and shell replacements.
- "Why do I have to go to the bottom corner [to show the start-menu]?" I never do this. Just press the WIN-Key, done. I personally use the full-screen start menu with some important apps, but in general I do not use the start menu that often.
- Yeah, there can be a lot of clicking on small icons when dealing with system settings, hardware configurations or internal services like gpedit.msc or taskschd.msc. However, that does not affect me in my daily working routine. Those are system settings, I do not touch them that often.
- There are quite a few mouse-gestures addons for Firefox. I really like them. Would be interesting to have something like that for Windows, definitely. However, I doubt that using lots of gestures would be faster than shortcuts. It would also probably tire out your wrist/fingers more after a day of work. Would be interesting, to see a comparison for that.
- Windows styles/looks: Well, thats's entirely subjective. I don't mind the styling of Windows 10. I quite like the flat colors and sharp corners. But to be honest, I do not care how it exactly looks, as long as it's somewhat pleasant to look at. Most important for me is dark mode, as much black as possible. Just helps to prevent hurting your eyes when you are working a lot with editors and such. Btw: there are Firefox addons that automatically darken all websites dynamcially, which prevents burning your eyes on a blank white page when previously looking at nothing but pitch black programs.
- Windows explorer: well, you got me there. I don't mind it that much, as most of the time I'm browsing files in my IDE, but yeah, could be better. Microsoft Powertoys helps a bit, but a second file-tree or similar like with TotalCommander would be nice.
- Your mouse-flick to the bottom right to open the browser: Why would I need that? Firefox opens automatically with Windows, and I access it via ALT+TAB/Numbers or clicking on the taskbar. Firefox never get's closed once it's opened. Besides that, I use a 1440p privately and 4k monitor for work, which means may main programs can share space nicely - no need to switch apps at all. Furthermore, I use a pretty slow mouse speed, and I tried that on my 1440p screen: Takes me about 30cm of travel to get to the bottom right from the center of the screen - so for my setup, that's kinda cumbersome.
- The wheel-navigation around the mouse-cursor: Cool idea. However, wouldn't that again require lots of precision? I prefer typing to get to the app I want (see Microsoft Powertoys ALT+SPACE to type for a app you want).

Back in the day, and I mean like 15 years ago (at least it feels like that), I had a somewhat similar setup to your current one. I used bb4win/blackbox, and really loved it. However, looking back at it from my current setup, it was much, much worse. It's just a bad shell to begin with, to be honest, with all those conf-Files and 1337-haXXor-GUI components, that are not really providing an useful improvements to workflows. I used RocketDock at some time as well, which I also liked back then. But again, I absolutely don't miss it now.

In conclusion, I really don't mind the Windows 10 GUI. Call it Stockholm-Syndrom, but I happen to enjoy it with a relatively small amount of extra-apps. I have previously also worked on MacOS and Linux, both have their advantages but also disadvantages. When switching from Windows to Linux, I wish certain Windows-Features were available in Linux, and vice versa. At the current time however, I'm satisfied with my Windows 10 setup and can work quite efficiently with it.

So, here I am, actually creating an account here to add feedback to Ross' GUI video. Hello! These are just a few, hopefully constructive points that came to my mind while watching the video. Maybe this helps to give the default Windows 10 GUI a shot. Not everything is bad. In fact, I believe that with the notes below I work quite efficiently, and I do not really have any need for major improvements. But sure, you never know, what you might be missing out, until you see it.

(This was initially intended as a YouTube comment, so it is written in direct speech)

You use hopelessly outdated, deprecated software. All those weird apps from those old 2000-aera websites, which have last been updated in 2005. Get rid of them and look for more modern alternatives. Sure, some programs simply don't exist anymore - in that case check your workflow, maybe you're doing something unnecessarily complicated, and that's why no one bothers to update that specific old app. But I get it, there are some very specific programs that simply have no alternative.

E.g. your usage of that text-editor and quick-access to specific opened files. The last time I had a separate task-bar entry for each opened file was probably 10 years ago. Get VS Code or something similar, which will then handle the opened files in tabs. No need for 10 editor-icons in your dock/taskbar. In e.g. VS Code you can again use ALT+TAB or ALT+[Number] or CTRL+PGUP/PGDWN cycle through opened files (all rebindable to your likings). There also exist lots of extension to adjust the editor to your liking.
True, you can't access the desired file instantly from the taskbar, but if I have 10 files open, it probably takes more or at least an equal amount of time to find that file on the taskbar, than to access VS Code via mouse-click or ALT+TAB and then selecting the file in-program via commands/shortcuts.

To quickly switch between opened programs, try using ALT+TAB + Arrow Keys or even WIN+TAB more.

Try multiple virtual desktops. Helps to keep your desktop clean and specific to a certain task. Also manageable with keyboard shortcuts, e.g. WIN+ALT+D to create a new virtual desktop.

Try Microsoft Powertoys: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
This will add a lot of nice features to Windows, like custom-defined drop-zones for your programs, a quick-launcher by pressing ALT+SPACE (very useful) and stuff like batch-renaming in Explorer.

Everything https://www.voidtools.com/ is also an idea. Indexes your files and provides a quick search for everything or specific things on your PC. However, I'm currently satisfied with Microsoft Powertoys' ALT+SPACE feature.

I still use AutoHotkey for some things, but honestly, I rarely have used it in recent years.

For programming get used to PowerShell and setup WSL, e.g. with Ubuntu https://ubuntu.com/wsl. Use https://conemu.github.io/ to quickly access your consoles/shells.

I'm a programmer and it is key for me to work efficiently and fast. Main target for me is to use the mouse as little as possible, I want to keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible. You seem to use your mouse quite frequently, which rarely translates to a fast workflow. There definitely is an initial learning curve when trying to incorporate lots of shortcuts into your daily workflow, but it definitely pays out.

By the way, I moved by taskbar to the left screen side. I feel like that gives me more vertical working space, and my taskbar never runs out of space anyway.

A few other random things:
- You mentioned, that CTRL+C not working sometimes. Never have I had that happen to me. But I'm not surprised of these side effects, if you clutter your OS with that much deprecated software and shell replacements.
- "Why do I have to go to the bottom corner [to show the start-menu]?" I never do this. Just press the WIN-Key, done. I personally use the full-screen start menu with some important apps, but in general I do not use the start menu that often.
- Yeah, there can be a lot of clicking on small icons when dealing with system settings, hardware configurations or internal services like gpedit.msc or taskschd.msc. However, that does not affect me in my daily working routine. Those are system settings, I do not touch them that often.
- There are quite a few mouse-gestures addons for Firefox. I really like them. Would be interesting to have something like that for Windows, definitely. However, I doubt that using lots of gestures would be faster than shortcuts. It would also probably tire out your wrist/fingers more after a day of work. Would be interesting, to see a comparison for that.
- Windows styles/looks: Well, thats's entirely subjective. I don't mind the styling of Windows 10. I quite like the flat colors and sharp corners. But to be honest, I do not care how it exactly looks, as long as it's somewhat pleasant to look at. Most important for me is dark mode, as much black as possible. Just helps to prevent hurting your eyes when you are working a lot with editors and such. Btw: there are Firefox addons that automatically darken all websites dynamcially, which prevents burning your eyes on a blank white page when previously looking at nothing but pitch black programs.
- Windows explorer: well, you got me there. I don't mind it that much, as most of the time I'm browsing files in by IDE, but yeah, could be better. Microsoft Powertoys helps a bit, but a second file-tree or similar like with TotalCommander would be nice.
- Your mouse-flick to the bottom right to open the browser: Why would I need that? Firefox opens automatically with Windows, and I access it via ALT+TAB/Numbers or clicking on the taskbar. Firefox never get's closed once it's opened. Furthermore, I use a pretty slow mouse speed, and I tried that on my 1440p screen: Takes me about 30cm of travel to get to the bottom right from the center of the screen - so for my setup, that's kinda cumbersome.
- The wheel-navigation around the mouse-cursor: Cool idea. However, wouldn't that again require lots of precision? I prefer typing to get to the app I want (see Microsoft Powertoys ALT+SPACE to type for a app you want).

Back in the day, and I mean like 15 years ago (at least it feels like that), I had a somewhat similar setup to your current one. I used bb4win/blackbox, and really loved it. However, looking back at it from my current setup, it was much, much worse. It's just a bad shell to begin with, to be honest, with all those conf-Files and 1337-haXXor-GUI components, that are not really providing an useful improvements to workflows. I used RocketDock at some time as well, which I also liked back then. But again, I absolutely don't miss it now.

In conclusion, I really don't mind the Windows 10 GUI. Call it Stockholm-Syndrom, but I happen to enjoy it with a relatively small amount of extra-apps. I have previously also worked on MacOS and Linux, both have their advantages but also disadvantages. When switching from Windows to Linux, I wish certain Windows-Features were available in Linux, and vice versa. At the current time however, I'm satisfied with my Windows 10 setup and can work quite efficiently with it.

So, here I am, actually creating an account here to add feedback to Ross' GUI video. Hello! These are just a few, hopefully constructive points that came to my mind while watching the video. Maybe this helps to give the default Windows 10 GUI a shot. Not everything is bad. In fact, I believe that with the notes below I work quite efficiently, and I do not really have any need for major improvements. But sure, you never know, what you might be missing out, until you see it.

(This was initially intended as a YouTube comment, so it is written in direct speech)

You use hopelessly outdated, deprecated software. All those weird apps from those old 2000-aera websites, which have last been updated in 2005. Get rid of them and look for more modern alternatives. Sure, some programs simply don't exist anymore - in that case check your workflow, maybe you're doing something unnecessarily complicated, and that's why no one bothers to update that specific old app. But I get it, there are some very specific programs that simply have no alternative.

E.g. your usage of that text-editor and quick-access to specific opened files. The last time I had a separate task-bar entry for each opened file was probably 10 years ago. Get VS Code or something similar, which will then handle the opened files in tabs. No need for 10 editor-icons in your dock/taskbar. In e.g. VS Code you can again use ALT+TAB or ALT+[Number] or CTRL+PGUP/PGDWN cycle through opened files (all rebindable to your likings). There also exist lots of extension to adjust the editor to your liking.
True, you can't access the desired file instantly from the taskbar, but if I have 10 files open, it probably takes more or at least an equal amount of time to find that file on the taskbar, than to access VS Code via mouse-click or ALT+TAB and then selecting the file in-program via commands/shortcuts.

To quickly switch between opened programs, try using ALT+TAB + Arrow Keys or even WIN+TAB more.

Try multiple virtual desktops. Helps to keep your desktop clean and specific to a certain task. Also manageable with keyboard shortcuts, e.g. WIN+ALT+D to create a new virtual desktop.

Try Microsoft Powertoys: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
This will add a lot of nice features to Windows, like custom-defined drop-zones for your programs, a quick-launcher by pressing ALT+SPACE (very useful) and stuff like batch-renaming in Explorer.

Everything https://www.voidtools.com/ is also an idea. Indexes your files and provides a quick search for everything or specific things on your PC. However, I'm currently satisfied with Microsoft Powertoys' ALT+SPACE feature.

I still use AutoHotkey for some things, but honestly, I rarely have used it in recent years.

For programming get used to PowerShell and setup WSL, e.g. with Ubuntu https://ubuntu.com/wsl. Use https://conemu.github.io/ to quickly access your consoles/shells.

I'm a programmer and it is key for me to work efficiently and fast. Main target for me is to use the mouse as little as possible, I want to keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible. You seem to use your mouse quite frequently, which rarely translates to a fast workflow. There definitely is an initial learning curve when trying to incorporate lots of shortcuts into your daily workflow, but it definitely pays out.

By the way, I moved by taskbar to the left screen side. I feel like that gives me more vertical working space, and my taskbar never runs out of space anyway.

A few other random things:
- You mentioned, that CTRL+C not working sometimes. Never have I had that happen to me. But I'm not surprised of these side effects, if you clutter your OS with that much deprecated software and shell replacements.
- "Why do I have to go to the bottom corner [to show the start-menu]?" I never do this. Just press the WIN-Key, done. I personally use the full-screen start menu with some important apps, but in general I do not use the start menu that often.
- Yeah, there can be a lot of clicking on small icons when dealing with system settings, hardware configurations or internal services like gpedit.msc or taskschd.msc. However, that does not affect me in my daily working routine. Those are system settings, I do not touch them that often.
- There are quite a few mouse-gestures addons for Firefox. I really like them. Would be interesting to have something like that for Windows, definitely. However, I doubt that using lots of gestures would be faster than shortcuts. It would also probably tire out your wrist/fingers more after a day of work. Would be interesting, to see a comparison for that.
- Windows styles/looks: Well, thats's entirely subjective. I don't mind the styling of Windows 10. I quite like the flat colors and sharp corners. But to be honest, I do not care how it exactly looks, as long as it's somewhat pleasant to look at. Most important for me is dark mode, as much black as possible. Just helps to prevent hurting your eyes when you are working a lot with editors and such. Btw: there are Firefox addons that automatically darken all websites dynamcially, which prevents burning your eyes on a blank white page when previously looking at nothing but pitch black programs.
- Windows explorer: well, you got me there. I don't mind it that much, as most of the time I'm browsing files in by IDE, but yeah, could be better. Microsoft Powertoys helps a bit, but a second file-tree or similar like with TotalCommander would be nice.
- Your mouse-flick to the bottom right to open the browser: Why would I need that? Firefox opens automatically with Windows, and I access it via ALT+TAB/Numbers or clicking on the taskbar. Firefox never get's closed once it's opened. Furthermore, I use a pretty slow mouse speed, and I tried that on my 1440p screen: Takes me about 30cm of travel to get to the bottom right from the center of the screen - so for my setup, that's kinda cumbersome.
- The wheel-navigation around the mouse-cursor: Cool idea. However, wouldn't that again require lots of precision? I prefer typing to get to the app I want (see Microsoft Powertoys ALT+SPACE to type for a app you want).

Back in the day, and I mean like 15 years ago (at least it feels like that), I had a somewhat similar setup to your current one. I used bb4win/blackbox, and really loved it. However, looking back at it from my current setup, it was much, much worse. It's just a bad shell to begin with, to be honest, with all those conf-Files and 1337-haXXor-GUI components, that are not really providing an useful improvements to workflows. I used RocketDock at some time as well, which I also liked back then. But again, I absolutely don't miss it now.