"Virtual desktops" have been around in Windows since Vista, though they have been upgraded quite a bit in Win10 and Win11. The idea is that you can group together applications, say one desktop for work stuff, one for FH, another for games. Unless you have a LOT of memory, it seems rather pointless, since switching between desktops requires an extra step above that needed to switch between application windows.
"Widgets" are those annoying extras which MS plonked into your Win10 taskbar without you asking, handing over your space (and other resources) for the weather, stocks and shares, newsfeeds, sport.....
Microsoft is VERY keen on pushing its own mail. They analyse your emails to figure out what sort of ads to push to you. Google have been doing just the same for years. Well done on using an offline mail client, allowing you to see your messages without ads stamping over them.
They also push Teams heavily. It used to be a business product, but then Microsoft bought out Skype and merged the two. Because there was much confusion while they were merging things, they lost out during the pandemic, when Zoom pretty much cornered the market outside businesses. The "Jackie Weaver" call was a great free ad for Zoom! Microsoft are trying to claw back this market by forcing Teams onto every machine with no method of removing it.
"Gamers" are quite a priority group for MS, because they are the most likely to pay full retail price for their copy of Windows. They are also most likely to put up with the ads which annoy the sane people. They make even more profit out of their games consoles, so Microsoft are careful to mention "Xbox" at every opportunity.
