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If you don't like the search bar you can hide it, you will still be able to use it by opening the start menu, but it won't take up space on the taskbar all the time. To disable it right click on the taskbar, go to Search (or Cortana) and then select the visibility of the search bar. Hidden will hide the search bar completely, Show search icon will show a magnifying glass that when clicked on will bring up the search menu, and Show search box will display the whole box, which is the default option.
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