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Matthew Kane

Windows 8.1 - The Start Button Returns

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I guess they decided to not rip-off Windows 8 users like they did Vista users. Microsoft lost me on that one. Sounds like they at least learned that passing off fixes as a new system is not smart. I'll stick with 7.

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Microsoft won the desktop market, and Apple moved on. Why keep fighting? Even if Apple did, their products are about controlling the overall experience and having everything work together as a whole, and not about trying to meet everyone's needs like Windows tries to. Not exactly something those looking for a Windows replacement are going to like (and then there's the price of the computers...). Linux would be the better choice in the long run depending on where Microsoft goes.

 

Windows 8 should have had a boot to desktop option from the beginning. I'm not as concerned about the Start button (which will just take you to the new Start Screen). My desktop is not connected to a touch screen and just about everything I do is with a desktop application, not a Metro one.

 

 

The classic shell and other 3rd party alternatives I mentioned earlier bring back the whole start menu to Win8 and are highly customizable to boot too. Bringing back just the start button is useless and entirely cosmetic.

 

Yes - Linux is a real alternative I am very happy to have!

 

Stupid. Start button but no menu? Then what's the fcking point? What a waste of resources this OS is.

 

Please do not try to get around our rude word filters like that.

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The classic shell and other 3rd party alternatives I mentioned earlier bring back the whole start menu to Win8 and are highly customizable to boot too. Bringing back just the start button is useless and entirely cosmetic.

 

I'm well aware of the alternatives and am using Start8 myself. My concern is that Microsoft appears to have thought everyone would be using a touch screen by now, whether on the desktop or on a laptop. They failed to recognise that there is a difference in usage and went too far with the changes on the desktop.

 

The issue they are addressing with adding the Start button back is that there was no visual indication of how to get back to the Start Screen. Yes, there are keyboard shortcuts, and you can move the mouse into the corner, but no visual hint in a GUI is generally poor design.

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not only that but it is also more of a chore to find the correct shortcut/tile on the new start screen as compared to the older start menu where it used to be more obvious and quicker to get to.

 

Most people who are new to windows8 dont realize that once you are at the start screen all you need to do is start typing the name of the program you want, and thats it. I bet some here dont even know that one. Now for folks who have been around this works just dandy, but for those who are new computer users its a nightmare, since they dont know the names of any programs anyway or what they do.

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Please do not try to get around our rude word filters like that.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to evade the filter.

 

Anyway, if I had to use Windows 8 (after buying a NONTOUCH laptop which I've been looking around for) the only tile I'd have on my start screen is the desktop tile.

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Please do not try to get around our rude word filters like that.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to evade the filter.

 

 

Anyway, if I had to use Windows 8 (after buying a NONTOUCH laptop which I've been looking around for) the only tile I'd have on my start screen is the desktop tile.

With the 8.1 update, there will be a boot to desktop setting.

 

As for touch screens on laptops, I think they are a useful addition. With a laptop one's hands are already quite close to the screen and sometimes just being able to swipe or pinch to do something can be easier. This is different than a desktop where the screens are often further away and reaching up to touch one is more inconvenient.

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With the 8.1 update, there will be a boot to desktop setting.

 

Of course, I know that. However, "yay, I just booted to the desktop. But now I need to open a program (or 'App' as it is called in Windows 8  <_< ) that is not pinned to my taskbar/desktop. So back to the start screen!".

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I have a dual boot system setup.  One hard drive is Windows 8 64bit and the other has Windows 7 32 bit.  It has been seven weeks since I logged into windows 8.  Why, because I am finding problems with older programs running on windows 8.

 

Desktop computers are going to be here for a long time, in one form or another.  It is hard to bet using the keyboard and mouse for data entry.  Can you imagine trying to type up a big report on only a tablet.  It maybe done, but not the fastest way to do it.  You know how sore you arms would be, if you were using a touch screen all day.

 

A one size fits all are hard to come by in the computer technology field.  A core program that has different user interface for different devices, would have been better.  A metro UI for touchscreen and a start up menu for the desktops and laptops.

 

In the end a little bit more time and energy into product research and development, would have avoided this problem.

 

Jared Shipley

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I have a dual boot system setup.  One hard drive is Windows 8 64bit and the other has Windows 7 32 bit.  It has been seven weeks since I logged into windows 8.  Why, because I am finding problems with older programs running on windows 8.

 

Desktop computers are going to be here for a long time, in one form or another.  It is hard to bet using the keyboard and mouse for data entry.  Can you imagine trying to type up a big report on only a tablet.  It maybe done, but not the fastest way to do it.  You know how sore you arms would be, if you were using a touch screen all day.

 

A one size fits all are hard to come by in the computer technology field.  A core program that has different user interface for different devices, would have been better.  A metro UI for touchscreen and a start up menu for the desktops and laptops.

 

In the end a little bit more time and energy into product research and development, would have avoided this problem.

 

Jared Shipley

Exactly what I think.

 

Why didn't they make 2 versions of Windows 8:

 

Windows 8/Windows 8 Pro/Windows 8 Enterprise (With all the features removed from Windows 8 including DVD playback)

 

and then a

 

Windows 8M/Windows 8M Pro (M for mobile, and this is similar to what it is today, RT and normal, and this looks the same as today.)

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Anyway, if I had to use Windows 8 (after buying a NONTOUCH laptop which I've been looking around for) the only tile I'd have on my start screen is the desktop tile.

 

Actually, the start screen is about as useful as the classic Windows start menu if you pin the programs that you use to it. Remove all of the default pinned apps and pin the programs that you want. You can group them, too. The 8.1 update will expand the concept of the new start screen. The start screen in general is not a bad UI design. The way I see it, it's the public's hatred of change that has caused it to have such bad feedback.


Brandon Filer

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Actually, the start screen is about as useful as the classic Windows start menu if you pin the programs that you use to it. Remove all of the default pinned apps and pin the programs that you want. You can group them, too. The 8.1 update will expand the concept of the new start screen. The start screen in general is not a bad UI design. The way I see it, it's the public's hatred of change that has caused it to have such bad feedback.

Okay, to many it may be useful, but having it fullscreen... how is that useful? What if you quickly want to open a program while doing something else? (Many people can type without looking at the keyboard. Myself included, and probably you and many other people). Also, I'm assuming you're on Windows 8. Did you install a program to watch DVD movies?

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