Recommended Posts

Do you know *why* the desktop is unused (or as you yourself put it, underused) in Windows 7 compared to previous OSes? Simple - application publishers and developers (including Microsoft itself) got told - by their users - to stop cluttering up the desktop with application shortcuts "back in the era of NT/9x" (before Windows 2000). Office 2000 was the first product to get the hint, as, instead of creating two shortcuts (one for the Office Launch Bar, which premiered with Office 95, and a separate one for Outlook on the desktop) it created just the one for Outlook (banishing the Office Bar - a direct ancestor of the Superbar). In Office 2007 even the Outlook desktop shortcut was gone. Hence the end of desktop clutter. (Most applications (even games) have an installation option telling it NOT to create desktop shortcuts.)

It sounds (at least to me) like you are part of that group of users that, absent a Start menu, would much rather you have desktop shortcuts (or Taskbar pinnage). And, as you have discovered, Windows 8 (in either Developer Preview or Consumer Preview form) still permits both - as Windows 7 does.

My reasoning is that i like to stay on Desktop (personal preference) even on Windows 7 i pin everything i could think of on Taskbar and also i create shortcuts for games on Desktop to avoid clicking Start Orb. Same reasoning is for Windows 8. I want to avoid going back to Metro Start Screen from Desktop. Now i could care less about whole Metro look and feel (even thought i would change lot of things there). I'd rather see full integration of Desktop and Metro into one interface than having two. Also i have problem with HTML5 + JS used to write Metro Apps. Html 5 is not ready and JavaScripts are scary.

You know what, I am fairly convinced Desktop and Metro will be tightly integrated by RC time. As we know, fine UI elements have traditionally been the last to be built in Windows releases, and this is no different. For CP they could only do Alt-Tab, that is seamless integration of Metro and Desktop apps right there. I would expect this to extend through to RC. Another clue is that the task switcher is very much a work-in-progress. Alt-tab already does not discriminate between Metro and Desktop apps, and neither will the final task switcher. In fact, I feel the task switcher will ultimately be redesigned and combined into the taskbar. Then we might see a single UI where Metro and Desktop apps play hand in hand, the taskbar becomes the task switcher and the Start screen is pretty much the "new desktop". As you rightly point out the desktop is mostly unused and for those who like to populate can still continue to pin files, shortcuts and folders on the Start screen, though granted it is less flexible.

The whole concept of "desktop is just another app" is just a temp placeholder till they polish Metro out and will also vanish then. If you use Alt-tab a lot, it is already very seamless switching between desktop apps and Metro apps, and I refuse to believe Alt-tab is a singular place where this level of integration of found, hence the above speculation.

Another thing, continuing the above discussion, searching for apps is pretty much the same, but searching for files is wayyyy easier! I rarely use Explorer nowadays, it is really a big time saver.

As for Event Viewer, right-click on bottom left hot corner, the power menu opens up, click Event Viewer, presto! Pretty simple.

if that is MS direction perhaps they are rushing with Windows 8. I'd rather see that final vision they had than hybrid even if that means waiting another year or so. Windows 7 would just do fine in meantime.

if that is MS direction perhaps they are rushing with Windows 8. I'd rather see that final vision they had than hybrid even if that means waiting another year or so. Windows 7 would just do fine in meantime.

If they were to go for such a bold move, I am pretty sure there will be a "Classic Mode" or Win7 Mode option in there somewhere. Even with Luna/Aero which is only a minor enhancement in comparison, there was always the 9x mode with grey taskbars etc.

not to mention win+r hasn't disappeared

I've been telling folks that all those WinKey shortcuts that date back to the first such keyboards (namely the Microsoft Natural Keyboard and it's direct progeny) are still around - over a third date back to prior to Windows 9x. (The Microsoft Natural Keyboard goes back to Windows for Workgroups and NT 3.5.)

Pick yourself up *any* of the Dummies Press books that cover any version of Windows (especially those by Andy Rathbone) and you will find the WinKey shortcuts covered in excruciating detail. (I have Windows 2000 Professional for Dummies - which I bought for my own use when I migrated to that OS from 98SE at home - and I later recommended it when I went to work for Big Cable Company, where I got exposure to first Windows NT, then Windows 2000 Professional, as an enterprise client.)

So question.

If you are on a tablet, and on the Metro Start Screen... and want to start typing to search for an app, how do you do it. There is no on-screen keyboard button that I can see.

You need to use the Charms, swipe from the right then tap Search.

You need to use the Charms, swipe from the right then tap Search.

Ok got that, second question how do i make groups on the Start Menu? like the screen shot on post 1501 of this topic or as described here - http://www.howtogeek.com/108546/how-to-name-groups-of-apps-on-the-windows-8-metro-start-screen/

On a touch screen device only, (tablet) there is no icon at the bottom right of the screen to do this with.

Ok got that, second question how do i make groups on the Start Menu? like the screen shot on post 1501 of this topic or as described here - http://www.howtogeek...o-start-screen/

On a touch screen device only, (tablet) there is no icon at the bottom right of the screen to do this with.

Pinch the screen I think.

If they were to go for such a bold move, I am pretty sure there will be a "Classic Mode" or Win7 Mode option in there somewhere. Even with Luna/Aero which is only a minor enhancement in comparison, there was always the 9x mode with grey taskbars etc.

It has been said over and over, that the "classic" code is GONE from Windows 8's codebase.

Not to mention so far, that none of this has appeared in any post-beta screenshots.

My reasoning is that i like to stay on Desktop (personal preference) even on Windows 7 i pin everything i could think of on Taskbar and also i create shortcuts for games on Desktop to avoid clicking Start Orb. Same reasoning is for Windows 8. I want to avoid going back to Metro Start Screen from Desktop. Now i could care less about whole Metro look and feel (even thought i would change lot of things there). I'd rather see full integration of Desktop and Metro into one interface than having two. Also i have problem with HTML5 + JS used to write Metro Apps. Html 5 is not ready and JavaScripts are scary.

Windows 8's Consumer Preview didn't change that. The StartScreen replaced the Start menu - not the desktop. Unless I reboot, I don't see the StartScreen after going to the desktop the first time. Part of the problem is that if you integrate, the UI goes back to being desktop-centered rather than a universal (blended) UI - which *any* OS has to have to straddle multiple formfactors. (The issue with GNOME 3 and Unity is that they went more tablet/slate-centered than has even Windows 8 - and tablets and slates make up a smaller percentage of the non-Android Linux market than they do the Windows 7 (not 8) market.)

While I run the Consumer Preview as sole OS, I run pretty much entirely traditional applications. (The mere fact that I can do so on a beta version of Windows is unheard-of in my experience - even release candidates of Windows have issues in the backward-compatibility area - with applications, drivers, or both. The Consumer Preview, in my experience, has NO such issues.)

I've also pushed the Consumer Preview to the point where 7+SP1 would have thrown up. More applications at a time. More browser tabs - including multiple browser tabs in multiple browsers at once. If anything, I've been harder - much harder - on the Consumer Preview than I have been on Windows 7 since it went RTM - let alone since SP1 went RTW. Will it get harder yet? Pretty much a certainty, as i5-2500K is next up hardware-wise, along with at least a doubling of RAM (8 GB) if not a quadrupling (16 GB) - that also brings Hyper-V into the mix (along with extant VM solutions VirtualBox and VMware 8).

My reasoning is that i like to stay on Desktop (personal preference) even on Windows 7 i pin everything i could think of on Taskbar and also i create shortcuts for games on Desktop to avoid clicking Start Orb. Same reasoning is for Windows 8. I want to avoid going back to Metro Start Screen from Desktop. Now i could care less about whole Metro look and feel (even thought i would change lot of things there). I'd rather see full integration of Desktop and Metro into one interface than having two. Also i have problem with HTML5 + JS used to write Metro Apps. Html 5 is not ready and JavaScripts are scary.

so if you have shortcuts on desktop and it is your normal workflow, how to you get to desktop without a "jarring transition" from all open windows in Windows 7? You need to click the desktop button (or Win+D) and then click shortcut on desktop? and at this point you have lost all your open windows and need to restore them one-by-one?

Sounds like,

1. Windows 8 will actually improve your workflow

2. You have one hell of a messed up desktop :p

so if you have shortcuts on desktop and it is your normal workflow, how to you get to desktop without a "jarring transition" from all open windows in Windows 7? You need to click the desktop button (or Win+D) and then click shortcut on desktop? and at this point you have lost all your open windows and need to restore them one-by-one?

Sounds like,

1. Windows 8 will actually improve your workflow

2. You have one hell of a messed up desktop :p

I only keep game shortcuts on Desktop, but applications pinned to Taskbar. So if i am going to play games i run no applications. It is organized well and i like it. Sometimes i just search for something but it stays everything on Desktop so it is good.

I only keep game shortcuts on Desktop, but applications pinned to Taskbar. So if i am going to play games i run no applications. It is organized well and i like it. Sometimes i just search for something but it stays everything on Desktop so it is good.

^This.

I only keep game shortcuts on Desktop, but applications pinned to Taskbar. So if i am going to play games i run no applications. It is organized well and i like it. Sometimes i just search for something but it stays everything on Desktop so it is good.

so you are saying you don't use start menu most of the time? If yes, then how does Windows 8 affects your daily usage? I see that it will be pretty much same as Windows 7.

I got rid of W8 bc speed issues and stability issues,

but, one of my favorite tweaks for Windows 7 is to kill UAC (to be able to extract files into Program Files without idiocy),


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"EnableLUA"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\luafv]
"Start"=dword:00000004

Does this still work in W8? Can someone check?

I got rid of W8 bc speed issues and stability issues,

but, one of my favorite tweaks for Windows 7 is to kill UAC (to be able to extract files into Program Files without idiocy),

Does this still work in W8? Can someone check?

Yeah, that's work fine.

I only keep game shortcuts on Desktop, but applications pinned to Taskbar. So if i am going to play games i run no applications. It is organized well and i like it. Sometimes i just search for something but it stays everything on Desktop so it is good.

But how would this be different in Win 8?

You can still pin your applications to the taskbar and put your game shortcuts on the desktop

Has anyone been able to force enable Downscaling to allow Windows 8 to run on tablets and netbooks with a resolution of 1024 x 600 which is the standard resolution for many of the existing slates and netbooks, in particular the HP Slate 500. The hardware runs Windows 8 fine, but NO METRO APPS will run on a resolution lower than 1024 x 768. In Windows 7 with a registry setting you could enable downscaling to force 1024 x 768 but this has been removed from Windows 8.

Any info appreciated.

I got rid of W8 bc speed issues and stability issues,

but, one of my favorite tweaks for Windows 7 is to kill UAC (to be able to extract files into Program Files without idiocy),

Does this still work in W8? Can someone check?

I should point out that changing those registry settings will disable some Metro apps (possibly all?), so many will find that an unacceptable side-effect.

After getting Intel's driver on, you can force the higher resolution. Though distorted, works. MS really needs to scale Metro to 1024 x 600. Metro works much, much better on a tablet! There's is potential here. On a tablet, desktop is not really needed.

I should point out that changing those registry settings will disable some Metro apps (possibly all?), so many will find that an unacceptable side-effect.

Interesting. So UAC is now forced upon the user? What up with the world, UAC / DRM is the end of freedom!

In Windows 7 the fact that you can kill the UAC driver (not just fake-disable it from MSCONFIG, but actually disable the driver) without any side-effects is a god send.

What Metro apps stop working once you disable luafv from starting?

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Go for a Echo Dot or Pop instead. These Echo shows just advertise to you.
    • NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 by Razvan Serea NetSpeedTray is a lightweight, open-source Windows network monitor that shows live upload and download speeds directly on the Taskbar. Designed for efficiency, it quietly sits in the system tray, conserving CPU and battery with dynamic updates. It blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11, adapts to light/dark themes, and auto-positions to avoid overlaps. Features include accurate interface detection, customizable display, optional mini-graph, color coding, granular font and unit control, detailed per-interface history graphs, safe data management, and easy CSV export—bringing the network monitoring Windows forgot. NetSpeedTray key features: Lightweight & Efficient Runs quietly in your system tray without consuming resources. Features a "Dynamic Update Rate" that lowers refresh frequency when the network is idle to save CPU and battery life. Native Look & Feel Blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11 UI. Smart detection for light and dark taskbar themes ensures text is always visible. Intelligent & Adaptive Positioning Automatically finds empty space next to your system tray and shifts to make room for new icons, preventing overlaps. Seamless OS Integration Behaves like a native Windows component. Hides instantly with auto-hiding taskbar Hides when a fullscreen app is active Smart Network Monitoring Accurate by Default: Auto mode identifies your main internet connection and ignores noise from VPNs or virtual adapters. Easy Interface Selection: Switch effortlessly between Auto, All, or Selected network interfaces via intuitive radio buttons. Total Visual Customization Free Move Mode: Unlock and place the widget anywhere on your screen. Optional Mini-Graph: Real-time graph of recent network activity with adjustable opacity. Color Coding: Customize colors and speed thresholds to quickly see network status. Granular Display Control Text & Font: Adjust font family, size, weight, and alignment. Units: Automatic (B/s, KB/s, MB/s) or fixed Mbps display. Precision: Set decimal places and always show them for uniform appearance. Detailed & Intelligent History Graph Smart Scale: Logarithmic scale shows low-level traffic and large spikes clearly. Per-Interface Filtering: View speed history for specific adapters (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN). Safe & Efficient Data Management: Adjustable retention, automatic cleanup, optimized database. Easy Data Export: Export raw data to .csv or save high-quality graphs for reports. NetSpeedTray v1.3.3: The Updater Fix A stabilization release that repairs a critical regression in v1.3.2: the app shipped without OpenSSL, which silently broke every HTTPS request — including the built-in update checker (the "Could not check for updates" error many of you hit). This release restores it, hardens the build so it can't happen again, and fixes a startup crash plus four other reported bugs. Changes: Fixed update checking — Resolved a critical issue that prevented the app from checking for updates ("Could not check for updates"). Fixed startup crash with Auto-Cycling — The app no longer crashes on launch after enabling Cycle display mode. Fixed incorrect network speeds on 10GbE adapters — Multi-gigabit network cards now display speeds correctly instead of being stuck at 0. Improved color coding — Default color is shown when idle, and color/threshold changes now apply immediately without restarting. Fullscreen visibility fix — The widget now correctly stays visible over fullscreen apps when Keep Visible is enabled. Improved AMD Ryzen temperature detection — More reliable CPU temperature monitoring for Ryzen processors. Cleaner upgrades — Installer now removes outdated application files during upgrades, preventing DLL/version conflicts while preserving user settings. Improved stability — Fixed potential DLL loading issues by excluding critical OpenSSL and NumPy components from UPX compression. Better settings window — Scrollbars removed and layout improved for a cleaner experience. Localization improvements — Updated translations and completed missing UI text across all supported languages. More reliable releases — Added regression tests covering recent critical fixes, bringing the test suite to 196 passing tests. [full release notes] Download: NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 | 87.9 MB (Open Source) Download: NetSpeedTray Portable | 101.0 MB View: NetSpeedTray Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Why Delta Chat is the best decentralized messenger you have probably never tried by Paul Hill There is no shortage of messaging apps out there; we have WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, just to name a few. While Meta has taken steps to incorporate encryption into Messenger and WhatsApp, they still leave a lot to be desired. If you are in the market for a messaging app that promotes security, privacy, and optional anonymity, you'll want to read what I have to say about Delta Chat. For those not familiar with Delta Chat, rather than relying on centralized servers as you do with Facebook Messenger, it relies on email. Essentially, it is a chat interface that feels like a messaging app, but secretly in the background, it is firing off emails. In the past, you used to have to sign in with your email account. When you sent messages to people, it would just be sending encrypted messages to their inbox, which their Delta Chat client would decrypt. When I first learned about Delta Chat, it required users to sign in with an email account, but I was pleasantly surprised upon trying it in 2026 that this is no longer a requirement, or the preferred method was to use the app. Recently, I’ve tried UAD-ng on my old Nokia 3.4 to disable most of the Google apps because the bootloader is locked, and this is the next best option. While finding replacement apps in F-Droid, I came across Delta Chat again, and it has undergone quite a big change since I last used it, with its new chatmail relays, which no longer require you to sign in to your own email account, providing anonymity, and they offer greater security. Android and Desktop Delta Chat apps. Not only does it run on my de-googled phone, but it also works on desktop computers and iOS, making it truly ubiquitous. For me, Delta Chat is a wonderful alternative messenger because it gives you more control. It supports switching between different profiles, which you can set up super quickly; you don’t register a username, you don’t register a password. The only thing you do have is a random string email address on a chatmail relay (which you don’t have to memorize). To maintain access to your profile, you just need to add a second device to your account via QR code or make a backup of your account, which you can restore later. Fail to do these, your account is gone - as it should be if you don’t want to leave accounts that could get hacked later on. My decision to block Google stuff on my Nokia was done for practical reasons; the device sucked when it launched, and it sucks even more now. The nice thing about F-Droid and the apps within is that they’re usually lightweight, free of bloat, and work well on that device. What was inconvenient for me was that it was hard to send messages from that device, say if I wanted to copy a code over to my main phone or send family members a link from that device. That’s when I decided to look at the available chat apps and saw Delta Chat. Another nice thing about Delta Chat is its notifications. Some messaging apps rely on Google’s ecosystem for notification transport on Android; however, with Delta Chat, it can use Google’s solutions if you have Play Services or MicroG installed. Otherwise, it is able to keep a background connection to the chatmail relay server so that you can get notified when you receive a message. As free software, the code of Delta Chat is open for all who want to take it and build upon it. In the future, if the developers of Delta Chat make a catastrophically bad decision and take the app in an undesirable direction, users can take the code and fork the project. This contrasts with closed-source apps from corporations that can take their products in any direction they like. By relying on free software instead of closed-source programs, you actually control your computing. I’ve spoken at length about how running this type of software is like owning your own home rather than renting it. The same applies here; if you use Delta Chat, you don’t need to worry about it going away in the future. Whether it is Telegram, WhatsApp, or Messenger, you are required to register a username and password to use these services. A major flaw in this design is that anyone can try various passwords and potentially break into your account with your complete chat history intact. Sure, there is encryption in Messenger, where you need a second PIN and two-factor authentication in Telegram, but breaches happen all the time. Unlike before, when you used to sign in to your email account to send and receive messages, the primary way to do it now is to create an account on a chatmail relay. The resulting email address is a random string followed by the name of the relay you pick. This means you can start and begin adding contacts Without a username and password, you either need to ensure you have a backup or at least one device running your Delta Chat profile. The primary way to log in on another device is to go to the settings and add a second device. Then, you’ll just scan a QR code with your new device, and it’ll log in to your account and sync all your chat history and contacts. To end users, Delta Chat just looks like any instant messenger; however, it is really sending your messages as encrypted emails to your contact. This is pretty cool from a censorship perspective, as it makes the service more difficult to block. Previously, the main way to use the app was by logging in with email, but nowadays, it’s recommended that you use chatmail relays. Chatmail relays temporarily hold messages in case your device is offline. They are cheap, simple servers that don’t store data as group states. Other information, like your name and avatar, only exists on your device and the devices of those you share your contact information with. The relays are also decentralized and operated by various groups and individuals. It is even possible to set up your own chatmail relay, but most people will want to use one hosted elsewhere. To keep your messages secure, Delta Chat uses a secure subset of the OpenPGP standard that gives you automatic end-to-end encryption. It also uses Secure-Join to exchange encryption setup information through QR-code scanning or invite links. Autocrypt is also used to automatically establish end-to-end encryption between contacts and all members of group chat, but sometime this year Autocrypt v2 will be rolled out, bringing post-quantum resistant encryption and forward secrecy. The Delta Chat FAQ is an interesting read that explains many more details about the app. Credit: Pexels Delta Chat is unique among messaging apps because it is built on email, a technology that’s decades old and isn’t going anywhere soon. What’s more is that email is not centralized either, so it’s far more difficult for any authoritarian regime to disrupt the Delta Chat app. I haven’t spoken too much about features yet, so I will do that now. Delta Chat allows you to do one-on-one chats, group chats, and create channels. It also supports file sharing and making audio and video calls when chatting one-to-one, but it’s not available for group chats right now. At the time of writing, the calling functionality is disabled and can be enabled in Settings > Advanced > Debug Calls. I have used the video calling feature, and the quality is excellent. It works over WebRTC, another open standard. The app also lets you send voice notes, enables disappearing messages, and has its own app ecosystem. I did try playing chess one time there, but it was a bit spotty; though, we did manage to complete the game with a victory for me. To add people to Delta Chat, you can either give them your Delta Chat link or your QR code to scan. These are the only ways to add users, so you won't have any spam bots bothering you. If the people you want to chat with don't have the app yet, just send them your link, and it will take them to a webpage where they can install the app and then add you. It's really quick for them to install it and get started, which is nice. Credit: Microsoft. The Majorana 2 quantum chip unveiled in 2026. I do not think quantum computers are too far out now, and I do hope that Delta Chat is able to push out Autocrypt v2 sooner, rather than later, so bad actors do not attempt to collect encrypted communications and then decrypt them in the future using quantum computers. By getting people’s messages post-quantum-safe now, users won’t have to worry when quantum computers start cracking legacy encryption. Overall, I would recommend this app to people who are already past WhatsApp and Messenger and have perhaps begun using apps like Telegram or Session. It shares a lot of characteristics with these apps and goes a lot further than Telegram in terms of security. By being based on email, it is also resistant to censorship, and the lack of a username and password makes you anonymous (if you want to be) and safe from brute force password cracking attempts. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Delta Chat recently. Do you think it's a good bulwark against governments that are tightening their grip on the internet?
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      tuben earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      474
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      220
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      156
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!