Back to the Start: imagining a better Windows


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Jay Machalani has a vision for Windows 8. Frustrated by the inconsistencies of Microsoft?s touch-friendly operating system, Machalani has been putting together a plan over the last three months to fix and unite the disparate desktop and ?Metro? interfaces. It turns out that the 20-year-old self-taught user-experience designer might be mocking up concepts that are similar to what Microsoft is preparing for the next major version of Windows. Recent reports suggest Microsoft is planning to bring back the Start menu, along with improvements to its traditional desktop mode to allow new Windows 8-style applications to ?float? and run in separate windows. Machalani?s concepts ? which were completed long before the recent rumors ? imagine how that might work in reality.

 

Speaking to The Verge, Machalani enthusiastically explains he ?left school to build a better way for students to work? as part of an upcoming collaborative platform currently in development. His work on a Windows 8 concept is a part-time hobby borne out of frustration. The basic concepts center on bringing back the traditional Start menu in a modern way with Live Tiles and easy access to settings in the desktop mode. ?I?m not aiming to get anything out of it ? this is really to voice some concerns that users have and to show Microsoft that there is a way for them to continue their strategy, but also respect the feedback from users.?

 

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Machalani?s concept brings back the Start menu on the desktop in a way that makes sense. Complete with the Live Tiles found from the Start screen and Windows Phone, the menu is designed to be flexible in size, with a search interface and quick options to access notifications, settings, and power options. It also brings back some of the useful parts of the Windows 7 Start menu: recent and pinned apps. "My goal was to find a way for everything to work," says Machalani. "You need to find a way for the Start screen?s core idea to work on the desktop too." It might seem like a minor point, but for existing Windows users the Start menu on Windows 7 acts as a simple location that?s unobtrusive and quick to locate with a keyboard and mouse. Windows 8?s Start screen is a full-screen menu that obscures any apps you?re currently using, a common complaint surrounding the split between desktop and "Metro."

 

 

Some existing third-party Start menu replacements attempt to bring back the old-style menu, but Machalani believes this is the wrong approach. "By doing a new Start menu you?re actually bringing the Start screen to the desktop with the same typography, your own user icon ? a reflection of how the Start screen can be on the desktop, a more compressed version with more functionality." In the concept samples the Start menu looks modern, and it fits with the style of Windows 8 without the obtrusiveness of the new full-screen Start screen. It?s a compromise that might work well, giving access to important settings and useful Live Tiles that flicker with information.

 

Machalani has also turned his attention to other parts of the desktop: stylizing the icons, typography, and matching folder colors as well as other UI elements with the accent color of the Start screen. He?s also mocked up ideas for Windows 8-style apps that break away from the "Metro" world and float on the desktop. Referring to Stardock?s ModernMix, an app that allows Windows 8-style apps to run in windows on the desktop, Machalani describes this approach as "a hack." Instead, Machalani wants to see quick access to minimize, full-screen, and close buttons at the top of each app, alongside a Charms menu. The existing Charms menu for Windows 8 is tricky to access if you?re a desktop user, especially if you have multiple monitors. If Microsoft is planning to allow its new apps to run windowed on the desktop then Machalani?s concept would make things a little easier to navigate.

 

Machalani also proposes a method to create hybrid applications that switch seamlessly from desktop to Metro. If Microsoft executes well on allowing Windows 8-style apps to run on the desktop then this hybrid would be seamless by itself, but Machalani?s ideas ensure that desktop apps are relevant to their usage (keyboard and mouse), while still remaining optimized for touch when you switch. Other enhancements include simple access to exact battery percentages in the "Metro" environment, something Microsoft only currently provides with a tiny visual clue.

 

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Ultimately, Machalani?s concepts are designed to highlight what could be possible if Microsoft pays some attention to the desktop environment and the little pieces of Windows design it often overlooks. Microsoft?s lack of attention to iconography over the years has often been criticized, but the company?s new focus on design has led to an impressive environment for touch-enabled devices. The main criticism of Microsoft?s latest OS is the confusing and jarring switching between desktop and "Metro," something the company has tried to address in the 8.1 update, and a problem that needs more solutions.

 

Machalani is one of the many providing feedback alongside hundreds of designers that have offered their own take on the Windows look over the years. "I?d like to create a department in Microsoft where their only job is a bunch of designers only using the OS and pointing out all the little things," Machalani explains. While he doesn?t have all the answers, the mere fact that Microsoft is considering changes to bring back the Start menu highlights the feedback on its big bet. With lots of users still pointing out little niggles in Windows 8.1 it?s clear more needs to be done. Machalani?s concept is one approach, but Microsoft needs to find the perfect balance for its millions of users.

 

All images copyright and published with the permission of Jay Machalani. More examples of Jay Machalani's Windows 8 concepts can be found on his website.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/12/5203934/windows-8-2-start-menu-concept
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That's interesting. I don't really like the live tiles on the left half of the Start Menu though. I'd prefer it to just have the Pinned/Recent/Search and Settings portion in the Start Menu. Other than that it looks pretty good as a concept.

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I like some of the ideas here and I'm pretty sure any menu they add in won't be the one from Windows 7.  The guys calling the shots are the WP people now, and tiles aren't going away.  I'm willing to bet the "mini-start" that we get will be a mix of old and new actually.  I can picture a menu like in the concept above, it slides in from the left of the screen like how we already get on the right side today.  It'll let you pin/see tiles and also have a list to, they can then toss in the power user menu in as well.  It'd be the best of both really.

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Do we really need to metro-fy the start menu?  The desktop ability is there only for legacy support right (officially from Microsoft)?  Add the same style Start Menu like Windows 7 or Start8 and be done with it.

 

If I am in the desktop, I do not want any metro.

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Do we really need to metro-fy the start menu?  The desktop ability is there only for legacy support right (officially from Microsoft)?  Add the same style Start Menu like Windows 7 or Start8 and be done with it.

 

 

Nah, there's always room for improvements and I look forward to seeing what new stuff people can come up with.

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Now these concepts are nice. I could accept the return of the Start Menu if it resembled this.

 

But why does everyone want to run Metro programs on the desktop? I'd rather be able to run desktop programs in Metro! Or maybe allow us to run programs in either environment - make a setting to choose which environment to start in by default, but allow us to switch them between. Drag the app from Metro to the desktop or vice-versa.

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I don't see the need to overcomplicate the "new" start, all it needs to do is provide an autoselected search box and a MRU list.

 

Any additional functionality is superfluous and can probably just be shoved over to the start screen.

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I like some of the ideas here and I'm pretty sure any menu they add in won't be the one from Windows 7. The guys calling the shots are the WP people now, and tiles aren't going away. I'm willing to bet the "mini-start" that we get will be a mix of old and new actually.  I can picture a menu like in the concept above, it slides in from the left of the screen like how we already get on the right side today.  It'll let you pin/see tiles and also have a list to, they can then toss in the power user menu in as well.  It'd be the best of both really.

Really? First I've heard of it. Always felt that the WP team "got" Metro better than the Win8 team so this is good news IMO.
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Do we really need to metro-fy the start menu?  The desktop ability is there only for legacy support right (officially from Microsoft)?  Add the same style Start Menu like Windows 7 or Start8 and be done with it.

 

If I am in the desktop, I do not want any metro.

 

Absolutely! Why not bring some of the benefits of the Screen to the desktop users? Heck, I'd love to see a Metro-style Start Menu offered for 7 so I can use it at work!

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Do we really need to metro-fy the start menu?  The desktop ability is there only for legacy support right (officially from Microsoft)?  Add the same style Start Menu like Windows 7 or Start8 and be done with it.

 

If I am in the desktop, I do not want any metro.

Yes, because winrt and store apps are still going to be around and if anything being able to have them on the desktop in windows next to win32 apps means as much.  Being able to still take advantage of the tiles on whatever I decide to pin in the new menu is something i'd like to use.

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Really? First I've heard of it. Always felt that the WP team "got" Metro better than the Win8 team so this is good news IMO.

Yup, the OS group boss is the guy who ran WP, and also last week or so they pushed out the last two guys who worked on 8 under Sinofsky.  It's all the WP guys calling the shots now, that's why we're seeing and hearing about all these changes recently.

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Why is it 3rd parties come out with the best/most interesting designs?  Just seems like MS is out of touch with their audience.  I am using 8.1 at work but only because of the improvements 8.1 added.

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Why is it 3rd parties come out with the best/most interesting designs?  Just seems like MS is out of touch with their audience.  I am using 8.1 at work but only because of the improvements 8.1 added.

It's because 3rd parties don't have to worry about trying to please everyone who uses the OS.  They're free to go wild really and those who like it will use it. 

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It's because 3rd parties don't have to worry about trying to please everyone who uses the OS.  They're free to go wild really and those who like it will use it. 

 

Just seems 3rd parties are better received is all.

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Do we really need to metro-fy the start menu?  The desktop ability is there only for legacy support right (officially from Microsoft)?  Add the same style Start Menu like Windows 7 or Start8 and be done with it.

 

If I am in the desktop, I do not want any metro.

You and I both know that is never going to happen. Bringing back old elements isn't the right way to do things. I agree with the OP in that: "Some existing third-party Start menu replacements attempt to bring back the old-style menu, but Machalani believes this is the wrong approach. "By doing a new Start menu you?re actually bringing the Start screen to the desktop with the same typography, your own user icon ? a reflection of how the Start screen can be on the desktop, a more compressed version with more functionality.""

 

If this were the case, it'll get my seal of approval. It takes the Metro look and feel and applies it to the desktop. Something I suggested way back when.

 

 

If there's one thing I don't like about his design, it's that it takes away the Ribbon UI in favor of archaic drop downs. Keep the Ribbon UI, and you're set. 

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Personally, I would rather they not bring the start menu back than to turn it into something like that.

 

Do you realize that this will not satisfy businesses?  MS needs to use what Start8, classic shell, and others like it provide.

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To be honest I think most of these modern start menu ideas are dumb.

 

The Start screen is much more efficient than the menu as long as you organise your app groups efficiently, no nested menus cascading awkwardly up your screen.

 

As far as people wanting Windowed Metro apps?  They are meant to be full screen.  That is the point of them, that is how they are designed.   You can dock them to 50%/30% etc so if they are coded correctly to support Metro snap there should be zero reason to have them run in a Window.

 

The only issue with Windows 8/8.1 is the learning curve for those who are not tech savvy, or those frustrated by change even if it is for the better.  I have heard a few valid arguments sure, there are exceptions to the rule.. but most people complaining about Metro/Start Screen are just plain DUMB.

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Personally, I would rather they not bring the start menu back than to turn it into something like that.

 

Do you realize that this will not satisfy businesses?  MS needs to use what Start8, classic shell, and others like it provide.

Yeah, businesses don't want anything. Same story different day. They don't want the mouse, they don't want the start menu, they don't want aero glass, they don't want tablets, they don't want the start screen. Blah, blah, blah. What do businesses want then? An abacus? We've all heard it before when new things come out. 

 

Too bad none of it has prevented business from eventually upgrading, sorry. 

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The current start menu is good. What needs to change is the full screen Metro apps. Let them be full screen if the user wants to (and by default only on tablets), but let the user put them in a window.

 

Taking the user away from the desktop and the different ways of switching between desktop apps (alt+tab, taskbar) and metro apps (edge swipe, edge mouseover) is just confusing. The regular user doesn't even know there are multiple apps open, that way.

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The current start menu is good. What needs to change is the full screen Metro apps. Let them be full screen if the user wants to (and by default only on tablets), but let the user put them in a window.

 

Taking the user away from the desktop and the different ways of switching between desktop apps (alt+tab, taskbar) and metro apps (edge swipe, edge mouseover) is just confusing. The regular user doesn't even know there are multiple apps open, that way.

There is method to that "madness." The left swipe task switcher was developed to be usable by a user holding a tablet with two hands. It's designed so that the user can move between apps with their thumbs. 

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