win8 Microsoft Could Launch a Start Menu Option in Windows 8

[Xoligy]

Stardock said they sold tens of thousands of Start8, sorry windows 8 has sold millions. I think the people who can't adapt to the faster and more efficient start screen is an EXTREMELY small minority of the Win8 user base.

I fail too see what you saying here, if your saying that them sales figures are 100% accurate them im affraid your wrong, also didnt vista sell millions yet most people went back to XP? See, you proved nothing also you have not taken into account the multiple copies of Start8 used, if a person has one code they will use it on multiple machines, also there are alternatives to Start8 which are free and its not hard to get a crack.

As for the comment about can not adapt to a more efficient start screen thats not true either. I find the new screen mostly ugly, plus with the amount of apps i run at one time its easier to have a start menu/taskbar layout plus the time is at the bottom of the screen if you dont move the taskbar, ontop of of being able to see the time without moving the mouse i see what apps are open and if i choose can spread the tabs along the taskbar ungrouped making for easier app changing. Yes i could use alt and tab but i choose not too, plus i feel i can organised my desktop better than the start screen and it saves jumping from a start screen to a desktop which is not efficient imo.

Yes it can be great if you have a low app base, and not use multiple programs at once but some of us do.

Back on topic, i doubt window will add it with the multiple 3rd applications out there that are already doing a good enough job, and if they did would it be better or worse than 3rd party ones?

[Detection]

There is already a start menu in Windows 8, you move your mouse to the bottom right of the screen and left click. Just like every other version of windows in the modern age.

Or bottom left

[gate1975mlm]

There already is a wonderful Start menu for Windows 8 its called Start8 by Stardock!

Start8 is getting better with every new release and it is actually even better then the Windows 7 start menu.

Start8 with Windows 8 make it the best Microsoft OS yet in my opinion!

If you want the best of both worlds use Start8 with Windows 8!!!

[HawkMan]

Do they have "qualities or features, especially those of appearance, in common with" each other? Yes.

Nope, you need to check with your optometrist.

[Dot Matrix]

Most desktop PCs don't have a touch-screen, and iPad ? ? ? Are we talking about Macs or PCs here ?

You don't need a touch screen to navigate the Start screen.

[HawkMan]

I fail too see what you saying here, if your saying that them sales figures are 100% accurate them im affraid your wrong, also didnt vista sell millions yet most people went back to XP? See, you proved nothing also you have not taken into account the multiple copies of Start8 used, if a person has one code they will use it on multiple machines, also there are alternatives to Start8 which are free and its not hard to get a crack.

Sorry, not even CLOSE. relatively a LOT went back, but not even close to most, not even close to half. And those that went back did because it was corporate users who bought new laptops with Vista on them and the rest of their network was XP and not compatible with Vista. A problem that 8 doesn't suffer from anyway, unless they're still running XP, in which case it's not their biggest concern.

Also I don't think you understand the magnitude of difference between the numbers tens of thousands and MILLIONS. and conversely, not all that ought Start 8 might use it, a lot would have decided after using win8 that they don't use a silly addon start menu that just replicates a features that's already there, but better. (and I use the word lots here, despite according to you I could have used the word most)

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I really hope they don't bring back the start menu, the start screen is fine, and using metro apps with a start menu would be an even bigger clusterfeck

cluster**** how so? Start8 seems to have done it just fine

[cropcircles]

What's the big deal with the start menu ? Here is the big deal. Average Joe consumer goes to BestBuy and talks to sales guy in the computer section to explain to him the changes he's heard about in Windows 8. After the lengthy and garbled sales pitch, Joe consumer says, "thanks" and walks out the store...............

- When Microsoft brings back the Start menu in Windows 8 they will sell millions more copies.

[M_Lyons10]

I don't think there's any chance of this happening and I can't see a single reason why it should. If people want a Start menu then there are plenty of 3rd-party solutions.

And a full screen start menu... NOW, do I think there should be a LOT more cohesion between the Modern Apps and the Desktop? Or even the rest of the OS and the Desktop? Absolutely. There is a LOT of room to improve there. But I don't see the Start Menu coming back. What I would really like to see right now is some cohesion... lol

[Shadrack]

Well..this pot hasn't been stirred in a few hours so it makes sense to start another thread on it.

Honestly, the start menu debate has gotten so old. Everyone has an opinion on it and nobody seems to change anyone's mind about it.

Whatever... here is my opinion again for the books:

For me, the start screen was fine...I actually liked it more than the start menu. That being said, I frequently search for stuff (winkey, start typing) and I found that the jump from my work to the start screen and then to a search screen to almost bring on seizures. That's why I didn't upgrade, and I'll be sticking with Windows 7 and I'm perfectly happy with that. Its all a matter of opinion, and that is my opinion and it doesn't surprise me that you have a different one because that is what makes people, people.

[M_Lyons10]

What's the big deal with the start menu ? Here is the big deal. Average Joe consumer goes to BestBuy and talks to sales guy in the computer section to explain to him the changes he's heard about in Windows 8. After the lengthy and garbled sales pitch, Joe consumer says, "thanks" and walks out the store...............

- When Microsoft brings back the Start menu in Windows 8 they will sell millions more copies.

I think more than that, their issue would be the enterprise, but it will be a momentary hump. lol

[Xoligy]

Also I don't think you understand the magnitude of difference between the numbers tens of thousands and MILLIONS. and conversely, not all that ought Start 8 might use it, a lot would have decided after using win8 that they don't use a silly addon start menu that just replicates a features that's already there, but better. (and I use the word lots here, despite according to you I could have used the word most)

Really your going to insult my intelligence and say i dont know the difference between numbers when you obviously dont understand that sales figures mean nothing?

You are talking about an OS that can be brought, upgraded and is shipped on new pcs, laptops and tablets if its on tablets that is, compared to a 3rd party application that can ONLY be downloaded and even then when the owner looks for it and there are alternatives some of which are FREE! All of this i more or less said in my OP but it seems that you believe only one thing, sales figures from once source yet im the dumb one that does not understand numbers when im looking at multiple that fluctuate? Oh ok.

I would say i look forward to your next post but i'll be honest im not going to even read it.

[xendrome]

Or bottom left

Yeah that's what I meant :/ lol

[JustGeorge]

I think the transition would be less jarring if MS left the start button on the desktop that led to the start screen. If they're going to fix anything though, it should be the horrid, unfinished looking theme. It doesn't have to be Aero, but it should've been done a helluva lot better than whats in Win 8 now!

[f0rk_b0mb]

You don't need a touch screen to navigate the Start screen.

It's much easier on a touch screen. On larger monitors and multiple monitors it's cludgie and unintuitive. Metro was designed for touch screens in mind--If it not, then why are they pushing ultra books and aio's with touch screens so hard?

Dot--let's have a mature conversation about Metro and the desktop. We want more options and more polish on the desktop. We want more features in the default apps that were killed in the the previous version--aka "simplifying the UI by removing good features". Microsoft did a hack job on the desktop part of the UI, which is where most of the disappointed people, like myself spend most of their time. It's goofy having two control panels, it's goofy having two IE's, It's goofy having two ways to listen to music (WMP and Music apps), it's goofy how Metro and desktop apps don't talk to each other. (I make a bookmark in Desktop IE--why doesn't it show up in Metro IE? You stated before that they are different api's. I'm not a programmer, but couldn't they write an api to talk to the metro and desktop api's?), amongst other things you've probably heard before. If it was truly an immersive experience, I'd rarely have to touch the desktop. I should be able to rip a CD as FLAC, WAV or mp3 in the music app, or transfer a file to my hard drive (metro windows explorer) , there should be only one IE, or at least 2 that talk to each other, there should be only one control panel that forces companies to drop their legacy code and rewrite it for the future or make people stop useing old programs--like Boarman. Why can't I have 1 app on each monitor in a multi monitor setup? Because it was made for tablets--tablets have one screen. Are you starting to understand what we mean by "cludgie" and "unintuitive"? If Microsoft fixes this in Windows 9, I'd be more than happy to buy a license. Don't get me wrong: Metro brings lots of new features to the table that are awesome, but some things need to be fixed before some of us adopt it. Thanks Dot.

[ViperAFK]

There already is a wonderful Start menu for Windows 8 its called Start8 by Stardock!

Start8 is getting better with every new release and it is actually even better then the Windows 7 start menu.

Start8 with Windows 8 make it the best Microsoft OS yet in my opinion!

If you want the best of both worlds use Start8 with Windows 8!!!

Start8 still lacks several features that the windows 7 start menu had, such as drag and drop to the desktop or superbar. In addition its kind of buggy, it likes to randomly crash explorer and the search results sometimes bug out.

After trying start8 it made me realize that I actually like the start screen (as a start menu replacement, I think that the current metro apps are pretty terrible (almost beta quality), and am not a fan of it being a closed platform)

That said the start screen could certainly be a lot better, it lacks several features that could make it much more enjoyable to use. For example, re-arranging the tiles in the way that I want is freakin' impossible! moving one tile will make one move where I don't want it to etc... its a mess. And why can't we manually make/customize tile groups and such? It could be pretty nice if they allowed more customization IMO.

[LaP]

Sorry, not even CLOSE. relatively a LOT went back, but not even close to most, not even close to half.

You greatly underestimate the number of desktop PC in the corporate world running WIndows XP but having a Windows Vista license sticker on the top or side of the case.

[f0rk_b0mb]

You greatly underestimate the number of desktop PC in the corporate world running WIndows XP but having a Windows Vista license sticker on the top or side of the case.

...and 7 computers. We have to shoehorn XP on to modern hardware everyday.

[Shane Nokes]

This ^^^^

My new slogan for Windows 8 is:

'Windows 8, there's a third party app for that'

I would say nice attempt at a slam there but I would be lying.

The problem with your statement is that regardless of platform almost all apps are made by a third party.

So you might want to apply that to all of those Apple commercials as well...if you're going to go that route.

[HawkMan]

Really your going to insult my intelligence and say i dont know the difference between numbers when you obviously dont understand that sales figures mean nothing?

Except the number I use, of Millions (it was 4 millions after a few days, should be way past that now) was sales of upgrade licenses of Windows. not pre-installed OEM licenses or WinRT Surface installs, so sorry, what where you saying.

[jamieakers]

And here we go again. Yet another pointless thread about the Start screen. This is getting so old. We get it, some people like it, some people hate it. How many times do we need to have this thread repeated on Neowin???

[HawkMan]

I would say i look forward to your next post but i'll be honest im not going to even read it.

Of course you're not, then you would actually have to admit you're wrong and don't have anything to stand on.

[LaP]

...and 7 computers. We have to shoehorn XP on to modern hardware everyday.

Yep but 7 will be the next XP of the corporate world so those 7 computers will run 7 one day if it's not already done ;)

[HawkMan]

It's much easier on a touch screen. On larger monitors and multiple monitors it's cludgie and unintuitive. Metro was designed for touch screens in mind--If it not, then why are they pushing ultra books and aio's with touch screens so hard?

Having used it on a touch screen, no it's not, at worst it's just as easy to use on both. But it works excellently with a mouse and keyboard, in many ways better than on touch.

[MikeChipshop Member]

Thankfully this wont happen.

It's not in the vision hat MS have for the future no matter whose coming and going in the company.

The Start Screen does everything the old Start Menu did and for me it's better so i'm happy with it.

For those that aren't happy with it, there perfectly decent third party apps out there for you.