Restore Start menu but limit it to Pro edition

[Yuhong Bao]

I wonder if restoring Start menu as an option but limit it to Pro edition has been considered.

[Raa]

Why restrict such a basic feature to a professional edition?

[threetonesun]

I wonder if restoring Start menu but limit it to Pro edition has been considered.

By a room full of an infinite number of monkeys, perhaps.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Better get used to it. :devil:

[Roxkis]

Better get used to it.

No, I don't want to.

[chrisj1968]

By a room full of an infinite number of monkeys, perhaps.

LOL that's funny. Why not allow the user to select during the installation process or have the installation make the determination if a PC through an internal search is a touchscreen. then split the installation at that point and install a Windows 7 style with a start menu.

I think if MS would have done that, It would probably wipe out any and all bad views of MS.

[giantsnyy]

The new start menu is my friend. Especially when it comes to group policy preferences...

[Yuhong Bao]

LOL that's funny. Why not allow the user to select during the installation process or have the installation make the determination if a PC through an internal search is a touchscreen. then split the installation at that point and install a Windows 7 style with a start menu.

I think if MS would have done that, It would probably wipe out any and all bad views of MS.

Not my point though. My point is about limiting this Win7 start menu option to Pro edition.

[slumdogtrillionaire]

the billionaires cant make their billions on pcs anymore so the hardware shift... necessitating a software shift. get used to it.

[chrisj1968]

Kind of indicative when we who like the start menu are told to "deal with it."

what a damn hostile approach to innovation if that is what it is.

[The Evil Overlord]

I've already given up... If millions (or possibly billions) follow suit, we'll see if Microsoft rethinks their strategy or not.

[Order_66]

Better get used to it. :devil:

Nobody HAS to get used to the user-hostile ui of windows 8, just stick with windows 7 like most people are doing, obviously.

[Order_66]

Why restore it period? Quit living in the past.

Restoring something that works in favor of something that clearly doesn't work is not the same as "living in the past", far from it actually.

[Stoffel]

Nobody HAS to get used to the user-hostile ui of windows 8, just stick with windows 7 like most people are doing, obviously.

Are you secretly the alter ego of Chris Pirillo (that annoying little guy making videos about Win8) on Neowin.

He likes to refer to the Win 8 UI as user hostile.

[Ian W]

We'll just have to make do with the Start screen... Thankfully, there are alternatives such as Classic Shell.

[neo1911]

I like the humor in here. But those who want Start Menu are free to use hundreds of alternatives which bring it back.

Or get used to any sh** Microsoft pushes down our throats by buying their software.

Or buy a Mac and strictly use OSX.

[Xerax]

user-hostile ui

lol.

[+DKAngel Subscriber²]

Kind of indicative when we who like the start menu are told to "deal with it."

what a damn hostile approach to innovation if that is what it is.

they did ti with win 3.11 to 95, u didnt have a start menu back then and then wulla u have it, people were furious about it and didnt like it

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

But those who want Start Menu are free to...

...buy a Mac and strictly use OSX.

Please explain to me how you get the Start Menu on a Mac, where this feature is in OSX. And no add-ons, as you say "strictly" use OSX.

Or are you just trolling?

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I wonder if restoring Start menu as an option but limit it to Pro edition has been considered.

It wouldn't work. First and foremost because there are free start menu replacements out there that work on all versions of Windows 8, so Microsoft including a start menu only in the Pro version wouldn't be an incentive for people to pay.

[c.grz]

Kind of indicative when we who like the start menu are told to "deal with it."

what a damn hostile approach to innovation if that is what it is.

So how would you approach it? To me, innovation means change so keeping the start menu because people aren't ready to part with it goes against the whole idea of innovation.

[Dot Matrix]

FFS... The amount of crying over the Start Menu is rather hilarious. You guys act like you're 2 years old after mommy says no to getting a toy...

Why must developers undermine their mission just to make a few luddites happy? Microsoft isn't going to bring that back. There is no reason to bring back old, deprecated features. The Start Menu reached it's max potential, and now it's time to move on or die out. Simple as that.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Why must developers undermine their mission just to make a few luddites happy? Microsoft isn't going to bring that back.

I agree with this. Microsoft have their plans and it doesn't look like they're going to change, leave them to it. It can be the mission of other developers to offer a start menu for those that want it.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

?Please explain to me how you get the Start Menu on a Mac, where this feature is in OSX. ?

I can only speak for myself but, honestly, I couldn't care less about the Start Menu. I'm not resistant to change especially when it comes in the form of progress. What I care about, and the reason I chose to install Start8 on my Windows 8 installation is the functionality that the Start Menu provides. What functionality specifically? Well:

1 a clearly visible UI element for accessing:

2 an unobtrusive popup menu that doesn't take over the whole screen for:

2a a unified desktop search (ideally with drag and drop support)

2b a complete listing of your apps

2c a link to the control panel

2d power options

2e recent items

Clearly Windows 7 delivers all of that (and more) in the form of the Start button/menu.

Well, Windows 8 completely fails in the first respect. There's no visible UI element at all to access any of the mentioned items. So what about the second item?There's no popup menu anymore. Windows 8 forces you to go fullscreen for 2a and 2b. A fullscreen Desktop search option exists, but without providing drag and drop support or being unified - it forces you to select whether you're specifically interested in looking for apps, settings or files. Both a link to the control panel as well as power options still exist as part of the Settings Charm which is slightly more cumbersome to get to than before and is far less discoverable. Recent items are gone.

So what about OS X? It actually separates out the functionality into 3 UI items: The Applications Stack, the Spotlight menu and the Apple menu:

All three accessible by clicking on clearly visible UI elements. All three providing an unobtrusive popup menu. 2a is provided by the Spotlight menu, 2b by the applications stack, 2c/d/e by the Apple menu. In fact, if Windows 8 instead of the Start Menu would provide nothing more than the Spotlight icon and menu, I would already be ecstatic. Let it show all apps when no text is entered. Put a button for the Settings Charm on the task bar (as I suggested before) and you're golden.

[Dashel]

I think a classic option in for the Pro/NT branding makes perfect sense, especially on Server.