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Microsoft U-turn sees Start button back on Windows 8
- jumblesale 13y agoIt's funny to see two threads on the front page contrasting 'continuing the Windows 8 vision' with 'Microsoft u-turn'. I doubt many outside of Redmond are going to conform to the former viewpoint.
- Avshalom 13y agoOn the other hand "returning a single visual affordance" is a hell of a cry from a u-turn.
- smacktoward 13y agoNobody ever writes a press release announcing that they screwed up and are reversing themselves. Press releases are always about success, even when they're about failures.
- lakerz16 13y agoThe Start Button is just a symbol for the larger issue, which is the shafting of Desktop users. There were only a small handful of things in Windows 8.0 that I felt offered an improved Desktop experience, whereas there were tons of things that I felt required more buttons clicks, more steps, etc I hope 8.1 addresses the Desktop users in more ways than just the Start Button.
- adamman 13y agoWhat requires more steps?
- dangerlibrary 13y agoseeing the desktop.
- jamesgeck0 13y agoSearching for things that aren't applications. In 7, everything was visible in one result list. In 8, results from the control panel don't show at all until you click a category switcher button.
- jamesgeck0 13y agoPowering down In Windows 7: Start > Shutdown In Windows 8: Charms > Settings > Power > Shutdown
- numo16 13y agoPowering down Windows XP+: Press power button, walk away
- wvenable 13y agoPressing the power button will do one of three things: suspend, hibernate, or power off. Do you know which one it does on my machine? Because I don't.
- Too 13y agoWho uses power down anyway? Just close your lid or press the power button once. The type of power down can be configured for both these actions. I maybe shut down fully or restart once every second month and then i actually don't mind if it takes one click more.
- WiseWeasel 13y agoDesktop users.
- UnoriginalGuy 13y agoPress the power button.
- WiseWeasel 13y agoMadness!
- grannyg00se 13y ago"In the 8.1 update, the area will be more visible. A left-click on the tip will bring up a tile-based Start Screen - formerly known as the Metro interface - designed for touch-screen users, while a right-click will display a small menu of other options such as Event Viewer, Device Manager and Disk Management." It already behaves that way. Also, searching to launch an app isn't that much different than the old start menu. Mouse to the bottom left, left click, start typing.
- wvenable 13y agoI don't run Windows 8 at home (still on 7) but I did encounter an eye-opening experience when I visited my father-in-law last weekend. He used the start screen to launch the apps that were immediately there, but when he needed to find a non-obvious application he opened explorer and navigated to the Program Files folders! I thought Microsoft always heavily user-tested their UI changes but I can't see how that was possible at all with Windows 8 and Metro.
- iamshs 13y agoSame way as before, open start screen and type the program name.
- wvenable 13y agoYou know that and I know that but I know a lot of people who never thought to type in program names even on Windows 7. The big flaw in Windows 8 is that you have to already know how to use Windows 8 in order to use it. It gives you almost no hint on how to do anything or where to find anything.
- iamshs 13y agoTrue. A tutorial other than two screens at the beginning would have saved a lot of hassle. I learnt a lot of shortcuts through Yash Tolia's blog. Regarding programs, every program installed leaves a clutter of things on the Start Screen, that is one major annoyance for me too. Among the main shortcut will be, read me's and other nonsense.
- freehunter 13y ago>However, it will not offer all the functionality previously associated with the feature. Instead it will bring users to the recently-introduced "Metro" interface. I don't understand how bringing users to the Metro interface is not offering all the functionality of the previous start button. The old start menu was a list of shortcuts. The Metro interface is a list of shortcuts. It might look different, but where is the loss of functionality?
- NamTaf 13y agoYou could argue that the disorientation and loss of context caused by completely replacing the entire desktop with a list of shortcuts is a loss of functionality. Previously the start menu was kind of like looking at the index in a corner of a map that gives grid references for every location, in that you still could keep your location on the map (and thus understanf the context of your surroundings) in view. The new start menu is more like having to completely flip off the page with the map on to look at the index on another page. It's vastly more disruptive to a continuous workflow. Edit: real-world example: I'm on a web page with a list of prices and want to do a quick sum. On 7, I'd hit win-key, type 'calc' and then enter the prices, all the while keeping my eyes on the numbers I want to add so I don't lose track of them. On 8, it will flash my entire screen full of icons. I lose view of the numbers and therefore may lose track of the numbers I want to add up.
- freehunter 13y agoI wouldn't consider that to be "not offering all the functionality" like the article suggests. It's merely a different way of getting around. If your anecdote is true in the spirit of the original complaint, then Windows 7 doesn't offer all the functionality of Windows XP. I recently got upgraded at work from Windows XP to Windows 7. I've been so used to hitting the windows key, pressing R to open the run menu, then typing 'calc'. Now when I do that, I get distracted when a window pops up searching for something names 'rcalc'. In 7 I don't need to hit 'R', which breaks my workflow and I guess that is a loss of functionality.
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- kamjam 13y agoThe first thing any technical person I know that uses Windows 8 on a desktop does is install Classic Shell: http://www.classicshell.net/ http://www.classicshell.net/ I still can't get used to that metro interface and switching between the modes in desktop mode.
- jorgeleo 13y agoI prefer http://startisback.com/ http://startisback.com/
- spinchange 13y agoWe've had positive experiences with Start8 as well http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/
- beefman 13y agoWhy do you prefer it?
- jorgeleo 13y agoI look at start 8 too... I choose start is back because it uses as much of the ms api that are already installed, so is the one that produces the closest start button... now they even have a xp mode with the cascade menu... I missed that, I really don;t like the scrolling because the cascade allows me to point and click without having to search first.
- UnoriginalGuy 13y agoI'm technical. Why would I install that? You just press the windows key and start typing what you want exactly like you did in Windows 7. Do people actually use the Start Menu for anything beyond searching? I guess shutdown? What else? Anything?
- DougN7 13y agoI use the start menu to launch apps. Other than calc, i rarely type a program name. I'm visual and icons work great. But screw me, right? :)
- smoorman1024 13y agoThis is still less than optimal. Just give the desktop users what they want. To me Windows 8 is a half baked attempt at striking a balance between desktop users and tablet users. Combining these interfaces is not going to work well no matter which way you try it. Its actually awfully reminiscent of using an old windows phone that essentially brought the desktop user interaction of Windows to mobile.
- Fauntleroy 13y agoI wouldn't hate re-learning the Windows interface if they had actually improved the experience.
- mtgx 13y agoI don't get it. Why are they doing this? This is not what people have been asking for. Are they just doing this so the headlines say "Microsoft brings back the start button" and trick people into buying Windows machines again? Because it's clearly just for show, and doesn't resolve any of the issues people have had with Metro on a desktop PC.
- pixie_ 13y agoEveryone is asking for it. The entire Metro UI is one gigantic design mistake. Hell people were complaining about it an entire year before Windows 8 was released. Since then it's been like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
- jamesgeck0 13y agoThis isn't exactly what people are asking for. While showing the start button at all is an improvement, most people would prefer that the mode shift from desktop to metro didn't happen.
- Steko 13y agoWe're getting a crash course in why people prefer non-radical changes to whatever benefits they gain from omg!1 flat design. Pay attention kids, there will be a pop quiz the Monday after next to see who retained the material. I'm fairly confident the top comment in every keynote thread will be criticizing them for not going far enough.
- MichaelGG 13y agoIt's like MS is being obtuse on purpose. People complain about having the entire focus of the system switch to tablet mode, just to find a document or launch a program. Not because of the few pixels representing the start menu. They obviously know this. At first, I thought Win8 start screen would be nearly equivalent to the start menu. It is not. First, on RDP, it is an utter and total nightmare. Whoever thought Windows Server should use the start screen should be sacked. Last week I lit up 2012 servers for a client, and they thought the shell was a joke, literally. Even MS TechNet admits that doing things might be a bit of a hassle. On normal desktop, it's extremely distracting to flip to start screen instead of opening the start menu. Also, the search feature is broken. Instead of having one global search, you need to type the query, then arrow down a few times to select the kind you wanted (like settings). Finally, even when you get results, they're in tablet-tile mode, which is an annoyingly cartoonish way, and in case of long names (as MS likes), you get the name clipped. If MST3K was reviewing it, this would be a part they just sorta chuckle and say "They really did that."
- shubb 13y agoNot that it makes the Start screen any less wierd, but win+W keys open up search for settings, without having to press down at the end.
- skrebbel 13y agoeasy to remember cause it's short for Win+Wtf?
- sigkill 13y agoYour post is spot on. The search, the frigging search is completely broken on Win8. I hate it that you can't have a universal search so much that I've started using Launchy. Alt-Space for me to search anything is a pretty damn good two key replacement for the one-key search button. I tried binding it to the pause/break button on my laptop but it doesn't receive the key except when the desktop is in focus.
- iamshs 13y agoI hate the non-inclusion of the universal search, it is annoying, I heard Apple has a patent on that but then MS and Apple have some kind of agreement too.
- ladzoppelin 13y agoI love Windows 8 and hope they leave the option to keep the task like it currently stands. The negativity is bloggers, using Macbooks, trying to rekindle the Vista days for page views.
- iamshs 13y agoI love Windows 8 too. It feels refreshing just to see the lock screen on this bad boy. I can play hydro thunder, gravity guy, and then go back to writing my paper and churn out MATLAB calculations. I can press start button and look at weather in a snip. I can have a simple to-do list right on my start screen. It has improved my workflow, but alas I do not have a blog where I can ridicule existing technologies and make sponsorship money. Seeing the snarky comments/headlines makes me feel like a kid among bunch of grandpas.
- eddieroger 13y agoBloggers, regardless of what of laptop they have, have a platform to voice their legitimate gripes about an operating system, where consumers only have the power of their purse, and can choose to not buy - which is happening. It's not like their making up their grievances, and many are in alignment with my usage of Windows 8, despite my lack of status as a blogger.
- freehunter 13y ago>can choose to not buy - which is happening. Except that Windows 8 is selling in massive numbers.
- runjake 13y agoThe Start Button wasn't a big issue to me, as I long ago moved to a keyboard-centric workflow -- using the Windows key, typing a few letters of whatever I wanted to open and hit ENTER. The big problem here is that this no longer works in Windows 8. Now you hit the Windows key, type a few letters of whatever you want to open and you have to arrow or tab a few times to get to the actual item you cared about. For those complaining about the cumbersomeness of getting to system settings, I agree. That's why I urge users to learning about the Windows key+x keyboard shortcut. More excellent tips from Scott Hanselman at: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Windows8ProductivityWhoMovedMyCheeseOhThereItIs.aspx http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Windows8ProductivityWhoMovedMy...
- antonapa 13y agoMy grandpa and grandma bought a Win8 machine. Worst day of my life - trying to explain to them how EVERYTHING worked was/is impossible. They don't even understand basic navigation since they switched computers. I've been using computers for roughly 20 years and still haven't found an effective way to make use of Metro. I just go win+d and use keyboard commands. Metro is okay on mobile devices but laptops and other computers should have the option to boot directly to desktop.
- assemble 13y agoMy grandma loves her new Windows 8 computer. She hasn't called me for help at all since she got it--a vast improvement over her old Mac laptop and XP desktop.