Rumor: Start Button in Windows 8.1 to Have No Menu

[exfileme]

The Windows 8.1 Start button may not have a menu. Meanwhile, the latest leak points to a public preview.

Rumor: Start Button in Windows 8.1 to Have No Menu : Read more

 

[godfather666]

I don't know about what others think, but this may potentially solve 75% of my problem with Windows 8, if I understood these changes correctly. Why? Because:

1. I can boot to the desktop.
2. If I understood correctly, pressing the Windows button in 8.1 will toggle between Start Screen (where I can search for stuff) and the desktop. Right now, pressing the button toggles between start screen and whichever app I had opened last.

The issue for isn't so much with the lack of a menu, but for the fact that the desktop was turned into "just another app". I want the traditional desktop to go back to being the focal point of the operating system, which is what I think these changes will enable. I was really just using the start menu to search for software and files, which I can still do easily in the start screen, just by typing.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

Windows 8.2: Microsoft gives up and restores full Windows 7-like desktop functionality along with proper Start menu.

 

[christop]

Touch-friendly Windows 8 Start screen. My desktop doesn't have a touch screen. Why not give people the choice to have it what ever way they like. I will not upgrade to w8 until this is fixed. I have used win8 and hate the metro UI.

 

[jack1982]

A simple "Are you using a touchscreen? Y/N" would have eliminated this whole problem, but some guy making a 7 figure salary was way too smart for that.

 

[jamesjones_det]

I don't understand why MS won't allow the desktop and metro experiences to merge on desktops and laptops. This way you wouldn't have to mange two completely different desktop environments based on the type of app I opened.

This change does nothing, I can still access metro by moving my mouse the the same area as the start button. Any fool who believes this will fix the complaints obviously dreaming.

 

[HavocX]

This will not appease the hardcore users who are angry they had to spend ten minutes installing a start menu replacement, but I think it will help the average joe not getting confused with Windows 8. After all, the start screen is basically a big start menu.

 

[ojas]

Yeah. We wanted the menu too.

 

[warezme]

Uh, yea, the point of the start button was to get back the contextual menu items, duh? People just refer to it as the start button because that is what is used for? So MS just heard the button part. Now how much money do these ya hoos make again?

 

[ap3x]

I personally like the Metro interface even without a touchscreen. When you get used to it it is wayyyy faster than the start menu. It threw me off at first but after a while I got use to it and really can't imagine going back to the old way. I think most of the hatred toward Windows 8 is really a combination of people not being use to big changes in something that they have used for a long time and Microsoft really doing a poor job of showcasing the advantages of metro for normal computing purposes. If you want to find a app or anything you don't have to go find search you just start typing and Metro finds it. Emails, Documents, Settings, Apps, Store Apps, everything. I think it is refreshing to be able to get to anything I want super fast.

 

[ap3x]

I personally like the Metro interface even without a touchscreen. When you get used to it it is wayyyy faster than the start menu. It threw me off at first but after a while I got use to it and really can't imagine going back to the old way. I think most of the hatred toward Windows 8 is really a combination of people not being use to big changes in something that they have used for a long time and Microsoft really doing a poor job of showcasing the advantages of metro for normal computing purposes. If you want to find a app or anything you don't have to go find search you just start typing and Metro finds it. Emails, Documents, Settings, Apps, Store Apps, everything. I think it is refreshing to be able to get to anything I want super fast.

 

[bourgeoisdude]

...Maybe it is too much to ask, but I'd prefer it if tech journalists report news, give us facts and experience. One of the reasons I boycotted your articles years ago is because you don't really do any of those things. Your goal is to satisfy the majority opinion of those who read your articles to create more page clicks, and inject your personal opinion as propaganda.

I know this is a weird place to rant about this (It'd be better suited for Win8 hate articles at PC Magazine site, or Foxnews/CNN/NBC), but while most actually report news and inject a few lines of opinion, you literally have only four sentences in this article of actual news, and the rest is completely biased personal opinion.

 

[chicofehr]

I'm using the 2000 start menu on windows 7 with classic shell. I guess I'm behind the times LOL

 

[Benthon]

That's odd. Upper management listening to customer feedback? Maybe EA should take a lesson.

 

[fnh]

Metro is literally for the touchscreen-generation babies. Us old folks plod along with 7, Vista (gasp) and XP (gasp!).

 

[Cryio]

What can I say. I love Windows 8 and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us, even if they're minor improvements.

 

[gonzotgreat23]

After using Windows 8 for about a month to try and get used to the modern interface, I went to Stardock.com and bought Start8, which put the start button back into Windows. It's like getting all the benefits of Windows 8 stability and speed with the look and usefulness of Windows 7. For $5 it's the best program I've found for Windows 8 so far.

 

[jaslion]

i will just add an 3rd party one then

 

[dalethepcman]

... you literally have only four sentences in this article of actual news, and the rest is completely biased personal opinion.

Hence why the article's title started with the word Rumor.

I swear, some people would complain for not getting cream and sugar in their black coffee....

 

[hannibal]

Windows 8.2: Microsoft gives up and restores full Windows 7-like desktop functionality along with proper Start menu.

Not likely to happen They are going full speed toward mobile and touch based computers....

Most propably:

• 
  ■ win7 = last desktop OS from MS
  ■ win8.x = hybrid OS (old desktop + Modern UI)
  ■ win9.x = first pure Modern UI v2 OS (with old desktop compability mode)
  ■ win10.x = first pure Modern UI v3 OS (without any desktop mode...)

Win8 will see a guite a lot variant and variance between good ole win7 style desktop modes and Modern UI modes, but the wholw MS economy is been going to based on MS-store, so it is an economy based solution to MS.
Hard to say wht this does mean in bigger picture, but there are a lot of marks that points to that direction. Many will stay in win7 as long as possible and then maybe some win8 variant that offer most old school like version of desctop mode. Rest will move to pure Modern UI OS like win9 or win10.
I am a teacher for youg child and even now the children with age 6-8 prefer to use virtual keyboard instead of real one when they are using nomal desktop computer (with win7)... I was somewhat shocked, and did feel like dinosaur compared to those touch native children... We, my friends in here, are obsolate in 10-15 years... I feel so old...

 

[Eric Van Boven]

Perfect. Start button that goes to main screen is perfect for vms and remoting let alone people who dont know it was hidden. Start Menu is NOT needed. The start screen has the same menu THAT ALREADY HAS EXPANDED FOLDERS. Boot to desktop would sum up the majority of the complaints.

 

[mortsmi7]

The start screen really has nothing in common with the old start menu. I like to keep my task bar fairly clean, only most used programs go there. Lesser used ones have a shortcut on the desktop and everything else goes in the start menu. Except win8 doesn't actually have the "everything else". You have to do a search to find that stuff, and if you can't remember the name, you're screwed and have to do a manual search. All of this work could have been avoided with a freaking start menu.

And I deleted all that app crap from the menu. Why the hell would I want to go through the start menu again just to get back to the desktop when an X in the corner is more direct?

 

[milesk182]

Here's a troubleshooting story for the crappy windows8:
A user is having an issue with IE and is suspect it's caused from an add-on. I need to launch IE with no-addons but guess what...!? When you search for it it does not appear in the programs list and i have to manually track down in the explorer window the location of IE and make a shortcut of it to the desktop and edit the target source to run as no-addons. This helped me figure out the users issue but the problem was that getting rid of the desktops start section made me have to do 15 more tasks to get this feature.

Stupid piece of s**t

 

[dalethepcman]

Here's a troubleshooting story for the crappy windows8:
A user is having an issue with IE and is suspect it's caused from an add-on. I need to launch IE with no-addons but guess what...!? When you search for it it does not appear in the programs list and i have to manually track down in the explorer window the location of IE and make a shortcut of it to the desktop and edit the target source to run as no-addons. This helped me figure out the users issue but the problem was that getting rid of the desktops start section made me have to do 15 more tasks to get this feature.

Stupid piece of s**t

One reg file can fix this.

To keep things short, HKID= [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
HKID]@="Internet Explorer"
"InfoTip"="@C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-881"
HKID\DefaultIcon]@="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-190"
HKID\InProcServer32]
@="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll"
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
HKID\shell\NoAddOns]
@="Start Without Add-ons"

If this doesn't work PM me and I will send you the reg file for resetting this CLSID for both 64 and 32bit IE

 

[BarrSuul]

MS needs to just bring back the option of Aero. Metro can be the default touch interface, Aero for the desktop. A touch gesture based interface makes zero sense on a workstation. Stop dicking around and overthinking it already, just get it done.