Windows 8 will return Start menu

I like it! I exist.

 

Windowsblinds should be available sometimes soon for Windows 8.

i always skin Windows anyway, no way i could look at that ugly thing as it is anyway.

personally, i thought the look of Aero in Windows 7 was more horrible than the flat look of Windows 8, if that's possible. lol

Linux distros are way ahead of Windows when it comes to the aesthetic of the OS.

 

Not really, according to this: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/13/who_is_new_larson_green/

 

Well, the security improvements in Win8 are outstanding. Under the hood, it's not just warmed-over Windows 7 with a new UI. The hardening is reminiscent of the serious revamp of WinXP with SP2. Some reading on the subject: http://media.blackhat.com/bh-us-12/...2_Valasek_Windows_8_Heap_Internals_Slides.pdf

On the UI: c'mon Microsoft, just give us a choice on the UI. Those who want to use Metro aka Modern UI... let them have it. Those who want to run all their stuff the traditional way, including putting Modern UI apps in conventional windows... let them have it. Those who want both, depending what they're doing... let them have both. No one except Microsoft themselves is served by the decision to force Modern UI down everyone's throats. They want to unify their UI between Win8 phones, tablets and desktops. As the Sesame Street song goes, "one of these things is not like the others..." and doesn't need to be artificially constrained to an ill-fitting UI. I hope all the guilty parties at Microsoft have touchscreens at home, plus SOs who use lots of hand lotion and toddlers who love peanut butter. Poetic justice

I upgraded most of the PCs at work to Win8 Pro for the security advances, but I would never have done that if it meant foisting Modern UI on the employees. Without the conventional Windows UI, I'd be holding everyone's hand all day. "No, see, you go up HERE, and then THAT bar slides out... now glide down it to-- D'OH, you went too far sideways. Ok, go up HERE..."

So here's hoping the rumor is true, and options are coming back. edit: for those who may be curious, I've been using both StartIsBack and Stardock Start8 to save our sanity, with good results.

 

i certainly agree that the experience is quite jarring when trying out Windows 8.
the metro experience should be optional, not forced on the desktop user.

when installing Bodhi Linux for example, you are offered which kind of interface you want, traditional desktop, laptop, tablets etc
something like that should be included in Windows.

Windows 8 can be made to behave like Windows 7 with some work, but when i first tried it, i certainly did not like to be dropped in Metro-land just to look at a PDF or image.

the customer is always right, and it looks like Microsoft should bend a little.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

My guess is that MS want to make people have a familiarity with their touch software regardless of if your machine supports it or not. I would say that it is a marketing ploy. We are talking about Microsoft.

 

You're kind of proving my point for me.

 

If so, I didn't understand your point.

Start menu on desktop aside (I like it too), I find "Metro" useful, especially for touch input and more security ("Metro" apps are sandboxed by default and updated automatically).

 

I also agree that Microsoft should have made "Metro" somewhat optional (even if by some hidden option of the control panel or the registry).

But in the end, that happened anyway (thanks to third-party apps).

I just don't agree that "Metro" can't be useful or that "Metro" should be trashed as suggested by some blind haters.

 

Metro works fine on tablets and smartphones - but its not the right interface for desktops and laptops on which the mouse-keyboard metaphor has worked well for decades. Microsoft forgot the first axiom of computing - if it ain't broke don't fix it. There's nothing wrong with the 7 Windows interface that required such a radical break with tradition.

 

on my desktop machine, i only use Metro for the Skype and Mail apps.

all in all, i find Metro pretty useless on a desktop machine.
not only useless but it gets in the way of the desktop experience.

it is not an issue for me anymore because i willed Windows 8 to bend to my wishes. lol

i had to install it and try it on 4 different occasions before i finally was able to get comfortable.
if me, a computer geek, took this long to get adjusted i can Joe/Jane Average giving up much sooner than me.

 

If you have a desktop or laptop with a touchscreen, "Metro" can be useful. Touchscreen input with 7 is a PITA.

But I agree that "Metro" should have been optional if the user happens to just use keyboard and mouse (in reality, "Metro" is optional - thanks to third-party apps).

But remember: optional doesn't mean unavailable.

Touchscreen input can be added to any PC and it comes with many notebooks and desktops, not only tablets, convertibles and whatever.

Users may happen (at some point) to want some "Metro" app, and/or some peculiar aspect of its architecture (security, performance, whatever). Or to try something new, or whatever.

 

Average users tend to show less difficulty with "Metro" than geeks AFAIK.

 

My question is, why do you need touch input if you have a mouse and keyboard? I've always thought of touch as a substitute for m/k, when the form factor of the device doesn't allow for it (like on a phone or tablet). What does it bring to the table on a desktop or laptop?

Do some people find it easier to use? Or do they just think it's "cool?"

 

Understanding the touch input "importance" seems to be harder for geeks than for the average users.

That is because geeks already dominate their keyboards and mouses too much... with that, some of them lost some contact with reality.

But back to reality: here, in reality, touch makes the computing experience, especially for average users, more... vivid - that's the word.

It feels like eliminating some intermediaries.

It's more like a complementary and cool input to have if possible.

And there are also some scenario usages where touch is essential. Some games, for instance, are designed with touch in mind.

 

This can't be true, if it is . . . I'll definitely get Windows 8.

 

I'll have what you're smoking. lol

 

Tested pure air! It's free and widely available in some locations.

 

Nothing in my opinion.

On Win 8 I suspect that it is a marketing exercise by Microsoft.

 

Do you regularly sit too near a leaky microwave oven?

 

No,

 

Rather poetic but debatable. I enjoy the touch interface on my smartphone, but I'm also not trying to do things on it that I do on my desktop with a mouse and keyboard. Even when using a swype keyboard entering text is inefficient compared with typing. You might think that having both touch and a m&k is best, but there are serious ergonomic considerations. A phone/tablet is held in one hand and naturally adjusted for distance and angle. A touchscreen on a laptop/desktop is not so easily positioned. There is also the fact that the keyboard must be optimally positioned and that may conflict with the screen. For instance my desktop screen is so far away I can't touch it without leaning forward so it wouldn't be of much value to have touch capability - it's normal for people to position screens further from their eyes as they get older. There is also the issue of fingerprints. I've asked people with older HP Touchsmart PCs if they like them and one thing they don't like is fingerprints on the screen. This isn't problematic on a smaller, secondary device like a phone, but it can be on a large screen.

Regarding games that require a touchscreen I don't observe that this is a serious force driving the adoption of touchscreens on laptops/desktops - do you?

This all comes down to using the best tool for a given purpose and that's why choice is necessary in the UI.

 

I agree, it doesn't seem to really make sense on a laptop. I don't see any advantage in reaching out over the trackpad & keyboard to physically touch the screen. Regardless of this I have seen a lot of new laptops running Win 8 advertised as having a touch screen.

Notwithstanding the physical repetition of regularly leaning forward to touch a desktop screen could be tiring.

Maybe Microsoft has a deal with some companies that make screen wipes.

I only really play Chess Titans on my laptop & desktop. A touch screen would be far less convenient than a mouse/trackpad. I couldn't even really envisage using a touch screen to play it.

Choice is not Microsoft's intent in this matter.

 

Other sources are beginning to confirm:

http://itnews2day.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/start-menu-to-windows-8/

I'll bet also, now that Sinofsky is gone, that Tiles will be given the boot by the time the code is finalized.