[Laurence]

Quote

Laurence,

Regarding whether MS will change their minds, maybe somebody will cut-and-paste our whole list and post it on a Microsoft forum page to embarrass them...

--JorgeA

Hi JorgeA,

I don't know what effect (if any at all) it might have on Microsoft; still, it couldn't hurt to spread the word about an increasing number of third-party offerings which bring back a familiar Start Button/Menu while using the Desktop interface in Windows 8. So check out this link.

regards,
Laurence

[JorgeA]

Laurence, on 17 November 2012 - 05:09 PM, said:

I don't know what effect (if any at all) it might have on Microsoft; still, it couldn't hurt to spread the word about an increasing number of third-party offerings which bring back a familiar Start Button/Menu while using the Desktop interface in Windows 8. So check out this link.

Hi Laurence,

Fantastic!! And when I went in, I saw there were already two positive replies.

Spread far and wide...

--JorgeA

[xpclient]

JorgeA, on 17 November 2012 - 03:53 PM, said:

There haven't been any new objections to adding the Viva Start Menu. I was waiting to hear back from xpclient (or anybody else who wanted to weigh in) on the thoughts that I offered to what he said, but it's been several days so I guess we can go ahead and put that one on the list, too.
--JorgeA

Oh no. I have no objections. I just thought it is important to mention the products that are based on Classic Shell.

[Laurence]

Another one is Handy Start Menu

[jaclaz]

Laurence, on 18 November 2012 - 01:22 PM, said:

Another one is Handy Start Menu

Which - without entering in the quality/which is better/which is worse/etc. - of the apps listed is - unless I am mistaken - app #31, i.e. you can use next December to try each of them one per day .

@JorgeA

With all due respect to all the developers involved in the making of these apps , I may suggest that the lack of start menu in Windows 8 is not the ONLY problem affecting 8 or previous MS Operating Systems, so maybe it's time to accept that a whole test month worth of apps has already been made and good willing programmers may find something better to do than writing yet another similar app.
Maybe one could use November 30th as a deadline, anything published (and tested successfully) before that "deadline" will be added to the list, anything coming later than that would be an unneeded duplication of something already developed by someone else.... (I don't think that there are hundreds different ways to get back the Start Menu , and even if there are so many, it starts to seem a lot like "exercises in style", nice , but maybe superfluous )

jaclaz

[Laurence]

Hi JorgeA,

I know the following little portable program is not a Start Button and Start Menu replacement for Windows 8, but still thought I would to bring it to your attention; and I certainly am not asking for it to be added to your list. It is just that whenever I have installed any desktop programs (most all) the installer always places an icon on the Metro/Modern screen as well, and I'd prefer that it did not; well this program prevents that from happening. I thought that perhaps others too might like to know about it, and if they come to this forum and topic they will.

AutoPin Controller

regards,
Laurence

[Laurence]

@ The Finder

It is my understanding that this topic "Ways to get back the Start Menu/Button in Win8" is for anyone to post about a Start Button/Start Menu for the Windows 8 desktop which they may already be aware of or perhaps come across on the web, if it falls within the five rules to guide this thread. Thus creating a "Master" list of sorts regarding what is available on the Net (referring to the aforementioned) to choose among for anyone who is wanting such a program, without having to do time consuming searching themselves. As to which is better, which is worse, that is up to the end user to decide for their self: what I want or works for me may not be what you want or works for you. I think it is about choice, what Microsoft could have but did not give its users (yet).

regards,
Laurence

[jaclaz]

Laurence, on 18 November 2012 - 02:45 PM, said:

It is my understanding that this topic "Ways to get back the Start Menu/Button in Win8" is for anyone to post about a Start Button/Start Menu for the Windows 8 desktop which they may already be aware of or perhaps come across on the web, if it falls within the five rules to guide this thread. Thus creating a "Master" list of sorts regarding what is available on the Net (referring to the aforementioned) to choose among for anyone who is wanting such a program, without having to do time consuming searching themselves.

Sure , that's exactly the idea.

Laurence, on 18 November 2012 - 02:45 PM, said:

As to which is better, which is worse, that is up to the end user to decide for their self: what I want or works for me may not be what you want or works for you. I think it is about choice, what Microsoft could have but did not give its users (yet).

Indeed. :

What I was trying to point out is that a list with a finite number of choices is useful, as the "casual user" will have a chance (and this is freedom ) to test each of them and then decide which one is better for him/her.
When the number of available choices becomes so big that noone in his right mind will be able to test each and every of them, it is not anymore useful and to become useful again, a smaller subset of "editor's picks" starts to be needed.

The comment was aimed at two different targets , one being the "editor" JorgeA that might want to exit "neutrality" or "mere listing" to highlight the "best" programs or however provide a "classification" of them, the other one to any programmer that passes by and thinks - by chance - "Cool, I might write another app that does the same as one of these", the message in this case is simply "Make sure you do something new or really cool, otherwise you will have wasted your time on a non-problem as the problem has already been solved, and solved in a myriad of ways".

Of course this is only my personal opinion.


jaclaz

[Tripredacus]

MagicAndre1981, on 16 November 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

Will Microsoft Restore the Start Menu to Windows 8?
http://www.cio-today...W6X&full_skip=1

And from that article:

Quote

analysts say many enterprises won't begin pilot studies of Windows 8 until 2013.

Enterprises won't go to it because the Enterprise support cycle allows them to skip products. Its no surprise that most skipped Vista and will go to 7, its because XP extended support lasted long enough for a new OS to come out. So unless the currently accepted (and incorrect, imo) business model changes, I don't see any corporations going to Windows 8 if they don't have to.

[JorgeA]

Laurence, on 18 November 2012 - 02:09 PM, said:

I know the following little portable program is not a Start Button and Start Menu replacement for Windows 8, but still thought I would to bring it to your attention; and I certainly am not asking for it to be added to your list. It is just that whenever I have installed any desktop programs (most all) the installer always places an icon on the Metro/Modern screen as well, and I'd prefer that it did not; well this program prevents that from happening. I thought that perhaps others too might like to know about it, and if they come to this forum and topic they will.

Hi Laurence,

That's a neat little program. IMHO it deserves greater visibiiity by standing in its own thread. Here in this thread, it'll tend to get buried by the surrounding information/discussion.

We can keep it here of course, but I'd suggest also posting it separately so that visitors to MSFN can see the concept as they're browsing through the forum.

--JorgeA

P.S. Your link led me to find a method by WinAero to natively boot to the Desktop without relying on third-party tools. Added to the list.

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 19 November 2012 - 10:16 AM

[JorgeA]

jaclaz, on 19 November 2012 - 04:56 AM, said:

What I was trying to point out is that a list with a finite number of choices is useful, as the "casual user" will have a chance (and this is freedom ) to test each of them and then decide which one is better for him/her.
When the number of available choices becomes so big that noone in his right mind will be able to test each and every of them, it is not anymore useful and to become useful again, a smaller subset of "editor's picks" starts to be needed.

The comment was aimed at two different targets , one being the "editor" JorgeA that might want to exit "neutrality" or "mere listing" to highlight the "best" programs or however provide a "classification" of them, the other one to any programmer that passes by and thinks - by chance - "Cool, I might write another app that does the same as one of these", the message in this case is simply "Make sure you do something new or really cool, otherwise you will have wasted your time on a non-problem as the problem has already been solved, and solved in a myriad of ways".

jaclaz,

These are good points, but going into the project I knew that I wouldn't have the time to personally test all of these utilities, and that's why I invited reviews from people who have actually used them. Readers who have tried different Start Menu replacements, please write about your experiences, good or bad!

I like the last idea you describe -- this list could serve another useful purpose by getting a programmer to think about how to avoid mere duplication, making his own Start Menu replacement do something new that the existing ones don't do.

The list is definitely starting to get unwieldy, though, so I'm thinking of putting the entries in alphabetical order. Another way to reorganize the material would be to classify it by function: "Start Menus", "Start Buttons", "Metro bypassers." What do you think of this?

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

tomasz86, on 16 November 2012 - 06:09 AM, said:

One more Start Menu from Poland:

http://www.sgjps.com...StartForDesktop

tomasz86,

Can you contact the author and ask if the page will become available in English?

The right-hand panel on the menu will probably show in the user's selected language (correct? ), but it would help if the installation instructions were available in "everybody's second language."

--JorgeA

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 19 November 2012 - 10:28 AM

[jaclaz]

Tripredacus, on 19 November 2012 - 09:15 AM, said:

Enterprises won't go to it because the Enterprise support cycle allows them to skip products. Its no surprise that most skipped Vista and will go to 7, its because XP extended support lasted long enough for a new OS to come out. So unless the currently accepted (and incorrect, imo) business model changes, I don't see any corporations going to Windows 8 if they don't have to.

Also a few "smart" users will do the same .
Play the game
http://www.msfn.org/...327#entry996327


@JorgeA
The point is only about the sheer number of (unclassified) apps, for my personal tastes a 30+ alternatives list loses much of it's usefulness as "simple" list without *something* that helps the user in "choosing" which app gives "more" or simply "what the user needs/wants".
You are the "father" of this thread and it's mantainer/editor, the only thing I can recommend you is :
http://www.imdb.com/...es?qt=qt0362962
or, better:
http://www.brainyquo...wain122044.html

jaclaz

[Win2k3EE]

I will avoid Win8 definitely. Instead of castrating Win7 and presenting it as Win8 they should develop Win7 SP2 and add a defrag-free file system that would have been compatible with xFAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext3 and even HFS+.

There are a lot of ways to improve an OS or develop "a new one" based on the previous.

[JorgeA]

jaclaz, on 19 November 2012 - 10:58 AM, said:

The point is only about the sheer number of (unclassified) apps, for my personal tastes a 30+ alternatives list loses much of it's usefulness as "simple" list without *something* that helps the user in "choosing" which app gives "more" or simply "what the user needs/wants".
You are the "father" of this thread and it's mantainer/editor, the only thing I can recommend you is :
http://www.imdb.com/...es?qt=qt0362962
or, better:
http://www.brainyquo...wain122044.html

jaclaz,

I understand what you're saying, but to do what you suggest would change the nature and the purpose of the list. My intention really was/is "simply" to offer a straight-up "menu" of Start Menus, like in a restaurant.

Now, in most of the more recent additions to the list I have provided a very brief description of what that particular application supposedly does, so maybe I can go back to the early ones and give them, too, little descriptions like that. Combined with the sort of classification mentioned before (into Start Menus, Start Buttons, Metro bypassers), the list may become easier to use. But anything more detailed than one line, and then IMHO the list (no matter how well it's broken up into categories) starts to look forbidding.

Alternatively, I can go back to the later entries and REMOVE the descriptions, so that no single item appears to get more attention, or to be favored over the others. That really would be my preference, if I had to choose one or the other approach.

--JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Jorge,

I'm not sure if this one is real or not since it has no real description or screenshots, just a bullet list of features and a "download now" button. It does mention "Aero Mode" whatever that means. It might just be a scam for all I know. Anyway, here is the site:

http://windows8startbutton.com/



Start Button for Windows 8

• Restore Windows Start button and Start menu on Windows 8!
  
• Make 'desktop mode' as your default Windows startup screen
  
• Choose appearance: classic windows, aero mode, Win 7 and more!
  
• Restore all your familiar windows menus and options
  
• All that and more, absolutely free!

[JorgeA]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 21 November 2012 - 04:59 PM, said:

I'm not sure if this one is real or not since it has no real description or screenshots, just a bullet list of features and a "download now" button. It does mention "Aero Mode" whatever that means. It might just be a scam for all I know. Anyway, here is the site:

http://windows8startbutton.com/

CharlotteTheHarlot,

Yeah, that's an interesting case. It was proposed a couple of pages upthread, and @xpclient pointed out that it's an unchanged borrowing from Classic Shell with a couple of unrelated features tacked on.

The single post with the fullest discussion is here.

Thanks anyway! Further additions to the list are still welcome -- let MSFT and its apologists know how large and active the response has been to removing the Start Menu!!

--JorgeA

[Laurence]

A few more. . .
Ezy Start Menu
Info from the download site: "Ezy Start Menu for Windows 8 is a neat application that resides in the lower left corner of your screen and provides you the functionality of the old Windows Start Menu. Using this utility you'll be able to browse your installed applications, local or remote folders and launch programs with a single click."

Lenovo QuickLaunch
Info from the download site: 'Lenovo QuickLaunch provides a "Legacy Desktop Simplified Start Menu", it allows user to fully customize a familiar "launcher" paradigm.'
I installed this one on my machine (not a Lenova) and it works (menu is basic)

Windows 8 Start Menu toggle
Info from the download site: "Windows 8 Start Menu toggle has been developed by Solo-Dev @DA for getting back old Windows 7 classic menu."

StartFinity
Info from the download site: "$14.95 per computer"
There is also a StartFinity Starter Edition (free).
Info from the download site: it has "limited customization opportunities of the Start Menu."

JorgeA, from what I read online Samsung and Toshiba are offering a Start button and menu of their own (at least with particular models); although I did a quick search on their sites I came up empty.

regards,
Laurence

PS) I edited this post to make mention and add link of the free version of StartFinity on Nov. 22

This post has been edited by Laurence: 22 November 2012 - 08:21 AM

[Win2k3EE]

StartFinity is the most expensive so far. Heck there are much better options out there: SiB 2 licenses for 5 bucks or classic shell which is free - and they are MUCH BETTER. Why the heck should someone pay half of a Win8 upgrade license for a freakin' start menu?

[Laurence]

Win2k3EE, on 22 November 2012 - 01:33 AM, said:

StartFinity is the most expensive so far. . . Why the heck should someone pay half of a Win8 upgrade license for a freakin' start menu?

I don't know; but I do know this: StartFinity is of no interest to me. So, no purchase here. ;-)

regards,
Laurence