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Windows 8.1 set to bring back the Start button


ShyWriter

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Windows 8.1 set to bring back the Start button

By Tom Warren on

April 22, 2013 08:01 am

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Microsoft is preparing to revive the traditional Start button it killed with Windows 8. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed to The Verge that Windows 8.1 will include the return of the Start button. We understand that the button will act as a method to simply access the Start Screen, and will not include the traditional Start Menu. The button is said to look near-identical to the existing Windows flag used in the Charm bar.

Microsoft changes its mind

Microsoft's change of heart follows another recent planned change for Windows 8.1: a boot to desktop option. We understand Microsoft will add an option to allow users to boot directly to the traditional desktop environment in future builds of the upcoming Windows 8 upgrade. Most internal builds of Windows 8.1 do not include the Start button or boot to desktop options, but Microsoft is said to be planning how to add these into the operating system. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley previously reported on Microsoft's plans to bring back the Start button and a boot to desktop option. (More...)

Read the complete article at: http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/22/4251610/windows-8-1-start-button

Steve

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GOOD! Yay! :)

I don't have Win8 in fact I've not used it except seeing it on display computers at stores, but, I do not like the idea of no initial start menu/desktop. I think that this is a good thing for MS.

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It's too bad they're only adding a Start button which opens the MetroUI/START screen. I was hoping they'd be giving us back the START menu. I still don't dock every frequently used shortcut/program to the taskbar and I like having quick access to things like the Computer, Network and Control Panel right there in the Start menu, not to mention things like the Run command. Losing all of that is one of the most jarring things for me about trying to use Windows 8 and why, even after having used it pretty regularly on a tablet for testing for several weeks now, it still feels more like a 'toy' than an actual usable/production operating system. Everything about the whole Metro experience seems like more of a novelty to me than anything, like a semi-viable alternative for touch-only/tablet-only devices, but crippling for use without them when the only available tools are a keyboard and mouse.

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the full start menu would be best, I agree! I don't like the main W8 screen ugh.

I don't terribly mind the MetroUI/Start screen for some things. When the apps actually work (much of the time they do not, even though their desktop counterparts work just fine for some reason :P), they can be nifty. Like Netflix and stuff like that. Live tiles are cool, such as the one I use for weather and the one that Kaspersky gives you that allows you to monitor the status of your protection. But all in all, using it as the primary interface for productivity is still extremely lacking in my opinion. Maybe that will change with time, but aside from (possibly) voice input, I can't see a better, more efficient way of doing actual work (i.e. typing) without a real keyboard. The onscreen keyboard just doesn't cut it and I definitely don't want to try and use a stylus to try and write up a 10,000 word Word document. I quit using pen and paper for a reason, so a stylus (to me at least) seems like a step backwards technologically (as does touch now that I think about it, short of its obvious advantages with regards to portability).
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Mmm. Yeah. When I started seeing W8 advertised, I thought it looked horrible! I am glad that you can view the desktop etc on it, but, I dunno, I just don't like the setup. I like the start menu... why fix what ain't broke? :P

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Windows Key + X is my favorite thing ever for Windows 8. I love the New Start Screen, and just clicking windows key and typing the app I want is what I use. Then I dock stuff into the Start Menu for things I can just quickly launch. Then shutdown is just simply Windows Key + I, then a click.

I'm very much in favor of Windows 8. I hope they can disable this new button...

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Win Key + X prompt for your reference.

post-60618-0-90410900-1366677592.png

I had no idea this existed. Why not just put in a menu (even in the START screen itself) that does this without requiring a keyboard shortcut? I'm glad it's there, but it says something (not just about my ineptitude :P) that such a useful function exists yet after using the OS for around 3~4 weeks, I had no idea it even existed until you just showed me. Why hide such useful/basic functionality like that? I don't get it.

As for searching for apps etc., yeah, Vista and 7 both already do that from the search bar embedded in the Start menu so that's nothing new (and yet again, just as fast, if not faster, to get to).

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Microsoft is a big company

So, someone inside in Mcrosof IT HQ get spend much money and say to company HQ what new interface most cool and ppl most needed :)

And say that again and again coz scared be banned for money spending :)

But users say they word - just not buy that new "good windows 8"

Win8 interface just for touchscreens like surface - not for normal pc.

What a bad tradition - releasing new OS version's each year not fix all preveus version bugs?

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Why waste the space on the task bar for a button when all you have to do is move your mouse to the bottom left for a start button. And from that position if you right click you get the Windows + X functionality. Getting the windows + x functionality on a touch screen is a bit tougher, but for the most part when I'm on my Surface Pro I don't do much fiddling just work.

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