Windows 8: say goodbye to your start menu!

[Cockatoo 2,256]

If you haven’t heard already, Microsoft plans to release the successor to Windows 7 (to be called Windows 8 ) later on this year. They say it'll be the biggest fundamental change they've made to the OS since 1995, and they're not kidding. They've completely removed the start button/ menu from the desktop and replaced it with a touch-oriented 'start screen' designed for launching their new full-screen metro apps. This start screen is what you see when you first boot up your PC. The desktop is still there, but it's been reduced to an 'app' that can be accessed through the start screen. You can get the gist of things from this Wikipedia article.

I downloaded the consumer preview a little while ago. While there is some good stuff in there, IMO the metro UI is really hard to get used to and clumsy as hell to use with a mouse and even more so with a trackpad. If what I've seen so far is anything to go off, there's no real need to upgrade to Win8 on any laptop/ desktop, it's clearly been designed with touch/ tablets in mind and offers no real benefit on the traditional PC.

Personally I'm starting to think that Win7 will be the last Windows OS I'll use on the desktop - something I'll always need for the CAD stuff I do. Hopefully by the time they stop supporting it there'll be something even better to use. I actually like Windows and want to keep using it... but not if it's designed for tablets. I reckon this could easily flop worse than Vista did.

What you see when you turn the thing on:

The desktop:

So what do you guys think? Would you keep using Windows on your desktop/ laptop if it looked like this? Would you actually buy a Windows tablet in the first place? Will this be Vista all over again, even worse, or will it a big hit?

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

I have seen the change and I have downloaded the beta but I did not install it yet, it should not be to hard for those who be on the computer all the time like me. I was really shock to see this and there are some youtube videos on people using it, like the Granny and the little boy trying to work it.

  Edited May 18, 2012 by Aaron Graham  

[Silur 3,304]

I need only XP for all my business ...

Vista, 7 or 8 - not for me ...

  Edited May 18, 2012 by Silur  

[astronelson 339]

98 was good.

ME was bad.

XP was good.

Vista was bad.

7 is good.

There's a pattern emerging.

[Wiimeiser 444]

And if there is then Windows 9 will fix what went wrong.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

Ugh, no start menu. Do they have any idea how many times I use that function and now they are going to remove it for a new modernistic app-kind of thing? If this comes out, I might seriously consider to keep my Windows version or transfer to Ubuntu...

[Adjiebrotot 94]

why no start menu? i love the start menu. that make windows better than others.

[Duke87 1,070]

The lack of a start menu doesn't in and of itself really bother me since I remember using Windows before the start menu existed.

Though, indeed, this does seem to be designed for tablets. If MS is stupid enough to think that people will use it on the desktops and laptops (which are still the majority of the computer market), they've got another Vista on their hands.

No, I would never buy a Windows tablet, but only because I would never buy a tablet of any sort. That sort of thing is fine I suppose if your computer usage is completely casual but I do things with my computer which a tablet isn't good at or even capable of. So, I have no use for one.

  Edited May 18, 2012 by Duke87  

[jdenm8 362]

I used it last year back when the Developer Preview first came out. There were some features I liked but that nearly completely Metro interface isn't one of them.

It has been designed with touch interfaces in mind, not traditional desktop interfaces, and it shows. If my PC dies and I can't use 7 any more, I might seriously consider moving to a more traditional interface, like Ubuntu's, and modding the heck out of it to get my Windows Experience back.

  Edited May 18, 2012 by jdenm8  

[Durfsurn 539]

98 was good.

ME was bad.

XP was good.

Vista was bad.

7 is good.

There's a pattern emerging.

I totally agree. As mentioned there will be Windows 8/Vista 2.0 and then Windows 9 which will bring back the start menu because MS will find out that people still use computers and laptops and like the Start Menu. Looks like another Vista flop to me. It's looking to much like the Windows Phone interface and we all know what happened last time MS tried making phones...

  Edited May 18, 2012 by durfsurn  

[Alejandro24 575]

No start menu? Hahaha, EPIC FAIL, I'm sure of that.

That system looks like a media center, doesn't seems to be functional for classic computers, because most of the actual computers still use a keyboard and a mouse. Don't know why them want to push to a new technology without counting the really needs of the people. But I'm sure of something: I'll not use it untill many years. I still use WinXP, is the best system that supports LoggerPro, Scientific Workplace and Wolfram Mathematica. Win7 is not a good system.

At least they should allow an option for the visibility of the button of Start.

[mrbisonm 1,620]

I don't believe in miracles and one thing about everything that comes out lately is that it is done to earn money and not to deliver us quality products that have been tested and tested all over to work perfectly. Watch this, it will need an update (patch) within the first month or even week. $$$ is the only interest in today's manufacturing. And Windows 8 will not be different, nor will Simcity 2013 in which I don't believe in for the moment. They do it for money only and not to help nor please us. Remember that. It is what the world has become to, money.

I just bought 4 new computers for my office in town and guess what?. I had a serious discussion, almost an argument with the store's salesmen about windows and it ended up that they had to install Win XP at my demand, otherwise there would be NO Sale, I told. It must have been difficult for them, because it took them 3 days to deliver..... . All my enseigns (students) that I hire, told me to get Win XP, instead of Win7, so there must be something right with XP.

I have no prejudgement for Win 8, but it will have to be enormously better than 7 to impress me. Not different, but better, because learning all over again how things work is not my interest and being different is only a gag to get our attention and hide the "errors". I am German born and one from the old truebloods, and we think when something works right, we keep it, just like my can opener from the first worldwar. It still works, works well and the newer ones only last less than a year or so.

That is MY opinion on what's coming with Win 8, but hey.....let's surprise me, ok?

mrb

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, most PC users are mouse oriented. Surely the install and or start-up can recognize that no touch screen is present and produce something more useful. There must a a choice of desktops.

The default in UBUNTU is to provide a choice of five desktops at start up (GNOME, gnome classic, gnome classic no effects, UBUNTU, and UBUNTU 2D). If none of these please you, you can download choice of several others from the distribution.

I want a bigger screen, not a tiny tablet.

I am sick to death of these fools casting their pearls before us swine. If it isn't broken, don't fix it!

If you have to support some new technology, do it as an add, not an overhaul.

  Edited May 18, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[NCGAIO 562]

The path behind everything that is being produced today is guided by the same ideas.

- The production of content is to be directed only licensed, and having incorporated into its legal use the need to be connected to the cloud to make use of means and products.

- For it is essential to have an interface that can be used in various means of access and that reflects a harmonization of use in order to be intuitive and similar in all of them.

- At a general need to carry the products to new technologies on a more immediate to remain competitive and preserve investments.

The flaw I see in this way is the same as has happened on several other occasions and always tends to repeat itself. The idea of directing people to accept certain content simply by removing the options for possible deviations.

For those who do not remember so it was that spurred the birth of the concept of free software.

Specifically on the topic of the topic is nothing better than reading the links below ..

- http://www.zdnet.com...windows-8/19027

- http://www.zdnet.com...e-desktop/19133

  Edited May 18, 2012 by NCGAIO  

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I will continue using my nice copy of Windows 7 even after upgrading all my hardware.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I will continue using my nice copy of Windows 7 even after upgrading all my hardware.

What will you do if your nice new hardware is not supported by Windows 7? You'll find about in about three years.

[Linoa06 1,374]

Disreguard Windows. Acquire Linux.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I know what I will upgrade with and I plan on upgrading my motherboard, graphics card, RAM, and Power Supply this year, before Windows 8 comes out.

[Cockatoo 2,256]

I will continue using my nice copy of Windows 7 even after upgrading all my hardware.

What will you do if your nice new hardware is not supported by Windows 7? You'll find about in about three years.

Nah... W7 will still be perfectly useable in a decade’s time, probably even longer. XP, launched in 2001, can still be installed with almost all modern hardware I believe. Sure, it won't take full advantage of it in some situations, but it'll still get the job done. I actually think that if W8 flops, W7 is set to become the new XP, the OS that just won’t go away.

For those still on XP, I'd like to know what you think (other than legacy application compatibility) it has over 7. I've used them both extensively and I've always preferred 7.

[Duke87 1,070]

And then there's this.

If you're smart you'll pick up some freeware to cover the gap. But most people won't be.

Honestly, were it not for the fact that my lifestyle demands I own a laptop rather than a desktop, there is a chance that I would have built my own PC a couple years ago and gotten Linux, and a better chance that I would do so next time. But I don't have that option - I have no place to put a desktop computer in my small apartment, and the portability a laptop affords is just too useful to give up. So, I'm stuck with whatever I can get OEM.

[TekindusT 3,809]

For those still on XP, I'd like to know what you think (other than legacy application compatibility) it has over 7. I've used them both extensively and I've always preferred 7.

It's just avoiding the experience of learning to drive again each time you change your car. I've worked nearly all my lifetime with W98 and XP, recently installed W7; and I had to take my time in order to have everything under control; a time that some people aren't willing to spend.

[Alejandro24 575]

... $$$ is the only interest in today's manufacturing. And Windows 8 will not be different, nor will Simcity 2013 in which I don't believe in for the moment. They do it for money only and not to help nor please us. Remember that. It is what the world has become to, money.

... ...and we think when something works right, we keep it, just like my can opener from the first worldwar. It still works, works well and the newer ones only last less than a year or so.

That is MY opinion on what's coming with Win 8, but hey.....let's surprise me, ok?

mrb

Money is a easy reason, and the principal one.

Lets remember the planned obsolescence of all our products, specially electronics. The base of our economy is that, so the companies makes necessary agreements for this regular change of products in the minimal time required with the goal of the earnings.

In the case of the software, this is reflected in the changing of system requirements and hardware when there is a new OS in determinated time lapses.

The idea of keep something that works correctly is, for they the companies, just unacceptable; they don't won the planned earnings if they manufacture products of quality that will perdure many years. Actually, the idea of keep something that works well should be the law in manufacturing, instead the planned obsolescence. Since the planned obsolescence is guiding us to a dead end. The documental Comprar, Tirar, Comprar (Buy, Discard, Buy) explains very well this idea of the planned obsolescence.

I was raised with the same idea as you, of keep something that works right till the end. That's the reason of what I've not changed my cell phone and take care of my computer.

The next picture is a part of a background from a program for background changers for Windows 7 Starter, that with satire says all the true.

  Edited May 18, 2012 by Alejandro24  

[RipRap 4,400]

I'm sticking with Windows 7 :|

[hamsterTK 93]

I'm sure people will get used to the new interface. People always whine about new things. The only reason I'd be alarmed is if they add anything big brother-ish to make it more in line with other tablet or phone-esque operating systems.

I dunno, the real reason why I use Windows is 1)I'm a 90s kid whose been using it since 3.1, 2)most stuff works for it and 3) I know all the little tricks like how to fix things by going to regedit or making a .cmd file in notepad to clear the printer spool if my printer freezes. If Windows ever takes the walled garden approach or they significantly change the way things work inside, then I'd have no incentive to keep it and I'd just go Linux which I have used in the past.

  Edited May 19, 2012 by hamsterTK  

[Cockatoo 2,256]

Added a poll for you guys to vote in...

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I mean, if I get a tablet, Windows 8 might be reasonable but I doubt I will buy any tablet. I already have a planned purchase of $250 for upgrading my computer (wish list on NewEgg).

[-JD- 41]

I've personally run the Consumer Preview on a separate partition on my laptop, and I have to say, I am very pleased with it. I find that it actually works very well with a track pad. It's also fresh, modern, and beautiful. Of course in my opinion. But every major change in Windows has had people complaining, the introduction of the Start menu, the beefing up of the start menu in Vista/W7, the introduction of Aero, the seemingly "pre-school" theme of Windows XP. All of these are things people moaned and groaned about, but also look how much these things are now engrained in the usage of Windows.

In due time, most people will have no problem using Metro instead of the Start menu.

[simlink 1,098]

Undecided for now. I haven't used the Developer Preview/Beta and won't say no to using it ever before trying it. Though, I really do like W7.

[Cockatoo 2,256]

I've personally run the Consumer Preview on a separate partition on my laptop, and I have to say, I am very pleased with it. I find that it actually works very well with a track pad. It's also fresh, modern, and beautiful. Of course in my opinion. But every major change in Windows has had people complaining, the introduction of the Start menu, the beefing up of the start menu in Vista/W7, the introduction of Aero, the seemingly "pre-school" theme of Windows XP. All of these are things people moaned and groaned about, but also look how much these things are now engrained in the usage of Windows.

In due time, most people will have no problem using Metro instead of the Start menu.

I really hope you're right. I know the Start Screen/ Metro is still in development, and that we haven’t had enough time to really get to know it, but I just can't shake the feeling that this time the change is too big and too many people will be put off by it.

Even in XP/ Vista/ 7 you still have the option to go back to the classic interface if you're not fond of the bright blue theme luna theme or aero (things I've personally liked from the get go.) And even when they changed the start menu around in XP, they retained the old one for quite a while as to slowly ween people onto it. But this time they're not giving us the option to retain our old habits, and I really think that's going to cost them.

If you look at the changes from Windows 95 all the way up to 7, in terms of the most simple tasks (shutting down the PC, opening and closing programs, moving between windows etc. etc.) they havn’t been very dramatic at all. But to use Windows 8 you essentially have to re-learn all of these things. From scratch.

Why try and re-invent the wheel then? One of the reasons people loved Windows 7 so much is because they took something familiar (the taskbar) and made it work even better. And if you didn't like that, well, you could still set it back to the way it used to be. They certainly aren't taking the same approach here.

Even if Metro was intuitive, easy to use and worked with a mouse or trackpad, a genuine improvement on the 'classic' environment, which at this stage I don't believe it is, without giving people the opportunity to slowly ease into it, I don't they're gonna buy it. Not for a long time anyway.

-The next picture is a part of a background from a program for background changers for Windows 7 Starter, that with satire says all the true.

Don't even get me started on that stupid starter edition... I still can't believe they did that.

Oh no, netbook users have no need to change their desktop wallpaper... unless they send us money for an upgrade that is.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

And then there's this.

If you're smart you'll pick up some freeware to cover the gap. But most people won't be.

Honestly, were it not for the fact that my lifestyle demands I own a laptop rather than a desktop, there is a chance that I would have built my own PC a couple years ago and gotten Linux, and a better chance that I would do so next time. But I don't have that option - I have no place to put a desktop computer in my small apartment, and the portability a laptop affords is just too useful to give up. So, I'm stuck with whatever I can get OEM.

Not completely true. Linux runs anywhere. Ubuntu actually has a Laptop edition. You do, however, have to add a little set of codecs to run encrypted movies, but they tell you where these are.