Poll: If Windows 8 had the start menu button

sygnus21

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With all the hub bub about the missing Start Menu in Windows 8, I though I'd pose this simple question?

If Windows 8 had the start menu would you be more inclined to accept it? To clarify, if Windows 8 had a Start menu included from factory (no 3rd party apps)
 
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That really wouldn't matter to me. As soon as I saw what Win8 is about, I created a taskbar tool bar linked to a folder holding shortcuts for all the things, including some folders, I need to get to from the desktop quickly and pinned some shortcuts to the taskbar for things I really want fast access to. Subsequently, I have found no need to use 3rd-party software to provide a startmenu.

And, it doesn't bother me that Win8 starts to the start screen without modification. My desktop tile is uppermost left: thus, I just do a return when the start screen shows up, and I am transported quickly to the desktop. I have no need to start directly to the desktop. Once on the desktop I seldom have any reason to go the metro area. For example, I use this option to for quitting work/play.

I am using Win8 on an older laptop and am not missing anything significant to me--except UEFI/Fast Startup. On the other hand, I don't restart very often. The bottom line here is that I would not buy a new laptop just to have Win8 for "portable" use. On the other hand, if I wanted a new PC laptop, then I wouldn't refrain from buying one because Win8 is installed.

I don't ever plan to install Win8 on my desktop (see system specs). Doing so would be essentially pointless and a fair amount of work. Win8 just doesn't offer me anything that would lead me to think twice about installing it on this machine.
 
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I agree with you 100% Znod. I, like you pin my shortcuts to the task bar, why do I need a Start Menu. To upgrade or not is a question of need and personal taste. Whatever works for you!
 

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No, I wouldn't be too inclined. In fact, if Windows 8 kept the same UI as Windows 7 and maybe tweaked a few things here and there, what Microsoft once said about the start menu usage would COMPLETELY dwindle down. If people continued to use the Taskbar as their "start" menu of sorts, not only would they had missed a chance to redo the UI but they would had SEVERELY missed their chances of the tablet PC market. Touching a start menu isn't close to ideal without a stylus.
 

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I think what you're asking is if Windows 8 had a Windows 7 start menu from "the factory," would we be more inclined to accept it? Cause Win8 does have a start menu, but it is different than the start menu in Windows 7. I like the Win8 start menu and have got to know it well enough that I uninstalled Start8.
 

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Well I like a clean desktop with my most used apps in the task bar. This is also one of the reasons I'm not or never will be sold on the "metro" look. Yeah, I know there's the traditional desktop look, but not start menu. I just think this is something needed for a desktop PC. FOr tablets and smartphones and the like that would be OK, for a desktop, not so good. My opinion.

Anyway here's my idea of a clean desktop...

My-Desktop.jpg
 
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I think what you're asking is if Windows 8 had a Windows 7 start menu from "the factory," would we be more inclined to accept it? Cause Win8 does have a start menu, but it is different than the start menu in Windows 7. I like the Win8 start menu and have got to know it well enough that I uninstalled Start8.
I know what you are saying, but I think that most refer to the "metro" start thing as the start screen not the start menu.
 

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NO. Replacement of the Win7 Start Button with the Win8 Start Screen is NOT a problem for me -- it was easy to quickly learn how to work with it using a mouse and keyboard.

What I find to be a much more significant problem with Win8 is that I cannot access my BIOS Setup or change my boot device priority, since I upgraded from "Win7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM" to "Win8 Pro 64-bit"!!! People should be warned that fast startup and other benefits of Win8 require a newer computer with UEFI (not the traditional BIOS).
 

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Edit: I don't recall the "from factory" terminology or the no third-party apps stipulation being included originally in post #1. My reply below was made before the changed wordings. Indeed, I speculated below about how these possible wordings changes might change the outcome of the poll. Now, I am concerned that some need to change their replies from no to yes to allow for the changes.
______________________

On reflection, I think that if MS had included a start menu, then many more individuals thinking of buying Win 8 or suddenly finding themselves using this OS would have been able to accept it much more readily. I think there may be a problem in interpreting the poll very generally because so many of us here have found ways around the missing start menu and, thus, don't see its absence as a problem. We would tend to reply no to the poll. Also, those that like the metro way of doing business and don't think that having a start menu is particularly important would tend to say no. So, the results of the poll are likely to be driven by these two disparate groups--both of which answer no. In other words, the poll's results may not tell us much the relationship between having a start menu of some type and accepting Win8. But, then, I am not quite sure what the pollster's intention is in this regard.

I wonder what the poll's outcome would have been had it adressed the issue of: if Windows 8 had a start menu from "the factory," then would we be more inclined to accept this OS assuming that no start-menu alternatives exists. In this case, those that think having a start menu is important would tend to reply yes. And, those saying no would tend to be those that like the metro way of doing business and don't think that having a start menu is particularly important.
 
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Start Screen organized for quick clicking.
Programs pinned to taskbar and on desktop too.

What is so hard about that? It's faster than having to click a button, scroll through a nested tree of programs, click the folder then click the program to open.

All you need to do is move mouse to taskbar and click, or press Win+D and click or press Windows key and click.
 

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Start Screen organized for quick clicking.
Programs pinned to taskbar and on desktop too.

What is so hard about that? It's faster than having to click a button, scroll through a nested tree of programs, click the folder then click the program to open.

All you need to do is move mouse to taskbar and click, or press Win+D and click or press Windows key and click.

Or, with a Windows 7 type scenario, you have programs pinned on the Taskbar, some random things you use from time to time on the Start Screen. So basically, the Start Screen becomes a sub-layer of the Desktop where all the icons go to.
 

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No, not me. the Missing Start Button in 8 is a blessing from the computer gods.

I love being stuck with a customizable Start Menu.
Add or delete tiles as I like.
Big easy to see square tiles. Or huge easy to see rectangle tile.
Let some tiles live ex: weather. Kill some tiles: facebook
Create groups as I like them grouped.
Even pin My Most Used documents and/or folders to Modern Start Menu using Brinks tutorial
"Pin to Start" Files in Windows 8

"All Apps" Shortcut - Create in Windows 8

For anyone who prefers an icon in task bar instead of pressing windows key for returning to 8 Start Menu screen, you can even choose the 7 orb icon
"Start" Screen Shortcut - Create in Windows 8

Life is so much easier with this link Windows 8 - Tutorial Index


.
 

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Nope, not me. W8 just doesn't bring anything to the table worth making the jump over 7 imho.

Hopefully 8 will do good in the mobile market, it sure doesn't seem to making much of any dent in the desktop market, nor should it imho.
 

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I'm not sure what the poll is asking (the dangling "...inclined"). But I don't use the start menu most of the time to access a commonly used program. Certainly it's easy to pin commonly used program icons to the task bar and/or the Start (Metro) screen. I like the start menu because it gives me one or two click access to a wide variety of functions I use regularly on Windows, including but not limited to: the control panel, the device manager, most recently opened/accessed documents, etc. I'm not fond of bouncing back to the Start screen and having to hunt those things down separately, sometimes by typing it in as if I were in DOS.
 

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I expect most on this forum have their own workarounds to try and make w8 practical on a desktop.

A more suitable question may have been :

If w8 had start menu - would it have had been better received by reviewers and public?

Obviously, yes.
 

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That would make a good poll. For other issues, please see my edited post #9 and new poll here--which uses a "revised question," and deals unequivocally with a post-purchase, Win8 in-use scenario.
 
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You could make a sort of educated guess.

RT allegedly makes up 9% of all w8 sales.

Estimates for RT sales are around 1-1.2 m.

How many are actually using w8 at all?

Hard to be precise.

Some of those are on tablets. A good portion of non tablets will be Samsung, Hp etc - who provide their own start menus.

Several million start menu replacements downloaded.

Seems like a very large chunk of those using W8 on a non tablet will have some kind of start menu or other. Some will be managing without.

Interesting that MS must be extremely grateful to those making start menu replacements.

Those selling them are raking in millions of dollars.

I suppose you could say w8 is creating millionaires.
 

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For me, it would not only have needed the ability to add a start button without third party add ons, but also.....

Non immersive apps..the inability of resizing these is a huge turn off for me.

Option to make windows more aero like. They are way too bland and Apple-esque for me.

Ability to customize the start screen background.
 

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I expect most on this forum have their own workarounds to try and make w8 practical on a desktop.

A more suitable question may have been :

If w8 had start menu - would it have had been better received by reviewers and public?

Obviously, yes.

Yeah, that would have been a better way to pose it since that was the intent of the question anyway.

Anyway based on the numbers of the survey thus far, I see most have accepted the OS without the start menu. I wonder how that would have change had there been no options to install one (no 3rd party app or otherwise)?
 

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Anyway based on the numbers of the survey thus far, I see most have accepted the OS without the start menu

No, it doesn't indicate that at all.

No answer might easily mean that even if it came with a start menu , they still wouldn't like it.

There is more than just the missing navigation method to contend with.


I wonder how that would have change had there been no options to install one (no 3rd party app or otherwise)

It is clear to me many would have given up on winds 8 had it not been for the relief afforded by 3rd party start menus.

MS can only get away with this kind of thing because there is no competition - no viable alternative in desktop/laptop, and that is where winds 8 is worst.
 

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