Why the invisible Start button?

CalBear

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While you may think the start button is missing its really just invisible. If you mouse to the lower left corner of the desktop and left-click you get the Start screen. Admittedly it isn't the same as the XP or Win7 opening start menu but it can be configured to serve much the same purpose (often used programs you didn't pin to the task bar or access with icons on your desktop). If you right-click you get a selection of choices that, many may agree, are at least as useful as the ones on XP or Win7.

So the start button is really there, its just invisible. Microsoft, put the start button back where it belongs and save some new user frustrations. Of course, being able to boot directly to the desktop would be nice too :D
 

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Yes, that would be nice.

If people are able to go straight to the main UI, and have a proper start menu - then they won't go anywhere near Metro.

Metro is the means by which MS plans to get the masses hooked into the MS clouds and services,.

They won't allow people to avoid it.

So don't hold your breath.
 
Last edited:

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I'll bet the masses fall for their cloud services in droves.

That is not for me.

Just wait until we get the questions: 'All my data is gone, how do I get it back?' seven pages later.....'yes, that means it was in your cloud account and not in your computer, and there is nothing you can do'.......
 

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More like this - Microsoft is so smart this and that - makes it where it has your settings in the cloud with Lucy In The Sky.

Microsoft - here is an idea for your currently non-desktop ways:

How about you put a USB device into a machine, click a button you've designed in an app and that will save all the settings. Then the user can take that USB to a new machine and apply those settings.

(lol maybe there is something like this already? I honestly don't know because I don't use anything at all like that. Is what I described the transfer settings wizard or something, already in existence?)
 

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Yes, It's call Windows Easy Transfer.

You can save all your settings, files and transfer them to another computer or from Vista to Windows 7 (for an example).
No apps can be transfered.
 

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    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Hey, thanks Dave. I might actually try to use that if I ever do another install, but I don't really plan on it. As new builds are released, I always just upgrade and all my machines are already set here. (Won't be doing any clean installs anywhere ever.)

But if the occasions ever appears....
 

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Hi GMan, I seem to remember you were running Windows 8 on an old machine with vapour instead of RAM (so am I) :) - what if the upgrade says, sorry, this pile'o'junk cannot run setup?
 

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    Upgraded with no issues to 8.0 and to 8.1
Yes, that would be nice.

If people are able to go straight to the main UI, and have a proper start menu - then they won't go anywhere near Metro.

Metro is the means by which MS plans to get the masses hooked into the MS clouds and services,.

They won't allow people to avoid it.

So don't hold your breath.

That's one way to put it! I just finished up a new VMware Player install of the CP and was prompted for downloading the new version of Start menu7 only to see the options for mice or touchscreen! Metro is for touchscreen!
 

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Hi GMan, I seem to remember you were running Windows 8 on an old machine with vapour instead of RAM (so am I) :) - what if the upgrade says, sorry, this pile'o'junk cannot run setup?

haha, ya I made a post about this but I can't find it now. Windows 7 was alright on the machine but after using Windows 8 on it for about a week or so, I came to realize that it is too slow even for just internet usage. It wouldn't even play 360p YouTube videos either without being extremely choppy. I tweaked it out ot the hilt like I do anyway to machines and it still didn't make any difference.

So I installed Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to it and it is really good. 480p YouTube plays without the slightest issue and internet browsing is very smooth and dare I even say, lightning fast on it. Pages appear before my clicking finger is even done moving from the click and that is without any Firefox page loading about:config tweaks done yet at all.
 

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And all this has to do with the invisible start button???
 

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    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
And all this has to do with the invisible start button???

Sometimes thinking minds wander from original discussion intent and that's usually a sign of intelligence. I blame Dave76 and SIW2, maybe or maybe not in that particular order. lol :)

Is there much more to delve into about the missing Start button that we haven't touched on yet? Let's hear it so the thread can get back on track.
 

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This article explains Microsoft ideas regarding the Start menu Evolving the Start menu - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs Since the hotspot in the lower left corner of the desktop has much the same functionality as the Start button it would make sense to keep the Start button. That would have the additional benefit of avoiding the confusion when one starts up that Christmas present computer with Windows 8.
 

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    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
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    2 x Dell 24" LCD
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Well , the thread is a day old - it is bound to wander into more interesting areas.

They want to force metro apps. in front of people constantly.

What better way to do it than replace the start menu with a screen full of Metro apps?

Nothing to do with being good for the user.

Entirely to do with being good for MS.

Bad for the user.
 

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Why is it invisible - to help you forget that it was ever there at all.

Remember, 99% of windows users kept the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, so did not have the luxury of the vertical taskbar with the start button at top left or right, or the horizontal taskbar with the start button at the top left.

I prefer the taskbar at the top, ever since using the SuperOS distro of Ubuntu 8.4, when Vista was unbearable on my new laptop. With Fedora, I went silly and had both top and bottom bars.

I imagine that 22-odd years ago, when many secretaries found their typewriters replaced with a PC and a black screen that had a friendly green C:\> prompt, that they too felt that they did not know what to do next, until someone showed them what typing 'wp' did, and within a few weeks, became expert typists on WordPerfect. Becoming expert wordprocessor operators took a little longer.

PCs were too expensive for Christmas presents in those days.

I think this is the first Windows Version where the majority of people are actively trying to revert to the "classic" look, which is probably another reason why Microsoft did not include an option to revert to the old ways. "No compromise" can be found in much of the PR literature relating to Windows 8. Elvis has left the room.

As far as forcing metro apps, I am not so sure - it is dead easy to unpin them all, and never see an app, unless they start to arrive unbidden in windows Updates.
 

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    HP COMPAQ Presario CQ57
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    AMD E- 300 APU with Radion HD Graphics 1.30GHz
    Motherboard
    inbuilt
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI
    Sound Card
    High Definition Audio on-board
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    notebook
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    1366x768
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    Seagate ST9500325AS
    Google drive 15GB
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    external 20v
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    Cooling
    pretty good
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    inbuilt
    Mouse
    touchpad
    Internet Speed
    BT Infinity Unlimited - 80 up 20 down =70/16 really
    Browser
    Chrome Canary usually
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    no Start menu modifications
    Upgraded with no issues to 8.0 and to 8.1
I was thinking about this and I think I have a pretty good idea why it's invisible.

It's because of the app snap feature, where you take a metro app, snap a third of it next to another. But if you're in the Desktop, you snap a third of that app next to the Desktop interface. In the Developer Preview when you did that, the Start button gets pushed over along with the rest of the Desktop. So where you traditionally have the Start button gets awkwardly set over.

In the Consumer Preview, when you do that, you don't have the awkward Start button chilling a third over on the screen. That, I bet, is the main reason. I think though, the actual Start LOGO, not thumbnail, needs to come back to where it rightfully belongs. It should be hard coded into being in the lower left corner of the screen AT ALL TIMES. It shouldn't be like switching to a whole app, it's a Start Screen, it's the new start menu, not a Desktop-lite interface.

If that were to be done, I'd be fine with the Start button being invisible.
 

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What some are missing about the loss of the Start button is the dual functionality now seen where the Start button would have been. It's not simply a simple left click but also a right click for the System menu to appear! You now see that rather then the Start/taskbar properties for things like user settings, network config, Disk Management, etc.

System Tools Menu.jpg

That's referred to as the System Tools menu rather then digging through Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools as well as going into the Control Panel>Administrator Tools>Computer Management>Storage just for the DM! What MS did was put everything on one easy to access menu there.

Now for those who want to use an addon like Start menu 7, Start 8, or ViStart you will want to right click on the taskbar to see that set to top not the default bottom in order to see that menu as well as the Start screen available. Many simply leave the taskbar at the default bottom setting and then wonder why there's no Start button. MS had a reason for it now being gone while they failed to take into consideration of how the typical user would react to this type of change.
 

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    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
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    MSI Radeon HD 5750 1gb - 2nd AMD Radeon 6450
    Sound Card
    Creative Xtreme Gamer - 2nd case Realtek Onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19" dual monitor setup - 2nd case HP 20" lcd
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 same on both builds
    Hard Drives
    1st build
    WD Caviar Black Edition Sata II 1tb two OS drives
    WD RE "Heavy Duty Sata II 2tb two Storage/Backup
    2nd build
    WD Blue Sata II 500gb
    WD Black Edition Sata III 1tb
    WD Green Power Sata II 1tb in external usb enclosure
    PSU
    Corsair TX750H 750w -Corsair 500w
    Case
    Antec 900-2 -NXZT Vulcan Mini tower/carrying handle
    Cooling
    120mm front pair, 120 rear 200cm top - 120mm Front intake 200mm side cover
    Keyboard
    Azio Blue led back lit both builds.
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 11 button programmable Gaming optical mouse - Odessa 3 button dual scroll trackball
    Internet Speed
    30mbps
    Other Info
    two MSI 22x ide dvd burners, 25 usb flash drives used for Linux Live, live data recovery 128gb, and Windows 7, 10 usb installation keys
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