Will Windows 8.1 allow users to boot to desktop?

Ever since the consumer preview of Windows 8 was available, some users of the operating system have complained that there's no way to boot to the desktop instead of the Start screen. If recently discovered information is accurate, however, that may be changing in Windows 8.1.

Will Windows 8.1 allow users to boot to desktop? - Neowin

 

[mdmd]

The Start Screen already is a start menu....

Uh, no it ain't. It's Metro. If you are gonna use Metro Only I suppose it's fine. But if you are gonna use Desktop only, Desktop falls way short, unless you modify it by making useful shortcut toolbars or by installing a 3rd party Orb.

Yes it is. Here we go with the Monty Python stuff. Windows 8 has a start menu whether or not you believe it exists. Even if all work is desktop only, the apps area is not difficult to use. The start screen is an added bonus for quick execution of links and information via live tiles. I don't care if one has 1000 installed programs, the start screen hot key search is faster than searching nests. The requirement to modify to make the desktop useful is in the eye of the beholder > your preference.

 

[Hopachi]

So a blank start screen is not useless to me. Tiles are faster, and more informative, but I do not need them.
Press d, select desktop, if necessary. The extra steps are of no concern to me.

View attachment 20218

It's underlined in your post:
Something useful... that you don't need... well then is useless.

For the rest:
All nice, I agree about the speed. But that's all to it. Instead of this I would prefer to go directly to the desktop because this is just another (sort of) LOCK screen or popup in the way of the user. With more items in it it will regain some value.

But if the screen is blank then there are no fast tiles just a fast tile: the desktop.

With just an icon it doesn't do much that's for sure.
The worst thing, we must admit, is that no matter what we pin or unpin from it, it pops in the way, that cannot be stopped by OS means (I don't like mentioning third party helpers to this).

So, in the end I prefer a useful pop-up screen with items rather than an empty one.

The Start Screen how it is in 8.0:
If it cannot be annihilated it must be assimilated.
EDIT: the way you did it is an assimilation as well. :thumb:

Hopachi

 

[Kari]

Instead of this I would prefer to go directly to the desktop.

I made a tutorial for this, how to boot directly to desktop, a few hours ago. Just waiting admins to accept it for publishing, I will post the link here when it is published.

Kari

 

[mdmd]

Second, my preference, although no one asked, , is to basically not use any tiles unless I need them.
The start screen interface, so to speak, is a hot bed of hot keys. Press a key, select from a list. Big Wup.
So a blank start screen is not useless to me. Tiles are faster, and more informative, but I do not need them.
Press d, select desktop, if necessary. The extra steps are of no concern to me.

It's underlined in your post: Something useful... that you don't need... well then is useless.

What part of my statement did I say

Something useful... that you don't need

I said I don't need them (tiles), yes, but the start screen is a hot key immersive window. The hot key access to all apps is the Windows 8 WinRT start menu for the entire Operating System. I think many, which I will never be able to explain to, will disbelieve and reject the notion and reality that the desktop in Windows 8 is an immersive app and not a UI.

 

[mdmd]

I suggest that if anyone needs to be on the desktop all the time, then feel free to modify and stay there. Add whatever you need, boot to the desktop via tricks, hacks or scripts, whatever. Install an orb, load up the desktop with icons, plaster your taskbar with 30 icons, add 5 or 6 toolbars, and enable your metro blockers. That's fine.


I don't have any ax to grind. Use whatever tool you need. Boo hoo > just don't call my stuff useless.

 

[symbiont]

Second, my preference, although no one asked, , is to basically not use any tiles unless I need them.
The start screen interface, so to speak, is a hot bed of hot keys. Press a key, select from a list. Big Wup.
So a blank start screen is not useless to me. Tiles are faster, and more informative, but I do not need them.
Press d, select desktop, if necessary. The extra steps are of no concern to me.

It's underlined in your post: Something useful... that you don't need... well then is useless.

What part of my statement did I say

Something useful... that you don't need

I said I don't need them (tiles), yes, but the start screen is a hot key immersive window. The hot key access to all apps is the Windows 8 WinRT start menu for the entire Operating System. I think many, which I will never be able to explain to, will disbelieve and reject the notion and reality that the desktop in Windows 8 is an immersive app and not a UI.

"f you want to stay permanently immersed in that Metro world, you will never see the desktop—we won’t even load it (literally the code will not be loaded) unless you explicitly choose to go there! This is Windows reimagined.

But if you do see value in the desktop experience — in precise control, in powerful windowing and file management, in compatibility with hundreds of thousands of existing programs and devices, in support of your business software, those capabilities are right at your fingertips as well. You don’t need to change to a different device if you want to edit photos or movies professionally, create documents for your job or school, manage a large corpus of media or data, or get done the infinite number of things people do with a PC today. And if you don’t want to do any of those "PC" things, then you don’t have to and you’re not paying for them in memory, battery life, or hardware requirements. If you do want or need this functionality, then you can switch to it with ease and fluidity because Windows is right there. Essentially, you can think of the Windows desktop as just another app." ~ Steve Sinofsky

I think you're a little confused. The desktop and Metro are separate and I have yet to see anything verified otherwise, and the mention of the desktop being an app wasn't a literal statement. Except to say that to the thing you click on in Metro to switch to Desktop is an app. Your overuse of the word "immersive" I find amusing. Show me a published explanation that says that Desktop mode is an app - that runs programs.

Why are you arguing a moot point in a thread about booting right to desktop anyway? You whine that people don't see it your way, you whine about people complaining about Windows 8 in "pro" Windows 8 threads, yet when something is suggested to possibly happen that those people want you repeatedly post in that thread against it. Hypocrisy is awesome. If you don't want to boot to desktop - then don't - have fun in lego land. It's not hurting your precious Start Screen to allow people to bypass it.

​

 

[Kari]

Instead of this I would prefer to go directly to the desktop.

I made a tutorial for this, how to boot directly to desktop, a few hours ago. Just waiting admins to accept it for publishing, I will post the link here when it is published.

Kari

Here's the tutorial: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/23783-desktop-boot-directy-using-scheduled-task.html

 

[mdmd]

When have I ever whined about anything?

I think you're a little confused.

Show me a published explanation that says that Desktop mode is an app - that runs programs.

I can post technical details but there is no point. Can you close a UI? I can continue this discussion for hours but it is not the thread subject. I am not arguing about what someone likes versus my preference. Like I said, you can boot to the desktop, but leave my preferences alone. Why get unnecessarily pointed? What I like, you don't. It's that simple, So why rag on my preference?





I say do what you like, what you need, use what you like, use what you need, but leave my interest in fine operating system alone.

 

[mdmd]

I am not going to try and explain one million lines of code to someone who does not appreciate the complexity of one million lines of code. The low information types would not even comprehend a flowchart of usability. How does one explain code engineering to a disgruntled enduser? There are too many hard core deskophiles to bring to the table. Even an office presentation of technical schematics would probably be ineffective due to emotional barriers.

Hopefully 8.1 or 8.5 or 9 will boot to the desktop with a start menu. Even so, someone will complain about something. Use the provided solutions to get there.

 

[labeeman]

Will M$ allow us to boot straight to the desktop NOT likely.

The upshot? If you don't like the Start screen, you're likely going to have to use one of the many third-party tools to bypass it, and not rely on Microsoft for help.

Will Windows Blue let you boot right to the Windows 8 Desktop? | Computerworld Blogs

 

[Kari]

Can you close a UI?

I will not participate this pointless argument other than stating that you can not close Desktop as you described. Please try this: Open some desktop apps and for instance a browser or two. Go to Start Screen. Close Desktop as you described. Now bring pointer to bottom right and click to instantly be taken to your desktop with all apps and browsers open.

I have had quite a lot of fun following this "I am an expert, what I say is the fact" argument from both sides. Childish behavior.

Geeks grow up, remember that world does not have to adjust according to your opinions and preferences.

Kari

 

[mdmd]

Can you close a UI?

... you can not close Desktop as you described....

How have I described it? You do not know how I have described it. I only posted screenshots.
Are you saying the posted screenshots are an illusion? How about the desktop located in Apps? Is that fake?

It's ok to not participate. Any app one sees in the app taskbar Win + Tab, is paged to memory. Not closed completely. I was trying to make a blanket statement without being specific because the comprehension level is superseded by emotional responses. I did not write the code for closing the desktop but as you can see, there it is. However, I did not describe a suggested complete closing. The desktop app is somewhat different as it is paged to memory (including all running tasks) even after closed. It would be illogical for the programmers to code a closing command while other programs were running in the background. This only occurs when shutting down the computer. It is not necessary to be personally descriptive about someone that is only responding to technical details. Referencing age is not helpful.

If the desktop is closed as described by the screenshot, it no longer is visible in the app taskbar but is paged to memory. Simply restarting the desktop returns the programs in memory. It is almost like live hibernation. (This will probably also be misunderstood). The technical specifications of the desktop do not execute until started by command. (desktop tile or other means)

edit: this will probably not be read by anyone but I am adding it anyway...
In order to make the desktop app close as in the screenshot

it is necessary to have a WinRT app running in the background.
The desktop app will not be removed from the app taskbar unless there is another metro app running.

Could I add this, Can you snap a UI?
The desktop can be snapped and merged with a metro app on the same screen.

 

[Kari]

Your post clearly implied that desktop is not an UI as it can be closed. I simply corrected the facts.

Over and out.

Kari

 

[mdmd]

Your post clearly implied that desktop is not an UI as it can be closed. I simply corrected the facts.
Over and out. Kari

Thank You Sir. It is a complicated area and very misunderstood. But the facts, as you suggest, are not definitive in this context. It is almost philosophical based on years of tradition. How has anything been corrected? The desktop is a platform for executing applications and is coded differently in Windows 8 due to its coexistence with WinRT. Stating that the desktop is a UI is a point of view. It has been the case in all previous versions of Windows since Windows 95 but Windows 8 is different. As pertains to the title subject, it is relevant in so far as we are talking about the desktop.

 

[chrisa]

Apps should be windowed, and to be perfectly honest.. the Start Button should return. Instead of the Start on the Charms menu, have it be Desktop if in the Start Screen and Start Screen if in the desktop. So you can flip back and forth. If you hit the window key it toggles to whichever one you aren't using. But having to flip over to the Mobile Interface to launch a desktop program which then launches the desktop interface is a fairly retarded way of setting up your operating system.

Why would you want to segregate and then switch interfaces like that? I'll be blunt, I don't really need anyone to make me understand how Windows 8 and the Start Screen is designed such. How you see isn't even really close to how I see it, it's different. The reason why it's called the "new" Windows on the Start Screen is because of the live tiles and the internet based content on those live tiles. They are legitimate little "windows" to that app. Bing Weather's tile? Weather information. Finance tile? Current stock index prices. News app? Latest news feed. So and so forth, you really don't have to open those apps up to find some content like that when that content is condensed onto the live tile. Windows Phone also does this very well, on Windows it will take time for developers to realize that and take advantage of it. If the Windows Blue leak shows anything, it's that very thing right there as there is an even larger tile option that may or may not be used.

I want to keep the two interfaces seperate because frankly.. they're two separate interfaces. Trying to merge the two to become one, and having to bounce back and forth is horrid.All of those apps you mentioned would still work, they'd simply open with a window wrapper on them. Want Weather? Click the app and it opens in a window on your screen. Or stock prices. Or whatever. Close them when done with them by clicking the X.

There really isn't a difference of the Start Screen on a laptop or tablet or a desktop other than viewable tiles.

Heck, I watch a bit of Netflix and can't even stand running the Netflix app. Why? Because if i'm watching some movie and I see an actor that I just can't figure out where I know them from, I usually have the habit of popping out of full screen, opening IMDB, and seeing who it is.. all while continuing to see/hear the movie. As such, I'll still watch stuff from the Web. I don't mind The Mobile Interface being there, but use The Desktop Interface as it was intended. And sitting at a PC, you almost never want to do only one thing at a time. That's why we have multitasking, that's why we have multiple cores, and the mobile interface.. while decent for small device media consumption, is a huge step back in capability from what modern PC's are used to performing.

 

[chrisa]

I am not going to try and explain one million lines of code to someone who does not appreciate the complexity of one million lines of code. The low information types would not even comprehend a flowchart of usability. How does one explain code engineering to a disgruntled enduser? There are too many hard core deskophiles to bring to the table. Even an office presentation of technical schematics would probably be ineffective due to emotional barriers.

I'm well familiar with one million lines of code.. and the complexity of said code is highly dependent on how well-designed and structured that code is. 1 million lines of well-designed code can be easier to read, debug, and maintain than 50K lines of poorly-designed code.

Either way, lets not pretend that what we're talking about really has anything to do with the desktop/start screen. It would be no harder for them to set it up to boot to the desktop than it would the start screen. Oh, they'll tell the rubes willing to lap up their excuses how hard it is *rolls eyes*, the hardness having to do with their ego being bruised at having to provide the option, not the implementation of it.

 

[mdmd]

Either way, lets not pretend that what we're talking about really has anything to do with the desktop/start screen. It would be no harder for them to set it up to boot to the desktop than it would the start screen.

Well, I am not pretending. I am talking about those features. But if you are suggesting that the directive at Microsoft was to get people to the start screen with app visibility, I agree with that. They want people to get apps. No question. And it is not presented as anything other than a consumer product. True. I also agree they could have put options to boot to desktop, add a start menu, disable the metro. But that is not their business model. We can yuk and yuk all we want, (I am not), but they have chosen a path to new technologies and marketing that includes subscriptions, cloud services, and app sales and development.
They are gambling for a win.

 

[chrisa]

Either way, lets not pretend that what we're talking about really has anything to do with the desktop/start screen. It would be no harder for them to set it up to boot to the desktop than it would the start screen.

Well, I am not pretending. I am talking about those features. But if you are suggesting that the directive at Microsoft was to get people to the start screen with app visibility, I agree with that. They want people to get apps. No question. And it is not presented as anything other than a consumer product. True. I also agree they could have put options to boot to desktop, add a start menu, disable the metro. But that is not their business model. We can yuk and yuk all we want, (I am not), but they have chosen a path to new technologies and marketing that includes subscriptions, cloud services, and app sales and development.
They are gambling for a win.

Well.. so far they're crapping out :>. And nothing I said would get rid of the apps at all. I'm not like WHS with a full-on 'Get Off My Lawn!' attitude when it comes to The Mobile Interface. Even on a desktop, it could be quite used if you have kids as its something that's far easier to teach/understand, just not as powerful.

It really is a lot similar to the difference between an automatic and manual transmission in terms of capability vs power. Some people prefer to shift their gears to get the most out of the car, others simply put it in D. Imagine if you started out in a manual transmission, had to go automatic to shift it into D, and then back to a manual for driving. This is why I suggest they keep the Mobile and Desktop Interfaces separate and they each run the programs in their own way. Honestly, over time I think a lot more regular people will simply get used to The Mobile Interface, but the Desktop interface should always be a choice. Same as Automatic vs Manual.

 

[Hopachi]

I suggest that if anyone needs to be on the desktop all the time, then feel free to modify and stay there. Add whatever you need, boot to the desktop via tricks, hacks or scripts, whatever. Install an orb, load up the desktop with icons, plaster your taskbar with 30 icons, add 5 or 6 toolbars, and enable your metro blockers. That's fine.


I don't have any ax to grind. Use whatever tool you need. Boo hoo > just don't call my stuff useless.

Sorry I called it useless.
That wasn't personal, actually I used that config myself.

If you like an empty start screen then use it, nothing bad there.

 

[fourthofjuly]

The Start Screen already is a start menu....

The Start Screen is an apps environment. The Start Menu contains all the programs that also includes links/shortcuts to apps... meaning we can live without the Start Screen. The Start screen is a redundancy.