14 DAY TRIAL // More than four months have passed since the new Windows 8 officially hit the shelves, but some adopters still can’t get used to the new Start Screen that replaces the classic Start button.
Lynn Min, senior project analyst at CITES (Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services), told The Daily Illini that the lack of a Start button is affecting so many users because it’s the most visible change.
“The Microsoft strategy is that they want to use the same user interface for the laptop, Microsoft phones, servers. So they want to use the same user templates across all the devices that they also make,” Min explained.
Because so many users are actually missing the traditional Start Menu, third-party apps supposed to bring this feature back are enjoying a terrific success, especially thanks to the fact that they are offered with a freeware license.
“I tried to use (Windows 8) as Microsoft intended, and I absolutely hated it. But what I did was, I installed a program that brings the (traditional) Start menu back. It is amazing. So I’m using Windows 8, but since I have the program installed, I have the Start menu, so it looks exactly like Windows 7,” Min continued.
While this analyst’s view may actually reflect the opinion of just a small number of users, it’s pretty clear that Microsoft’s decision to dump the Start button and rely on a Start Screen remains one of the most controversial changes in the history of Windows.
Many users hope to see Windows Blue, or at least Windows 9, bringing back the Start button, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and some other high-profile executives have already confirmed that the Start Screen would remain a key feature of the upcoming Windows contraptions.
So, if you really can’t get around Windows 8 without a Start button, check out this article to discover the top 5 Start Menu replacements for the new operating system.