{"id":691,"date":"2013-01-18T12:01:34","date_gmt":"2013-01-18T17:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=691"},"modified":"2013-01-18T12:01:34","modified_gmt":"2013-01-18T17:01:34","slug":"help-ive-got-windows-8-and-i-miss-my-start-menu-ars-technica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/01\/18\/help-ive-got-windows-8-and-i-miss-my-start-menu-ars-technica\/","title":{"rendered":"Help! I\u2019ve got Windows 8 and I miss my Start menu!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With Christmas now long behind us, one or two of you may well have been lucky enough to find a shiny new Windows 8 PC under the tree. After cleaning off the crapware, it’s time to use the thing, and that means digging into the new user interface.
\nThe Windows 8 user interface has many Windows users divided. The chief complaints are that Windows 8 has no Start button and that it has no Start menu, only the (full-screen, Metro-styled) Start screen. Secondary to these is the complaint that Windows 8 shows the Start screen immediately after logging in, rather than showing the desktop as prior versions of Windows have done. Getting to the desktop takes an extra click.
\nTo address the unfamiliarity and (perceived) problems with the Windows 8 UI, a number of third-party applications have popped up to provide a Start menu, or some approximation thereof, and a Start button for Windows 8 users. They also pull some kind of trickery to switch directly to the desktop upon logging in.
\nSome of these applications are new, motivated entirely by Windows 8’s supposed “shortcomings”\u2014Stardock’s Start8, StartIsBack, and RetroUI all share this characteristic. Others are new versions of old apps. Classic Shell was originally a project to reinstate the Windows XP Start menu on Windows Vista and Windows 7 (among other things); it now has some Windows 8-specific functionality. Pokki is an application runtime, launcher, and marketplace; in its latest iteration it too jumps on the Start screen replacement bandwagon.
\nIf you can’t stomach the lack of menu and button in Windows 8 or just don’t fancy the support and training overheads that come from rolling out a new user interface to users familiar with Windows 7 or older, one of these apps might be the ideal solution.
\nFull Story: Help! I\u2019ve got Windows 8 and I miss my Start menu! | Ars Technica<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Christmas now long behind us, one or two of you may well have been lucky enough to find a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,9,11],"tags":[1028,1218],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","category-software","category-windows","tag-start-menu","tag-windows-8"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-b9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5679,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/06\/05\/start-menu-wont-return-to-windows-8-1-until-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":691,"position":0},"title":"Start Menu won’t return to Windows 8.1 until 2015","author":"NCCT","date":"June 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Back at its BUILD conference in April, Microsoft announced that the Start Menu would be returning to Windows 8.1, and even went as far as to show a preview of what it would look like. The promised\u00a0return of the 'classic'-style menu was met with wide approval, given that many still\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6034,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/22\/leaked-windows-9-screenshots-reveal-more-detail-about-reborn-start-menu\/","url_meta":{"origin":691,"position":1},"title":"Leaked ‘Windows 9’ screenshots reveal more detail about reborn Start Menu","author":"NCCT","date":"July 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It's no secret that an upcoming Windows update codenamed 'Threshold' will herald the return of the Start menu and allow Metro apps to operate in windowed mode. Heck, the image above came straight from Microsoft itself. But whenever fresh screenshots of the interface show up it's always worth taking a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6221,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/14\/windows-9-ditches-charms-adds-virtual-desktops-fall-public-preview-prepped\/","url_meta":{"origin":691,"position":2},"title":"Windows 9 Ditches Charms, Adds Virtual Desktops, Fall Public Preview Prepped","author":"NCCT","date":"August 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 9 will be a major overhaul of the Windows 8 user interface, as change list continues to expand Even as the public awaits Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) upcoming Windows 8.1 Update 2, an even more anticipated release -- the Windows 9 \"Threshold\" Preview Release -- looms on the horizon. With\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6329,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/28\/why-microsoft-needs-to-reveal-windows-9-sooner-than-later-the-end-of-windows-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":691,"position":3},"title":"Why Microsoft needs to reveal Windows 9 sooner than later: The end of Windows 7","author":"NCCT","date":"August 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Several reports from usually reliable Windows watchers say Microsoft is poised to unveil Windows 9 at the end of September. The new OS will mark the return of the Start menu, the ability to run Metro apps inside desktop windows, and other PC-friendly tweaks. The timing makes ton of sense,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5545,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/05\/14\/microsoft-extends-windows-8-1-update-deadline\/","url_meta":{"origin":691,"position":4},"title":"Microsoft extends Windows 8.1 Update deadline","author":"NCCT","date":"May 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When Microsoft launched Windows 8.1 Update last month, the company noted that current Windows 8.1 users would need to download and install the update by May 13 (tomorrow) in order to be eligible to receive future patches. 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