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Now they're chopping up the Start Button's bones


JorgeA

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  • 2 weeks later...

I work professionally as a systems engineer. I design and deploy networks and PC's to my customers, thousands of them each and every year--and I frankly love Windows 8. I think that for the first time in YEARS, Microsoft is doing amazing work. The flat, clean graphic design, uncluttered by glossy visuals and thick window borders sporting "chrome" effects, is a welcome break from the Skeuomorphism of Apple's awful design. It frees system resources for USERS to get their work done, reduces complexity and makes the OS run smoother and faster than ever before.

I'm already buying at least 30 upgrade licenses for Win8 for my business, and I'll be buying Windows 8 tablets for field service work. I've already planned and spoken with customers about migrating to Windows 8 this fall, including replacing older PC's with newer models sporting UEFI. Before the year is out, I'll have transitioned just over 1,000 users to Windows 8 PC's, and next year I'm aiming for 10,000. I'm actively encouraging people to upgrade their home PC's or buy new PC's and tablets with Windows 8. I've liquidated my Apple inventory except for my current late 2010 model Macbook Pro, which will be replaced by Surface Pro once that ships.

I've been in this business 16 years, friend. I was trained on Windows 3 and DOS, and I was a beta tester for Windows 95 and NT back when the consensus was that those OS's, and the start menu/taskbar paradigm were new, would fail and be buried by Linux. It never materialized. In the time since, MS has made some tragic mistakes (WinMe, Vista) and had some great successes. Frankly, I believe the Windows 8 and Server 2012 product families are the best thing to come out of Microsoft since XP SP2 and Server 2003 R2. I'm behind them all the way, and just like it's been every time a major change has come from Microsoft, all you people who are throwing tantrums because "ZOMG, things are changing!" will be left behind for a few years until you realize your mistakes and join the club.

Change is sometimes for the best, and Windows 8 is a great example of that.

J

the best an individual can to is to vote against metro-for-desktop with his/her wallet.

if there enough mass of individuals, that could also veto against OEM/Microsoft contracts, afterall OEM need the money from end-users.

so, start a very loud campaigns against metro for desktop.

begin now, as theres very little would actually wow-ing at metro for desktop.

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I work professionally as a systems engineer. I design and deploy networks and PC's to my customers, thousands of them each and every year--and I frankly love Windows 8. I think that for the first time in YEARS, Microsoft is doing amazing work. The flat, clean graphic design, uncluttered by glossy visuals and thick window borders sporting "chrome" effects, is a welcome break from the Skeuomorphism of Apple's awful design. It frees system resources for USERS to get their work done, reduces complexity and makes the OS run smoother and faster than ever before.

I'm already buying at least 30 upgrade licenses for Win8 for my business, and I'll be buying Windows 8 tablets for field service work. I've already planned and spoken with customers about migrating to Windows 8 this fall, including replacing older PC's with newer models sporting UEFI. Before the year is out, I'll have transitioned just over 1,000 users to Windows 8 PC's, and next year I'm aiming for 10,000. I'm actively encouraging people to upgrade their home PC's or buy new PC's and tablets with Windows 8. I've liquidated my Apple inventory except for my current late 2010 model Macbook Pro, which will be replaced by Surface Pro once that ships.

I've been in this business 16 years, friend. I was trained on Windows 3 and DOS, and I was a beta tester for Windows 95 and NT back when the consensus was that those OS's, and the start menu/taskbar paradigm were new, would fail and be buried by Linux. It never materialized. In the time since, MS has made some tragic mistakes (WinMe, Vista) and had some great successes. Frankly, I believe the Windows 8 and Server 2012 product families are the best thing to come out of Microsoft since XP SP2 and Server 2003 R2. I'm behind them all the way, and just like it's been every time a major change has come from Microsoft, all you people who are throwing tantrums because "ZOMG, things are changing!" will be left behind for a few years until you realize your mistakes and join the club.

Change is sometimes for the best, and Windows 8 is a great example of that.

J

Unfortunately a lot of astroturfing begins with ... "I work professionally as a systems engineer" or "I'm already buying at least 30 upgrade licenses for Win8 for my business" or "I've been in this business 16 years", if you happen to be the exception to the rule and really do like this thing, well, you're entitled to your opinion. Heck, I'm glad you love Windows 8. Somebody better love it or they will be really sunk when this pOS is released. However, in a lot of the pro-Windows 8 Metro comments people are trying to create phony strawmen about Windows 95 and even Windows 3.x. As the saying goes: 'you are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts.

There was no such movement against either of these things. Here and there you might read articles in magazines yapping about esoteric details like why Win95 wasn't like OS/2 or NT, or arguments about whether it was true multi-tasking, or whether by reducing the requirements to 4MB RAM they were sacrificing stability for performance. No-one would possibly have said Win95 would decrease productivity. There was no consensus about failure, or for Linux, this is complete hogwash. Besides, the web was so new at the launch of Win95 and non-existant for Windows 3.x (except at the very end) so there is no comparison to what we see today with a tsunami of criticism aimed at Windows 8 Metro, no comparison at all. In my opinion 95% of people at the time even aware of the 16-bit vs 32-bit concept, or Win3.x DOS launcher vs. Windows 9x multitasking, such people ran as fast as they could to Win95 because stability is what it promised (and delivered) to the mad mix of DOS and Windows applications flooding the world. They ran to Win95 because it was in fact an actual improvement (by every definition of the word) in every possible way because nothing in Win3x was actually lost, and the gains were too numerous to count.

Windows 3.x users were primarily two groups, those like myself that had been through the DOS and DOS/Windows world since the beginning and had already tried every possible text-mode and graphics-mode menu system and launcher in existence, and the other group was those that were getting Windows with their new computers who never even had an earlier version to even compare it to. They had no dog in this race, there was no established love for Win3x yet, so Windows 95 took off with no reservations, and even included had a working 3.x interface and file manager if you chose to use them. The only complaints was that it took so long for pre-emptive multitasking to arrive or why Microsoft was always ten steps behind Apple. There was some complaints that the CDROM distribution forced you to get an expensive optical drive or a ton of floppies, as there was no digital distribution yet but that drive always came with a computer anyway since Microsoft still supplied the Windows media in those days, and prices dropped quickly from 1x - 2x - 4x - 8x (about $200 for my first 1x reader to around $50 within a year or two).

This 'resistant to change' meme is a wonder to behold actually, spread by people who may sincerely like Windows 8 Metro but are inexplicably flabbergasted that others will not reward their approbation and so they remain feeling unfulfilled. They better get used to it, because if you hitched your horse to Windows 8 in general, and Metro in particular you're in for a bumpy ride. :lol: But have no fear, If Microsoft does not kill it (and remember they are pretty fond of killing their failures) and sticks with it even against the massive warning, then the community will be forced to fix this disaster by supplying Aero glass workarounds and replacement Start Menus. I would whole-heartedly embrace Windows 8 if Metro could be demoted to a Windowed application like MCE, if the hot corners and charms could be disabled, and if Aero was the same or better than Win7. As it stands now at RTM it is far far worse than Win7, it is butt ugly, an absolute insult to the eyes and to my computer hardware and is so RETRO that it looks like an amalgam of Windows 1, 2 and 3. Even that is understating it. Windows 8 is a crappy HTML webpage lookalike. The firmware menus on my TV's and other gadgets are better looking.

"Change is sometimes for the best worst, and Windows 8 is a great example of that."

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Paul Thurrott has an update on the information that got this thread started:

I was told by sources at Microsoft that this type of solution would cease to work by RTM, but that doesn’t appear to be the case based on recent builds.

He's recommending Start8 for people who wish to boot directly to the Desktop and preserve the Start Button/Start Menu experience. IMHO the UI not as nice as Classic Shell or Start Menu X, as Start8 maintains the hideous look of the Metro start screen, but it's miles better than anything Microsoft is offering for Windows 8.

--JorgeA

I see no point in installing Start 8. Start 8 does NOT do anything. All it does is give you a start button only. That brings up the Metro start menu. Which you have already got on Windows 8. And you can get to the Metro start menu by clicking on the Charms bar. Or pressing the Windows key.So I would not use Start 8 and I see no point in it.

And I want the Windows 7 or Windows XP start menu. So use I Classic Shell.

Paul Thurrott is the one that said start menu software like Classic Shell and others would not work on Windows 8 RP. And he was wrong about that. Because Classic Shell,Start Menu 7 and others do work on Windows 8 RP. And I am using it. And do have my Windows XP start button and start menu on Windows 8 RP.

Yes I am worried that Classic Shell and other start menu software won't work in the final version of Windows 8. Also I read that Windows 8 will only be sold as an upgrade installation DVD. Like Windows 7 anytime upgrade DVD. And I don't want to do an upgrade install. I want to do a clean install.Like I have done for Windows 8 RP and Windows 7.

And I find the Metro start menu is inadequate for my needs. For example when you click on the full Metro start menu, it does not open the all programs folder like the Windows start menu does.If you are only using the Metro start menu,you have to know the path for the all users start menu programs folder and the all programs start menu programs folder,to get to it.

Where as if you have got Classic Shell or Start Menu 7 installed,you just right click on all programs. The same as you do on the real Windows 7 and Windows XP start menu. And the all programs folder opens. And you can add extra items.

Also you cannot create new folders with the Metro start menu, but you can with the Windows 7 and Windows XP start menu. And you can also with the Classic Shell start menu. Classic Shell,Start Menu 7 and Vi Start gives you all the functions of the real Windows 7 start menu.

But the Metro start menu has some functions missing. Or if they are still there I don't know how to use them. So installing a third party start menu software like Classic Shell solves this problem. And gives you a look and feel of the Windows XP and Windows 7 desktop and start menu we all know.

But if in the final version of Windows 8 there is no way that Classic Shell and the other start menu software can work again. Which is unlikely as the makers of Classic Shell and other start menu software should be able to update their software to work with the RTM version of Windows 8. But if not, then I will uninstall Windows 8 and go back to Windows 7. Andrea Borman.

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Andrea, Classic Shell works in the final version of Windows 8. :) I do its testing so relax.Here's a video someone else made of it:

as proof.

And yes, Start8 is crap. I would be saying that even if I was not involved in the Classic Shell project. What Stardock might be doing is using the RemoteApp functionality of RDP, (which Windows Virtual PC/XP Mode also uses) and they use it to simply show the Start screen in a non-fullscreen window. No point really, except that you can launch Metro style apps, which you can't do with Classic Shell's Start Menu. But who really wants to launch those horrible Metro Modern UI style apps? :D And should you really need them, you could always launch them using Shift+Win key which will take you to the Start screen.

Edited by xpclient
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Andrea, Classic Shell works in the final version of Windows 8. :) I do its testing so relax.Here's a video someone else made of it:

as proof.

And yes, Start8 is crap. I would be saying that even if I was not involved in the Classic Shell project. What Stardock might be doing is using the RemoteApp functionality of RDP, (which Windows Virtual PC/XP Mode also uses) and they use it to simply show the Start screen in a non-fullscreen window. No point really, except that you can launch Metro style apps, which you can't do with Classic Shell's Start Menu. But who really wants to launch those horrible Metro Modern UI style apps? :D And should you really need them, you could always launch them using Shift+Win key which will take you to the Start screen.

Good. I am glad that you told me that Classic Shell works in Windows 8 RTM. Because I won't be using Windows 8 without the Windows 7 or Windows XP Start menu.

And I have just seen that You Tube video.And he also says that Start Menu 7 and Vi Start also work in Windows 8 RTM.As well as Classic Shell.So that's very good news.

I know there is not going to be any Aero theme in Windows 8 RTM. But I never use Aero On Windows 7 and Windows Vista I use Windows Classic theme. And on Windows 8 I use Windows 8 Basic theme. But I would use Windows Classic theme on Windows 8,but they have removed it. I miss that.

And also they have removed some compatibility settings options on Windows 8. On Windows 8,there is no longer the option to set a program in compatibility mode for Windows 2000 or Windows server 2003.

There is only the options on Windows 8 to set a program in compatibility mode for-

Windows 95,

Windows 98 and Windows ME(not the same as Windows 2000 )

Windows XP Service Pack 2 ,

Windows XP Service Pack 3,

Windows Vista,

Windows Vista Service Pack 1,

Windows Vista,Service Pack 2 and

Windows 7.

So if you need to set a program to run in compatibility mode for Windows 2000 on Windows 8 you could have a problem running it.

But Windows 8 does not go out on sale until October. And there is no Windows 8 RTM version on the Microsoft website. So surely the copy of Windows 8 RTM cannot not be legal. As you cannot use a retail version of Windows without a valid product key. Because you have to activate Windows. Andrea Borman.

Edited by andreaborman
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It looks like Microsoft has removed the ability to boot right to the Desktop from Windows 8 RTM.

Rafael Rivera, coauthor of the forthcoming Windows 8 Secrets, said he has verified that users cannot boot straight to the Desktop in Windows 8. With Windows 8 test builds, users could create shortcut that switches to the Windows 8 Desktop. Those who didn't want to boot to the tiled Start screen could schedule this shortcut to be activated immediately after a user logged onto Windows 8.

Some other users were holding out hope that Microsoft would allow administrators to use Group Policy to allow users to circumvent the Metro startup screen. But Rivera told me he believes this also is blocked.

Wonder if this is what Paul Thurrott had in mind. Not exactly the same thing as eliminating the ability to set up a Start Button+Menu, but it's certainly another example of MS seeking to make it impossible to do without its Metro Modern kindergarten tiles.

Can anybody confirm this report about the RTM?

--JorgeA

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Well according to what XPclient told us,that Classic Shell does work in Windows 8 RTM. And the You Tube video he posted a link to that confirms this.That we will be able to have the start button and Windows 7 start menu in the final version of Windows 8.

And not being able to boot straight to the desktop,is not so bad. As long as we can still have the Windows 7 start menu. At first we could not boot straight to the desktop in Windows 8. But now in the updated version of Classic Shell you can do. So you should still be able to in Windows 8 RTM. Unless you are not using Classic Shell. Andrea Borman.

Edited by andreaborman
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@JorgeA

no, all hacks still work. MS only doesn't allow the CLient editions to skip Metro. The Sever (without Desktop Experience role) skips Metro. If you install Desktop Experience role you have a GPO to also skip Metro. And mS doesn't allow this on Client Editions. There is a function in 2 DLLs which first check if the Windows is a server and only if the Windows is a server the GPO is used.

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And not being able to boot straight to the desktop,is not so bad. As long as we can still have the Windows 7 start menu. At first we could not boot straight to the desktop in Windows 8. But now in the updated version of Classic Shell you can do. So you should still be able to in Windows 8 RTM. Unless you are not using Classic Shell. Andrea Borman.

I agree that it's not as bad as not even being able to have a Start Button+Menu... but I'll still welcome anything that further lessens the need to go into that ugly, limited-functionality Start Screen (such as, by bypassing it at startup). ;)

--JorgeA

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@JorgeA

no, all hacks still work. MS only doesn't allow the CLient editions to skip Metro. The Sever (without Desktop Experience role) skips Metro. If you install Desktop Experience role you have a GPO to also skip Metro. And mS doesn't allow this on Client Editions. There is a function in 2 DLLs which first check if the Windows is a server and only if the Windows is a server the GPO is used.

I'm not sure if Server 2012 will become a viable desktop replacement OS (as people tend to do with Server OS) since some features are not enabled if you do not use Desktop Experience. The only one I can think of off the top of my head I saw at ADKFest when they couldn't use the projector without enabling Desktop Experience. I'm sure some list of things you can/can't do with Server 2012 w/o Desktop Experience will come out at some point and I'd be surprised if using a projector is the only thing. :rolleyes:

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no, all hacks still work.

Wow, that's a relief!

MS only doesn't allow the CLient editions to skip Metro. The Sever (without Desktop Experience role) skips Metro. If you install Desktop Experience role you have a GPO to also skip Metro. And mS doesn't allow this on Client Editions. There is a function in 2 DLLs which first check if the Windows is a server and only if the Windows is a server the GPO is used.

Thanks, Andre.

Is there any way to trick Windows into thinking it's a server, so that we can bypass the Metro screen? :angel

--JorgeA

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I have just read on the Microsoft website that there is a Windows 8 RTM 90 day trial version. Which anyone can download and use for 90 days. And then it deactivates.

See here on the Microsoft website-http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/jj554510.aspx

You must have a Microsoft account. And you have to log into the Microsoft Technet website to download Windows 8 RTM 90 day trial version.You can log in with your Hotmail or Windows Live Account to download the ISO file.

I have downloaded and burned the Windows 8 RTM 32 bit ISO to a DVD. And maybe I will install it in a few days.

But the good news is that from what I have read on the web and saw in some videos.Classic Shell and the other start menu software DOES work on Windows 8 RTM.

RTM is the final version of Windows 8 that will go out on sale. So if Classic Shell and the other start menu software works in Windows 8 RTM.Then it works in the final version.

So it looks like those posts on the web that said that the start menu software would not work on Windows 8 RTM were wrong again.

So we've won. And we will have our start button and Windows 7 start menu on Windows 8 after all. Which is very good news.Andrea Borman.

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