This has been around for quite some time (we're talking over a year at least); there's actually quite a few applications that provide similar functionality (it's become something of a genre unto itself):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_St … s_for_Windows_8

And articles from ages long past comparing them (notice the 2012 publication dates on some of these):
http://www.itworld.com/327541/9-windows-start … dows-8?page=0,0
http://www.howtogeek.com/127699/6-start-menu- … -for-windows-8/
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/141702-h … ck-to-windows-8
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/3-wind … -apps-compared/

sliderider wrote:

It's here!

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

I paid the $5 for this for my parents computer as they were not liking the new win8 interface at all. It works great and now it's back to good old win7 goodness for them 😀

I should add, for anyone considering this, there are many options available for customisation including the ability to disable the hot corners or whatever they're called so moving your mouse cursor to the corners will not bring up any menus etc. The metro start screen can also be completely disabled leaving you with a traditional start button and program's menu.

Doesn't the Windows 8.1 update (which is free for Win8 owners) add the startbutton to Windows 8 again? I thought I read something like that.

NitroX infinity wrote:

Doesn't the Windows 8.1 update (which is free for Win8 owners) add the startbutton to Windows 8 again? I thought I read something like that.

I read that too so updated their comp to 8.1 but barely anything changed interface wise. There was no traditional start button at all. Unless it was an option that needed to be activated via control panel or similar?

FWIR 8.1 (I've only played around briefly with an already configured 8.1 system mind you) does not out and out remove the Start Screen (because Microsoft is pretty married to this concept, at least for now; I'm guessing they'll keep insisting it's got what plants crave for another few months/years and then spring Windows 9 with the highly intellectual marketing campaign: "It isn't Windows 8, and it has a Start Menu!" - wouldn't be the first time they've done this dance), what it does do is add a Start Button to the desktop that accesses the Start Screen, and allows Windows to boot to the desktop as opposed to the Start Screen. It's supposed to let you disable the hot corners, but the system I got to use had them enabled. It also doesn't (by default) dump you into the Start Screen just because you've closed all the windows on the desktop, which is the biggest/nicest thing I noticed. 😀

It isn't that dramatic of a UI change though - certainly not the same as Start8 or whatever clone thereof. And certainly not a "throwback" to Windows 7 or older. But it is something.

Wikipedia has a (non-list/itemized) comparison of differences here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8.1#New_ … hanged_features); it mentions an April update for 8.1 that further improves behavior/UI with non-touch systems, like booting to the desktop by default when it detects a mouse. That isn't anything I've personally seen in action though. A month or two ago some MSFT developers posted an image of an "unnamed and unannounced" future version of Windows that had a start-menu with full Metro app integration that was being shown at whatever the big conference of that time was. Like I said - not the first time they've done this dance.

The rumour is that the new start menu will be provided in the new big update later this year.

The start button in 8.1 is just an icon that pops open the full screen start menu

obobskivich wrote:

This has been around for quite some time (we're talking over a year at least); there's actually quite a few applications that pr […]
Show full quote

This has been around for quite some time (we're talking over a year at least); there's actually quite a few applications that provide similar functionality (it's become something of a genre unto itself):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_St … s_for_Windows_8

And articles from ages long past comparing them (notice the 2012 publication dates on some of these):
http://www.itworld.com/327541/9-windows-start … dows-8?page=0,0
http://www.howtogeek.com/127699/6-start-menu- … -for-windows-8/
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/141702-h … ck-to-windows-8
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/3-wind … -apps-compared/

Well, I never saw anyone mention it here before, just a lot of complaints about how Win8 doesn't have it.

Start menu is coming back in August.

I personally use StartisBack over Start8, I think it's a bit more customizable. No matter though, since I'm going back to Windows 7 when I get the chance (i.e when I finish my backlog games that I'm too bored to backup).

DosFreak wrote:

The rumour is that the new start menu will be provided in the new big update later this year.

Hadn't heard that - was hearing murmurs about Windows 9 or some other pay-to-play update/upgrade down the line. Here's where I first saw it: http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwi … build-2014.aspx (dug the link up)

It'd be nice to see it as an update to 8.x down the line; Metro isn't all bad, and seeing a Metro-integrated Start Menu would be a very nice upgrade over Windows 7 imho. Best of both worlds and all that.

F2bnp wrote:

Start menu is coming back in August.

I personally use StartisBack over Start8, I think it's a bit more customizable. No matter though, since I'm going back to Windows 7 when I get the chance (i.e when I finish my backlog games that I'm too bored to backup).

Thanks for the linkage! (Honestly I hadn't been following this much after the stuff posted earlier in April). Not surprising they're already talking about throwing 8 under the bus either (so much for the "perpetual, incremental releases like OS X"); Coke always sells better when you can talk about how bad New Coke was... 🤣

As far as Start8; I can't speak to it personally, but I've never had good luck with StarDock software in general - IME it tends to be pretty resource hungry for what it does. 😒

sliderider wrote:

Well, I never saw anyone mention it here before, just a lot of complaints about how Win8 doesn't have it.

Oh I see. 😦

Yeah - plenty of applications cropped up fairly quickly to accommodate all of those complaints (which isn't uncommon when a new version of Windows comes out and people freak out because it's new; but I will agree that Windows 8 was probably a bigger shift than most people were expecting, probably bigger than XP->Vista even). And I'm guessing we'll see a resurgence in their popularity over the next few months as people/organizations/what-have-you are scared away from Windows XP and put face to face with this new thing. 🤣

For those who are able to, install Windows 7 and enjoy life till 2020 and possibly beyond. Don't get anything with Windows 8 on it. (Except maybe tablets.)

Just ignore there was ever a Windows 8. Or think it as the Leisure Suit Larry 4 - that never existed.

For those already using Windows 7, pat yourself for having the OS that most Windows 8 users wanted.

Sarcasm? Oh yes! 😁

Malik wrote:

For those who are able to, install Windows 7 and enjoy life till 2020 and possibly beyond. Don't get anything with Windows 8 on […]
Show full quote

For those who are able to, install Windows 7 and enjoy life till 2020 and possibly beyond. Don't get anything with Windows 8 on it. (Except maybe tablets.)

Just ignore there was ever a Windows 8. Or think it as the Leisure Suit Larry 4 - that never existed.

For those already using Windows 7, pat yourself for having the OS that most Windows 8 users wanted.

Sarcasm? Oh yes! 😁

🤣

I think you can still buy Windows 7 OEM packs until the end of this year; for anyone still wanting the "upgrade." 😀

(Deleted. No longer relevant anyway)

JayCeeBee64 wrote:

*Clings to his copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Retail as if his very life depends on it 😁 *

Awww, not the Bill Gates Signature Edition? 🤣

obobskivich wrote:

JayCeeBee64 wrote:

*Clings to his copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Retail as if his very life depends on it 😁 *

Awww, not the Bill Gates Signature Edition? 🤣

Steve Ballmer did Windows 7. The Gates signature edition was Vista.

obobskivich wrote:

Malik wrote:

For those who are able to, install Windows 7 and enjoy life till 2020 and possibly beyond. Don't get anything with Windows 8 on […]
Show full quote

For those who are able to, install Windows 7 and enjoy life till 2020 and possibly beyond. Don't get anything with Windows 8 on it. (Except maybe tablets.)

Just ignore there was ever a Windows 8. Or think it as the Leisure Suit Larry 4 - that never existed.

For those already using Windows 7, pat yourself for having the OS that most Windows 8 users wanted.

Sarcasm? Oh yes! 😁

🤣

I think you can still buy Windows 7 OEM packs until the end of this year; for anyone still wanting the "upgrade." 😀

Windows 8 Pro users can get a free backgrade to 7, but not the consumer version. Sort of like how 7 had an XP mode on the expensive versions that the consumer version didn't get.

NJRoadfan wrote:

obobskivich wrote:

JayCeeBee64 wrote:

*Clings to his copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Retail as if his very life depends on it 😁 *

Awww, not the Bill Gates Signature Edition? 🤣

Steve Ballmer did Windows 7. The Gates signature edition was Vista.

Main reasons I want to get rid of Windows 8 are the following:

1) Pathetic support for MIDI, setting up BASSMIDI, MUNT and my own Roland SC-7 has been a pain

2) Compatibility with older games and full-screen speed
I had to play an RPG Maker game in a small window because fullscreen was running at like 15fps
Drakan : Order of The Flame is also running fine in a window, but slows down insanely when run full-screen

3) Some weird issues with administrator rights and write privileges on my main disk

Other than that, I have been enjoying the insanely fast boot times and overall snappier feeling to everything. I like the new Task Manager somewhat and some other stuff like the window the combines "Copying files..." windows. I never use the damned Start Screen though.

If Windows 8 could somehow fix the first two issues, I'd never go back to Windows 7.

As I've mentioned before, even back all the way on Windows 98 SE, I avoided the Start Menu like the plague in place of buttons on my task bar which would open folders full of nothing but shortcut icons. I much prefer the Windows 8 start screen to the Windows 95 ~ 7 start menu because it's what I'm used to and it's a lot faster for me to use than scrolling through tons of little pieces of text searching for the right program to run. :P

That said, the new start menu they intend to introduce looks... interesting... Hopefully it's an "option" and not a forced change to how the windows button on the desktop works. It's already bad enough I can't make that button disappear because I don't need it there to know that having the mouse in the bottom-left corner accesses the start screen. :P

From what I can see, MIDI is exactly the same in 8.1 as in 7. It became a 2nd class citizen starting with Vista. The MIDI device selection tools from Vista/7 still work in 8.