start button PC Perspective en You can't take the Start from me <p>Somewhere along the line the marketing departments of many companies developed a strange theory regarding consumers; customers have no idea what they want until they are told what they want.&nbsp; Somehow this theory has managed to become quite lucrative in some industries but has left other companies scratching their heads as to why it won&#39;t work for their customer base.&nbsp; One example of the head scratchers would be Microsoft; a once a might empire with no competitors and the ability to dictate customers desires who now find themselves confused as to why no one wants Windows 8.&nbsp; One particular reason is the removal of our beloved Start button, not the prettiest or best designed interface but one we have become accustomed to.&nbsp; Pretending to put it back in Win8.1 but instead making it a button that simply metrosexualizes your GUI was a dirty trick but it was easily solved as third party companies would sell you a product which restores the familiar Start menu if you somehow found yourself forced to use Win8.&nbsp; <a href="">According to the leaked slides The Inquirer has seen</a> Microsoft continues in their state denial with no sign of a restored Start button which will obviously lead to a huge increase in sales as we enthusiasts finally lobotomize ourselves and start buying only what we are told we want to buy.&nbsp; At least <a href="">some companies</a> may benefit from Microsoft&#39;s delusional state.</p> <p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/You-cant-take-Start-me" class="inline-image-link" title="View: 20127_9001.jpg"><img src="" alt="20127_9001.jpg" title="20127_9001.jpg" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="452" /></a></div></p> <blockquote><p>&quot;According to Neowin, a leaked early build of the update has been seen in the wild and appears to change very little, having much in common with the Service Packs of older versions of Windows.&quot;</p> </blockquote> <p>Here is some more Tech News from around the web:</p> <p><b><a href="">Tech Talk</a></b></p> <ul> <li><a href="" target="_blank">VESA adding USB 3.0, power deliver to DisplayPort spec @ The Tech Report</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">New PowerColor PCS+ R9 290-series cards have humongous heatsinks @ The Tech Report</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">Elite 110 is a $50 Mini-ITX case from Cooler Master @ The Tech Report</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">2014 CES Unveiled @ Benchmark Reviews</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">Anatomy of a 22-year-old X Window bug: Get root with newly uncovered flaw @ The Register</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">Canada Quietly Offering Sanctuary To Data From the US @ Slashdot</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">Low power WON&#39;T bag ARM the server crown. So here&#39;s how to upset Intel @ The Register</a></li> <li><a href="" target="_blank">The INQUIRER Android Experiment: Episode Three</a></li> </ul> <p></p> <p><a href="" target="_blank">read more</a></p> General Tech dumb microsoft start button win8 Thu, 09 Jan 2014 17:42:54 +0000 Jeremy Hellstrom 59342 at Stop Pushing Microsoft's Buttons! Take the Start Button! <p><em>The latest rumors, based on registry digging and off-the-record testimony, claims that Windows 8.1 will including the option of booting directly into the desktop. A bold claim such as this requires some due diligence. Comically, the attempts to confirm this rumor has unearthed another: the start button, but not necessarily the start menu, could return. On the record, Microsoft also wants to be more open to customer feedback. Despite these recent insights into the future of Windows, all&#39;s quiet with the worst aspect of modernization.</em></p> <p>Mary Jo Foley, contributor to ZDNet and very reliable bullcrap filter for Microsoft rumors, learned from a reliable source that <a href="">the Start Button might have a place in the modern Windows</a>. Quite the catch while fishing to validate a different rumor; she was originally investigating whether Microsoft would consider allowing users to boot direct to desktop via recently unearthed registry keys. Allegedly both are being planned for at least some SKUs of Windows 8.1, namely the Professional and Enterprise editions.</p> <p>But, as usual for Microsoft, the source emphasized, &quot;<strong><em>Until it ships, anything can change.</em></strong>&quot; No-one was clear about the Start Button from a functional standpoint: would it be bound to display the Start Screen? Would it be something more?</p> <p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/Editorial/Stop-Pushing-Microsofts-Buttons-Take-Start-Button" class="inline-image-link" title="View: Windows8loseall.png"><img src="" alt="Windows8loseall.png" title="Windows8loseall.png" class="pcper-inline" width="514" height="194" /></a></div></p> <p>Personally, I liked the modern Windows interface. Sure, it is messed up on the modern-side when it comes to multiple monitor support, but that can easily be fixed. As you will note, I am still actively boycotting everything beyond Windows 7 and this news will not change my mind. We are bickering over interface elements when the real concern is the deprecation of user control. Outside of the desktop: the only applications you can use are from the Windows Store or Windows Update; the only websites you can browse are ones which Internet Explorer can render; and the only administrator is Microsoft.</p> <p>Imagine if Microsoft is told by a government that its citizens are not allowed encryption applications.</p> <p>The Windows Store is clearly modeled by, and about as messed up as, the Xbox Marketplace. Even if your application gets certified, would Microsoft eventually determine that certification fees should be the burden of the developer? That is how it is on the Xbox with each patch demanding a price tag of about $40,000 after the first-one-free promotion. That would be pretty hard to swallow for an open-source application or a cute game that a teenage woman makes for her significant other as a Valentine&#39;s gift.</p> <p>Microsoft&#39;s current Chief Financial Officer, Peter Klein, stated in his third quarter earnings release that Windows Blue, &quot;Further advances the vision of Windows 8 as well as responds to customer feedback.&quot; Despite how abrupt this change would seem, the recent twitchy nature should not come as a surprise; Microsoft has had a tendency to completely change course on products for quite some time now. Mary Jo mentioned how Microsoft changed course on UAC but even that is a bad example; a better one is how Microsoft changed from its initial assertions that Windows 8 Developer Preview would not be shaped by customer feedback.</p> <p>A lot has changed between Developer Preview and RTM.</p> <p>Then again, we can hope that Microsoft associates this pain with love for the desktop. I would be comfortable with the modern Windows if we were given a guarantee that desktop x86 applications would forever be supported. I might even reconsider using and developing applications if they allow loading uncertified metro-style applications and commit to never removing that functionality.</p> <p>I can get used to a new method of accessing my applications. I can never get used to a middle-man who only says &quot;no&quot;. If Microsoft is all ears, I hope we make this point loud and clear.</p> <p><a href="" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Editorial General Tech Systems Metro start button windows Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:36:38 +0000 Scott Michaud 57043 at Microsoft Removing Start Orb Button In Windows 8 <p>Microsoft is continuing full steam ahead with Windows 8 development where they axe many of the familiar features of previous Windows iterations. According to a post over at <a href="">The Verge</a>, the latest feature to get removed is the start button of all things. In the &quot;Consumer Preview&quot; version of the upcoming operating system, users will be greeted with a desktop that shows application icons and the Super Bar, but no start button in sight.</p> <p class="rtecenter"><div class = "center-article-image"><a href="/news/General-Tech/Microsoft-Removing-Start-Orb-Button-Windows-8" class="inline-image-link" title="View: no_start_button.png"><img src="" alt="no_start_button.png" title="no_start_button.png" class="pcper-inline" width="602" height="339" /></a></div></p> <p>Oddly enough, they are removing the Start button in favor of a small area in the lower left of the screen that, when hovered over with a mouse or swiped over on a touchscreen, a Windows 8 charm (small menu) will appear along with a thumbnail preview of the mode that will be switched to upon clicking the element. For example, when you are in the Metro Start Screen mode, hovering over this area would show a small preview of the full Windows desktop and vice versa.</p> <p>I'm a bit confused by this move as it doesn't really add anything to the experience, and makes the start &quot;button&quot; hover area harder to hit and find. Tech support people are likely crying now, as it is difficult enough to get people to click on the start button much less have the patience to hover over an area or perform a swipe action in the lower left of the screen! Not to mention that the start button has been a signature of the Microsoft operating system since Windows 95. &nbsp;At least the Windows key (i hope) still works as expected, but it seems like a non sensical move. &nbsp;How do you guys feel about the change? &nbsp;Will you be keeping your relatives and/or employees on Windows 7 (heh)?</p> <p><a href="" target="_blank">read more</a></p> General Tech crazy microsoft start button start orb windows windows 8 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:19:28 +0000 Tim Verry 53502 at