Desktop users of Windows 8: you don't have to fear the Metro start menu! I, too, was at first taken aback when I'd be shunted back to the Metro Start page after clicking the phantom start button, which in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview only shows up when you move the mouse to the lower-left corner of the screen. But after a little while of using the new interface metaphor, I found the switching smooth and unobtrusive.
Of course, there are always those who cling to the old ways—heck, we have a couple of longer-in-the-tooth contributors who still use WordPerfect! And in truth, it may at least feel quicker to launch programs from within the Windows 7-like desktop mode of Windows 8.
For those who are running the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and want their Start menu back, a couple of downloadable utilities have appeared that approximate the old functionality—Start8 and ViStart. Both are free, quick installs. But you can restore some semblance of Start menu-like capabilities without installing anything. In the Windows 8 Developer Preview, there was a Registry setting that would disable Metro, but that's no longer present in the Consumer Preview. (Astute readers, feel free to chime in in the comments if you find a new Registry option that does this.)
No Installation Required
The first Start menu feature you can get without any modifications to the default Windows 8 setup is the Run dialog. To get this, you can simply hit Windows Key-R in the desktop. For a little more Start menu feel, you can add a popup list of Libraries, Computer, Control Panel, and Network by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing Properties > Toolbars and then checking the Desktop check box. Any icons you have on the desktop will appear in the popup list, as well as the features mentioned above. Starting a program could mean sprouting out a multitude of flyout menus, harking back to Windows 95.
Another option is checking Address in Taskbar Toolbars Properties, which will add a search box to the taskbar. In the resulting box, you can type a web address or a local program name, like Notepad or Calc. But neither of these modifications truly brings back the Start menu.
Stardock's Start8 Utility
Start8 comes from longtime Windows customizer Stardock. It doesn't actually reproduce the Windows 7 Start menu's functionality—like showing most-used and pinned apps. It actually just displays a smaller version of the exact same Metro Style search page that you'll get from the Windows 8 charms search option. So really, all it's adding is the Windows button of dear memory. The implementation is kind of a mess: You lose the ability to go to the actual Metro Start screen unless you run a Metro app first and then choose Start from the Charms. Setting can change this, or even have it show the full screen Metro Start screen, but then why install Start8 in the first place?
With Start8 installed, if you're in the Desktop and call up the charms, hit the Windows key, or click on the Metro Start thumbnail that appears when you move the mouse to the lower-left corner of the screen, you'll get Start8's reduced search page instead of the actual Metro Start screen. If you never intend to use the Metro UI, then Start8 could be a viable option. Start8 adds a couple of right-click options, too--Run and shut down, the latter of which could be useful, considering how Windows 8 buries the shutdown option in Metro's Settings.
ViStart Utility from Lee-Soft
The other customization app is ViStart. This one actually gets you closer to the Windows 7 Start menu experience. And it has the advantage of retaining the original functionality of letting you call up Windows 8's actual Metro Start screen using the default actions (clicking the lower-left screen corner thumbnail or using the charms). It even places the icons for recently used applications in the Start Menu. But you have to avoid clicking on Microsoft's own Start thumbnail just to its left when using it.
A New Start?
So there you are. You can almost get a Windows 7-style Start button and menu, or you can spend a couple days getting accustomed to the Windows 8 Metro start page. In my experience, making the switch is much smoother than it seems at first glance. And in any case, none of these workarounds may be available or functional by the time Windows 8 ships. The reason Windows 8 is in Consumer Preview prerelease form is so that users can tell Microsoft what they like and dislike about the upcoming OS. Who knows? Maybe we'll see a modified Start menu find its way into Windows 8's desktop mode if enough testers raise a clamor over its absence.
(courtesy:www.thinkdigit.com)
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