[anniebrion]

For those upset about the lack of a start button in Windows 8, prepare yourself for another disappointment -- "Windows Blue", an upcoming short-cycle successor to Windows 8, is not expected to bring the feature back.

http://www.dailytech.com/Quick+Note+...ticle29511.htm

[rjb101]

Umpteen software company's will come up with a solution though

[anniebrion]

Originally Posted by rjb101

Umpteen software company's will come up with a solution though

But there is no problem thus no solution is required

[rjb101]

If you say so, each to their own.

[alanwarwic]

"short-cycle successor"

Lower the price and have an 18 or 12 month release cycle?

[DJGM]

Originally Posted by rjb101

Umpteen software company's will come up with a solution though

Several solutions to the lack of the Start button/orb/menu are already offered. I have Classic Shell installed, so I have
the best of both worlds on Windows 8, since I also sometimes use the "Modern UI" apps from the Start Screen.

[d'@ve]

Originally Posted by anniebrion

But there is no problem thus no solution is required

There certainly isn't a problem, Classic Shell fixed that for me months ago. Oh, there's a new update for that by the way, in case anyone missed it, it's up to v. 3.6.4 now, including better multiple monitor support.

Tiles? What tiles?

[John259]

I wonder what Microsoft's motivation is with Windows Blue, especially if it will be very inexpensive or even free of charge.

Presumably it would an attempt to boost the sales of Windows 8 as a standalone product and more importantly the sales of new computers which have Windows 8 pre-installed. We're hearing of an increasing number of complaints from PC manufacturers about how Windows 8 is having a serious detrimental effect on their sales, so MS is probably under very considerable pressure behind the scenes to make Windows 8 more acceptable to the general public.

Therefore I would have thought the top priority would be to mend the user interface by providing options to disable Metro and the Charms, and restore the Start button.

People with sufficient skills can fix Windows 8 with Classic Shell etc but many normal users lack the ability to download and install a program.

[alanwarwic]

A quick google shows only that no one of repute has taken up the story. (seems ZDNet has it but ZDNet's now one of the worst for talking utter nonsense.)

And it's Wiki is under consideration for deletion.

[emptybox]

I don't know how they can make the desktop UI any flatter than it already is?
Perhaps take away even the minimal transparency on the taskbar?

I've applied the AeroRP theme to one of my desktops. Doesn't add any extra transparency, but at least it puts a shadow round the focussed window so things don't look quite so flat.

[Smudged]

Yeah I'm happy to keep using third party software and different themes to improve the UI .

[emptybox]

Originally Posted by Smudged

Yeah I'm happy to keep using third party software and different themes to improve the UI .

It was a tip from you, in the other thread, that led me to try that theme.

I'd still like the true aero of Windows 7 though.
Windows 7 was the only OS that I never felt the need to change from the default look (well possibly the latest Ubuntu?).

But I guess it's fun to go back to messing about with themes, like back in the XP days?

[Smudged]

Originally Posted by emptybox

It was a tip from you, in the other thread, that led me to try that theme.

I'd still like the true aero of Windows 7 though.
Windows 7 was the only OS that I never felt the need to change from the default look (well possibly the latest Ubuntu?).

But I guess it's fun to go back to messing about with themes, like back in the XP days?

Unlike most people it seems, I'm not a fan of the transparency so I always turn it off but I like the Windows 7 look. It's the flatness of Windows 8 I'm not keen on so the RP theme suits me quite well.

[noise747]

If MS did a U-turn it would not look good on them, it would mean that admit that they made a mistake and they will not do that unless it really did go pear shape.


Saying that is no problem depends, i think the modern UI is horrid and if I was not able to replace it with a start button and get rid of it, I would have stayed with windows 7.

MS should be thankful that there are third party options, i know a few people who did not want windows 8 because of the metro, but as soon as I told them that there was ways of by passing it they updated.

computer sales are low anyway, people don't have the money to spend and new machines, so that don't help, if windows 8 made a difference or not is another thing and I doubt we will never really know.

[PrinceGaz]

I'll buy into Windows 8 / Blue / whatever, when desktop displays come with multi-touch input as standard. Until then, no thanks.

I'm guessing somewhere down the line the better displays which already include a USB hub because it adds little to the cost if they've gone to the expense of things like an S-IPS panel, will effectively automatically present an additional in-built USB device to the computer which is the display's touch panel (on top of anything devices you connect to the USB ports on the monitor).

[John259]

Originally Posted by noise747

If MS did a U-turn it would not look good on them

Maybe, maybe not. Admitting that they made a serious mistake with New Coke didn't do Coca-Cola any harm and this is a very similar situation.

[Faust]

When I look at the state of my iPad screen after just a few hours of touch I doubt I could put up with that on a Desktop, so for me touch on a Desktop is a real NO NO.

[JSemple3]

Originally Posted by d'@ve

There certainly isn't a problem, Classic Shell fixed that for me months ago. Oh, there's a new update for that by the way, in case anyone missed it, it's up to v. 3.6.4 now, including better multiple monitor support.

Tiles? What tiles?

3.6.5 now

http://www.neowin.net/news/classic-shell-365

Agreed. Classic Menu is a godsend

[Grouty]

I don't get this, why buy windows 8, just to turn it back into Windows 7 by adding the start bar, theres just no point if you already have Windows 7, just stick with it.

[John259]

Originally Posted by Grouty

I don't get this, why buy windows 8, just to turn it back into Windows 7 by adding the start bar, theres just no point if you already have Windows 7, just stick with it.

Some people might like to explore Metro mode, even if they don't plan to use it on any everyday basis.

Some people say that Windows 8 is faster than Windows 7. Other people say it's slower. It probably depends on the hardware that it's running on and which programs are used to judge it by.

[Faust]

Originally Posted by Grouty

I don't get this, why buy windows 8, just to turn it back into Windows 7 by adding the start bar, theres just no point if you already have Windows 7, just stick with it.

As much as I dislike the Windows 8 UI I tend to agree with your sentiments. I moved over to 8 dislike the UI but I will stick at it now I've changed. Who knows one day it might even sit right with me.

TBH though as OS X is my main OS now and Windows only gets occasional use I can put up with 8.