Thread: Why do people hate the new start screen?

I hate it and can adapt to it and customize it but you shouldn't have to relearn how to use the PC. I don't have smartphones or tablets so nothing is intuitive about it for me. I also like watching the desktop load to see if anything unusual zips by or changes. When I installed the first beta of Windows 8 I had to do a web search to find the power button. Then I had to figure out the hidden login screen. About the only thing MS hasn't done with the start screen to annoy desktop users even more is add a rasberry startup sound that couldn't be disabled.
Joe

Had to vote and had to reply, as I do love it..... BUT:
Mind you that was not at all my initial reaction as I was a very loud and vocal opponent through out the previews (developers, release, and consumer), but when I realized that banging my head against a wall the size of Microsoft was not going to get me anywhere and I actually devoted a bit of time and attention and gave it a sincere and serious opportunity to win me over I have to admit that I cannot now imagine ever going back to Windows 7 nor can I now imagine ever wanting or needing a start button again.
Our industry, while certainly driven by profit, is supported and bolstered by innovation and change (like it or not) and I don't think any of us would like to still be bumping around on wheels made of semi-circular stone, even if that were still an option.
Technology is like a swimming shark.... keep moving or die. And the facts on the ground are, everyone is swimming towards small, handheld, mobile devices.
I hear comments like Microsoft has shot themselves in the foot and so on and so forth. I don't believe that to be true and all. My main concern is that they were perhaps a little too late to hop aboard the speeding train and if you'll permit another metaphor.... perhaps brought a knife to a gun fight, as there offerings may be too little, too late in both features and price point to attract proper adoption of their products. And if that leaves them with only, a bunch of unhappy desktop users, still moaning about their start button, then that's what really doesn't bode well for the future

Have to agree with Joe and Trouble, however, can't actually say I ever hated it, it was a mere dislike.
Once, getting used to it, then discovering ways around it, customizing it, etc;, it turned out to be fun.
And, once again, you are in fact running a special edition of Windows 7.

@ Joe, the raspberry startup sound, it's coming, Windows Blue.

Don

Not hate, but great suspicions. We know Ballmer wants to run all programs thru the WinStore so he can profit from everything being licensed and distributed, then tracked via the Start Screen. What's not to love about THAT?!! He'll be able to enforce subscriptions and greater payments to him with all the fanboi praise for the Start Screen. "Oh, but the programs are now all signed and more secure!" Right. He's been saying that about every version of Windows and Internet Explorer, too.

As for SEARCH, it sucks. I want to find all the ST4*.* files on Drive I. Oops - can't do that! Must go thru all drives, all the time!

Or maybe do a SEARCH for "keystroke combo's" so we can see the hundreds of heralded keystroke combos that are available. Oops - can't get any search results for that phrase either!! Oh well - who needs keystroke combos on a touch-screen anyway?!!

Yeah. What's not to love about endless scrolling to the use the 8 programs I constantly use for productive work. Oh well... those used to be running concurrently but now, no, one App at a time. One day, the concept of multi-tasking will occur and fanbois will claim it's "all new, all revolutionary!!" Uh huh.

The majority of my day to day work is stored in a variety of file types which are in folders according to product. When I need to work on a specific product, I use the shortcut on my desktop that takes me to the main products folder. Because that folder is set to open in the same place and size (oops! lost that in Win7), I can quickly navigate to a specific product folder. Now I can double click each of the (separate but related) files to open them all on my multiple monitor setup. I can switch between apps with a single click on an exposed area of a window and make changes while still viewing the information in a related file. When I'm done with an app, I can close it with a single click on the close button. when all the files are closed, I can quickly navigate back a step or two and find the folder for the next product and do it all again.

I'm not regurgitating popular sentiment here. I have desktop workstations at home (Win7) and at work (Win7). I have a smart phone and an iPad. Recently, I purchased a new laptop(Win8) from Dell which is truly a remarkable piece of hardware. I did so because I wanted to jump on the Windows 8 wagon and be ahead of the curve. Initially, I found Windows H8 useless but I have a subscription to an online training site so I went and found a tutorial for Win8 and watched the entire thing. With each video in the series, I felt my heart sink lower and lower as it became clearer that I had just blown $1800 on a toy.

Can anyone explain to me how charms and tiles help me? I surely don't see it. And please stop with the "there are lots of utilities available to make it work the way you want" Doesn't anyone see how ludicrous that is? Would anyone buy a Porsche and then go out and buy a kit to convert it to a pickup truck because you need a vehicle to haul garbage to the landfill?

My first response to Win8 was disappointment. After going online to see what Microsoft reps had to say, it has changed to something more akin to a broken heart. Microsoft has abandoned me.

My biggest gripe about Windows 8 is that it isn't Windows.

There's a reason that Windows is called Windows, it's because it opens things in..... "Windows"!!!

Unmodified Windows 8 doesn't do that.

I like to use multiple windows I like snap, I run several windows at a time a lot.

So I hope Windows Blue will make Windows back into Windows again.

Mike

Originally Posted by Trouble

I have to admit that I cannot now imagine ever going back to Windows 7 nor can I now imagine ever wanting or needing a start button again.

I actually find this post to be quite shocking, considering the types of conversations we had privately regarding Windows 8. I like it, but the limitations on desktop mode are quirky. Once you use ModernMix, it is hard to get used to the Start Screen running in full screen in a non-touch screen environment. I hope that additional support is added for desktop-only users with Windows 8.1.

Perhaps a small confusion , between the thread title and the actual use, in FULL screen, of the "Apps"
Modern mix has the function to put Apps in a partial window, on the desktop. This function remains automatic, anyway, if you do not use the apps. The auto full screen function of the apps is the singular item I cannot live with. Otherwise I am quite happy using the customised "Metro" as my only start menu.
So far (?) I have been able to use a third party legacy program, on the desktop, and have found no urgent need to use the (90%) garbage in the Store. This includes, oddly, most Microsoft programs.