Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8

Re:Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8 by codingthebeach on Saturday June 30, 2012 @11:41PM (#4183752)

OS X manages just fine without a formal "Start" button. Who needs Start buttons when you can pin, search from the desktop, or use Launchpad? So goodbye, old Start Button, we've had a good run. You will be remembered.

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Re:Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8 by crazygringo on Sunday July 01, 2012 @12:05AM (#4183802)

OSX has the Apple menu (for System Preferences, Shut Down, etc.) and the Applications dock menu.

So OS X does have a Start button for all intents and purposes, it's just divided into two halves (which basically correspond to the original columns of the XP start menu). I personally feel it would be really annoying to go without either of them.

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Re:Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8 by jpxxx on Sunday July 01, 2012 @12:27AM (#4183850)

Anything to the right of the divide on the dock is considered a stack, which is just a pinned folder.

Once the user accidentally drags it off the dock, it poofs away and they are lost.

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Re:Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8 by jpxxx on Sunday July 01, 2012 @12:04AM (#4183800)

This is true, I agree. But naive/novice users are stranded without it when they switch.

Dock pinning doesn't come to them if they don't understand Windows Taskbar pinning, finding /Applications is not a sure thing, and adding items to the Dock is mysterious - they come and go if they're not pinned.

So I've seen people Spotlight apps each time, work out of .DMGs on the desktop, rely on auto-mounted .DMGs from installers (Skype), or keep apps they want around minimized. It's also not rare for them to consider an application "missing" if it's not running and not pinned.

Launchpad + App Store is the answer for this class of user.

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Re:Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8 by barrkel on Sunday July 01, 2012 @12:09AM (#4183814)

I thought the Applications folder on the dock thing was the start menu equivalent?

That's what I've always used it for. I launch almost every application that way.

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Re:Microsoft Justifies Killing the Start Button in Windows 8 by damncabbage on Sunday July 01, 2012 @01:01AM (#4183905)

It's not there by default in Lion, though.

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