where is 8.1 start button
- Thread starter Paul11
- Start date
Associate
- Joined
- 31 Dec 2004
- Posts
- 1,384
- Location
- Essex, UK
They have figured it out, you have it. Win8 is a breeze to use and there is such little difference in the actions that its completely negligible... it took me all of 20 minutes to get used to it. I have to switch between Win8 at home and Win7 at work and 7 is so much more clunky and old.
If you can't get over such changes then you should not be using a computer.
That's no good for me as i boot up my PC in the morning and switch it off on a night so there is no need to put it into sleep mode. Dont really see the point in using "sleep mode" when i can turn it on and be using a fresh session under 10 seconds....
It'll be interesting to see what the next version of Windows brings. Perhaps more of a hybrid environment with Metro apps able to run windowed and some semblance of a start menu under the start button. My money is on the desktop start button popping up a list of apps on the full Metro "start screen" for quick select from the desktop. This would leave the Start screen as the primary future interface but allow quick app launch for old style desktop users.
Pardon? It's rather clear that there's a lot of dislike towards the Start screen so it's clearly not "a breeze to use" and personally I find it interrupts my workflow far more often. Windows 7 is far quicker to get around because you're not having to deal with a massive fullscreen of huge icons designed for a touch display rather than a regular PC monitor. If you're happy with that then great, but don't be offended just because other people are not.
And no, they clearly haven't figured it out considering they've brought the Start button back and are allegedly considering bringing a Start menu back again after all the backlash they've received. Let's not pretend it's the first time that MS have decided to rush off in one direction and then realised it's not what people want.
I've been using Windows since I was a kid, and I've gone through all the versions of the years; I've dealt with plenty of changes and most of the time they're positive. Windows 8 is the first time ever that I've chosen not to upgrade and I'm not alone there.
Last edited:
Associate
- Joined
- 17 Sep 2008
- Posts
- 1,757
I've never understood the emotional investment some people apparently have in Windows 8 - it's only a flipping operating system, but from the angry, belligerent reactions to any hint of a criticism, you'd think someone had insulted their prophet.
Completely bizarre.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 17 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 36,747
- Location
- Southampton, UK
I used to all the time but my new rig and Win8 are less happy at sleeping.
Presumably it's similar to the fanatical emotion investment some people have in declaring Windows 8 as "rubbish/awful/appalling" at every opportunity and suggesting anyone who likes it or posts a contrary view to it being "rubbish" as having some kind of illogical emotional investment.
Indeed...
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 5 Oct 2008
- Posts
- 9,006
- Location
- Kent
I've had numerous every day users tell me they can't get used to the new Windows. Are you saying all these people should not be using a computer? Windows is an Operating System. It Operates the computer, therefore it should be intuitive to use.
And Windows 7 is clunky is it? Maybe it's a difference in computers but I don't find it clunky on any of the systems I use day to day. (2x Windows 7 + 1x Windows 8.1)
Windows 8 does seem very marmite to me, either users love it or hate it.
Win8 is not that big of a change to Win7,as to users well no offence they must be pretty stupid if they can't handle Win8,I hate to see their reaction to Win9 or 10 down the road.
ANY windows OS including 8 is very easy,there is no excuse in the work environment ,if they can't handle Win8 or ANY OS then they you should not be working there IMHO.
Take me for example we never had any computers at school(calculators were still new) or training,everything I know about computers etc was all done by myself and believe me back in the old DOS days when I started it was 10x harder then it is now on simple Windows.
I can accept using Windows the same way for almost two decades may be hard to change for some or just don't like Win8,but that does take away the fact Win8 is still pretty easy OS to work with.
I know I'm ready for Win9,10 and I wonder how many others are?..Also since when is a modern Windows hard to use,not been that way for a very long time.
I wonder if some users in the work environment are in the 21st century sometimes or back to 18th century trying to figure out how to make a good cup of tea.
Last edited:
W8 has only been around for a year, a lot of users won't know anything different besides variations of Windows 95 so getting used to a new OS might take a lot longer than 'normal'. Like you say it should be intuitive to use but the legacy of a users previous experiences and expectations will always make change difficult.
I remember people going mad when Office 2007 was released due to the ribbon but MS have stuck with it (which I'm pleased about) and we have a whole generation of people who don't know any different and would likely hate the old Office 2003 menu style.
Will be interesting to see if MS stick with the interface for 9 or decide to backtrack.
there is no excuse in the work environment ,if they can't handle Win8 or ANY OS then they you should not be working there IMHO.
I wonder if some users in the work environment are in the 21st century sometimes or back to 18th century trying to figure out how to make a good cup of tea.
That's quite a ridiculous statement to make, being able to use an OS doesn't necessarily make you good or bad at your job, it depends what your job is...
Associate
- Joined
- 31 Dec 2004
- Posts
- 1,384
- Location
- Essex, UK
Using Win8 as touch or mouse is basically the same thing, you are either touching the screen or you are using the mouse and the button on it to do the same thing... how is that hard???
The 'metro' screen is the same as the win7 start menu, just bigger... how is that hard???
The fact that MS put in a button to get you to the 'metro' screen almost seems like a half hearted pity action as there is no reason I can think of that it makes it better or worse as just making the mouse go to the bottom leftt of the screen and click on the box that popped up...
Maybe its all so simple and intuitive that people are just making out its harder than it actually is... its a breeze to use and I am 39 this year, I made the transition in 20 minutes as I said... my father who is 73 this year made the transition in 30 minutes... neither he nor I have touch screen monitors.
I hate to sound like I am putting people down but if my dad can do it you should be able to as well and MS should not have to feel like they should put any more effort in to pleasing people who cannot handle such a minor interface change.
The 'metro' screen is the same as the win7 start menu, just bigger... how is that hard???
The fact that MS put in a button to get you to the 'metro' screen almost seems like a half hearted pity action as there is no reason I can think of that it makes it better or worse as just making the mouse go to the bottom leftt of the screen and click on the box that popped up...
Maybe its all so simple and intuitive that people are just making out its harder than it actually is... its a breeze to use and I am 39 this year, I made the transition in 20 minutes as I said... my father who is 73 this year made the transition in 30 minutes... neither he nor I have touch screen monitors.
I hate to sound like I am putting people down but if my dad can do it you should be able to as well and MS should not have to feel like they should put any more effort in to pleasing people who cannot handle such a minor interface change.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 17 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 36,747
- Location
- Southampton, UK
It's not that metro is hard, its that it is annoying. I don't like the start menu taking up the whole screen. There are lots of other things that don't stop me using it but do frustrate me.
That's fair enough but its all relative some of us don't like the old start button with the small tree system,at least with Metro I can customise it to my needs and not worry about restricted space etc..
Also Metro is probably a lot better for touch users then the old start menu tree system,as you see it works both ways.
Not really,if an office worker can use XP,Vista,Win7 in the work environment they should be able to use Win8 unless their IQ has gone downhill by quite a margin.
It does seem very band wagony - there seems to be a set of people that heard that "Windows 8 is for tablets, not proper PCs with a mouse and keyboard" who latch on to that. What's interesting is when you ask "what is it about Windows 8 that is difficult". With a sensibly organised start screen (which includes unpinning un needed programs from default) I'd argue W8.1 is easier to use in a lot of ways. I also find that with the backdrop to the start menu set the same as the desktop people I speak to liken hitting the start button to having their programs appear on the desktop to run and rarely complain about a "confusing jarring OS experience". Interestingly most of the resistance I see is from corporate IT bods who often have minimal experience and minimal effort with W8 rather than end users. The number of poorly configured W8 machines i've seen on corporate desktops where it's at best the default layout with no thought, time or effort put into customizing the start screen and wallpaper is gobsmacking. Introduce a outsourcer to a corporate desktop environment and i'm afraid all hope for thought, effort and innovation is doomed in the pursuit of minimal cost of change contracts.
In general there seems to be a resistance to obvious change, not least highlighted by the complaints of "My dad looked at the screen for 20 minutes and couldn't find the start button" videos when Windows 8 came out. Apart from anything else it's right there on you keyboard, the same place it's been on every keyboard for almost 20 years. /sigh
In the spirit of getting to the bottom of things, why is Windows 8 so difficult to use, specifically rather than a generic "it's for touch tablets". I can understand someone not liking the aesthetics, but that's not quite the same thing. Perhaps between us we can come up with some tips, hints and customization that work for everyone?
Last edited:
My argument would be that there's never been any necessity to invest time and effort into customising the Start menu; everything is there, and while you can (and I personally do) disable or modify certain things about I've never had to spend more than 10 seconds unticking a few options to hide the things I don't need, as opposed to moving tiles, creating/naming groups, resizing tiles, turning live tiles on or off etc. Yes, it's a fairly flexible interface but you only have to look at most people's desktops - a sea of disorganised icons and files with a low-resolution background image - to know that the majority will never learn nor bother to customise their W8 Start screens. The same default MS and OEM software tiles that were at the top when they bought their machine will still be there 3 years later.
At best, it's an attractive, functional way of getting information at-a-glance from apps via tiles, but that's only useful if you're using all those apps and on a PC with a mouse and keyboard I don't, as I usually have my web browser open (or the dedicated, full-featured desktop applications) which provides all the same services without having to switch between apps one-by-one. At worst, it's just a full-screen app launcher.
My Gran has said she wants to buy a new computer soon, I have absolutely no idea how she's going to get to grips with Windows 8 because nothing is going to be where she expects it to be. MS have done virtually nothing to help ease the transition from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and that's why they now find themselves forced to consider bringing the Start menu back. It's not just to suit user preference, it's so that people can actually get back to using their PCs again.
Probably because your not using your computer for serious work.
When you're developing programs you don't want to spend all that time restoring the session you previously had with over a dozen applications and windows open, often spanning across multiple screens.