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Sadly the current start menu is far from normal. Normal would a simple menuized view of a folder hierarchy, what we have is some abomination tied into the Windo

Sadly the current start menu is far from normal. Normal would a simple menuized view of a folder hierarchy, what we have is some abomination tied into the Windows Store in mysterious ways that cause it to break under a wide variety of circumstances in such a way that an in-place reinstall is the only sure-fire fix.

johnchristopher 6y ago
I have never been convinced with the folder hierarchy in start menus. Programs get installed in lot of places, what's the mapping between the menu items and the "real" location then ? Linux got this standard arbitrary menu categories thing but in the end people use menus to launch a program so I believe a simple A-Z list with a search box should be enough. Throwing app store stuff in there is not okay though (as in the current windows situation and the previous ubuntu affiliate links in the dash bar).
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
  It isn't the relationship between the folder structure presented in the start menu and any actual physical location that's the most valuable part (though with portable applications they can be one and the same!), what's important is the simplicity of it and that the user can easily manipulate it with nothing but a file browser.
- 0xffff2 6y ago
  Huh? The start menu folder hierarchy was always its own thing. The start menu folders didn't have any relationship to where anything is installed.
Frenchgeek 6y ago
When I first saw win10's start menu, I promptly removed the tiles (ads, really) as useless fluff then promptly vowed to do everything I can to never use it. My desktop is a mess now, but one of my own doing. (You can imagine what my reaction was when edgy auto-started after an update to tell me the over-engineered Firefox downloader was now "better" than ever. I had to kill the process in order to not see the mandatory new features tour. It did it again after the recent update to make sure I hate it as much as possible.)
- Kwpolska 6y ago
  My taskbar is full of pinned icons, and I have set the start menu to only show my apps (deleted all tiles), and made it full-height. The end result is a simple minimal menu for when I need to scroll through the list, although I launch most things from the pinned taskbar icons anyway. That’s a pretty usable setup and no advertising.

johnchristopher 6y ago

I have never been convinced with the folder hierarchy in start menus. Programs get installed in lot of places, what's the mapping between the menu items and the "real" location then ? Linux got this standard arbitrary menu categories thing but in the end people use menus to launch a program so I believe a simple A-Z list with a search box should be enough. Throwing app store stuff in there is not okay though (as in the current windows situation and the previous ubuntu affiliate links in the dash bar).

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
It isn't the relationship between the folder structure presented in the start menu and any actual physical location that's the most valuable part (though with portable applications they can be one and the same!), what's important is the simplicity of it and that the user can easily manipulate it with nothing but a file browser.
0xffff2 6y ago
Huh? The start menu folder hierarchy was always its own thing. The start menu folders didn't have any relationship to where anything is installed.

Frenchgeek 6y ago

When I first saw win10's start menu, I promptly removed the tiles (ads, really) as useless fluff then promptly vowed to do everything I can to never use it. My desktop is a mess now, but one of my own doing. (You can imagine what my reaction was when edgy auto-started after an update to tell me the over-engineered Firefox downloader was now "better" than ever. I had to kill the process in order to not see the mandatory new features tour. It did it again after the recent update to make sure I hate it as much as possible.)

Kwpolska 6y ago
My taskbar is full of pinned icons, and I have set the start menu to only show my apps (deleted all tiles), and made it full-height. The end result is a simple minimal menu for when I need to scroll through the list, although I launch most things from the pinned taskbar icons anyway. That’s a pretty usable setup and no advertising.