3 ms·

Am I the only person who thinks the lack of a start button and a 'traditional desktop' are non issues? The lack of a start button/desktop is not a usability iss

Am I the only person who thinks the lack of a start button and a 'traditional desktop' are non issues? The lack of a start button/desktop is not a usability issue in and of itself - it's everything else that makes it such a nightmare.

JohnsonB 14y ago
>The lack of a start button/desktop is not a usability issue in and of itself Tell that to non-technical users who have trouble remembering to use the start button when it's staring them in the face, they need that visual cue at the very least.
- davidlumley 14y ago
  You're right that there should be some sort of affordance to access programs. What I meant was that the problem isn't that there's no `start` menu - it's that there's no consistent, intuitive, and quick way to access any program (along with having to switch UI's between desktop and metro, and a lot of other things) which are problems that the start menu originally solved.
- hackinthebochs 14y ago
  >Tell that to non-technical users who have trouble remembering to use the start button when it's staring them in the face, they need that visual cue at the very least. Which is exactly why the damn thing was useless to begin with.
lessnonymous 14y ago
I live on the start menu. It's how I launch all apps. And by typing their name. What part of moving to Win8 required that it no longer fit? I've installed a third party app now, though it's sub-optimal and I'll probably go hunting for something better.
- davidlumley 14y ago
  It's been a while since Microsoft have changed the interface for finding and running applications (I think the last major change would have been from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 and the introduction of the start menu), but I'd be surprised if the start menu was the absolute be all and end all solution for the problem. I'm not saying that Windows 8 has a superior way, in almost every way it's an inferior experience, but that the presence of the start menu should in no way make or break windows 8.
  - Lockyy 14y ago
    Last change was xp -> vista I think. When they added the search bar into the start menu.
- Ergomane 14y ago
  Launching apps by typing their name still works on Windows 8. Just get to the start screen (winkey or bottom left corner, or via charms bar), then start typing.

JohnsonB 14y ago

>The lack of a start button/desktop is not a usability issue in and of itself Tell that to non-technical users who have trouble remembering to use the start button when it's staring them in the face, they need that visual cue at the very least.

davidlumley 14y ago
You're right that there should be some sort of affordance to access programs. What I meant was that the problem isn't that there's no `start` menu - it's that there's no consistent, intuitive, and quick way to access any program (along with having to switch UI's between desktop and metro, and a lot of other things) which are problems that the start menu originally solved.
hackinthebochs 14y ago
>Tell that to non-technical users who have trouble remembering to use the start button when it's staring them in the face, they need that visual cue at the very least. Which is exactly why the damn thing was useless to begin with.

lessnonymous 14y ago

I live on the start menu. It's how I launch all apps. And by typing their name. What part of moving to Win8 required that it no longer fit? I've installed a third party app now, though it's sub-optimal and I'll probably go hunting for something better.

davidlumley 14y ago
It's been a while since Microsoft have changed the interface for finding and running applications (I think the last major change would have been from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 and the introduction of the start menu), but I'd be surprised if the start menu was the absolute be all and end all solution for the problem. I'm not saying that Windows 8 has a superior way, in almost every way it's an inferior experience, but that the presence of the start menu should in no way make or break windows 8.
- Lockyy 14y ago
  Last change was xp -> vista I think. When they added the search bar into the start menu.
Ergomane 14y ago
Launching apps by typing their name still works on Windows 8. Just get to the start screen (winkey or bottom left corner, or via charms bar), then start typing.