Microsoft Explains Why the Start Menu Needed to Die

[Arch_Angel]

On Tuesday, Microsoft explained why the Windows 7 start menu is now a start screen in Windows 8: no one used it.

That may be an exaggeration of sorts, but a blog post by Microsoft explained that the use of the Start menu dipped by 11 percent between Windows Vista and Windows 7, with many specialized Start functions - such as exploring pictures - declining as much as 61 percent.

That's why, as PCMag.com's hands-on of the Windows 8 developer preview shows, the Start menu has bene replaced with a screen full of live tiles that can serve as both as an application launcher as well as widgets containing information.

Microsoft has made an effort to communicate to users and developers changes made to its upcoming Windows 8 OS, via a series of blog posts. Until now, Microsoft has focused on the engineering aspects of the new OS. With the latest post, however, Chaitanya Sareen, the lead program manager on the Microsoft Core Experience team, said that attention would turn to Windows 8's user interface.

Read more: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394101,00.asp

I do use the start menu less and less since Windows 7 came out. I have 1 or 2 programs I pin in my start menu. The other programs I use regularly is pinned to the task bar.

[Cultus]

This one is right on me money for me, because I do not use the start menu period. I simple pin all my shortcuts to the quick lunch menu or to the desktop. I guess life on a Mac has now changed me. Start Menu needs to go I agree. I have no time to be sorting through a start menu options to launch apps.

[khat17]

Using the ability to shift between the regular desktop and the Win8 desktop is a good step forward. Not everyone will change so quickly and knowing M$ they going make Win7 obsolete and support Win8 only. Anyways.

[owen]

That article is useless because noone reads it. The start menu is useful, people use it, its often the only way to get at some features in windows. The fact that microsoft is saying this only shows how disconnected they are from their users. The startmenu has been the same for YEARS and its the fault of nobody but microsoft for not innovating and changing it so that it is easier to use. Even the open file dialog is hard to use and doesn't remember your settings. No wonder the apple interface is still ahead of windows - instead of "innovating" they try to bolt-on pointless features to "revolutionise" broken interface.