Funny
Funny.
Many of my customers have never pressed [Start] in their lives, yet they join the chorus bemoaning its passing. Everything they ever do must be a Desktop Shortcut.
Others keep the desktop relatively clean and use [Start] often, selecting a 'recent ap' from the left column, or [Start]-[All Programs] for most everything else.
Still others, including me, use [Start]-[Run] for just about everything.
Windows 8 runs exactly the same if you just adopt the mindset that the tiles display _IS_ the start button, with the following minor differences:
- It starts out open
- It takes up the whole screen
You right-click it to get All-Apps, which is [Start]-[All Programs]. You click where [Start] used to be to get the desktop. You right-click there to get most everything else. Click the opposite corner to bring up a new, useful flyout, containing a Magnifying Glass that does what Greg just wrote up.
Microsoft should have had a 30-second auto-tutorial for this (like the old WinXP startup tour) but you should spend a lot less time figuring out Win-8 then you originally spent getting your iPad or Droid the way you wanted it.
The things you use most often (the left column of [Start]) should be tiles. [Start]-[All-Programs] is Right-cick, then All-Apps. The Desktop is there for your desktop junkies to access their stuff. The missing [Start] button is right where it used to be, it's just invisible. Greg has a nice drill-down into some interesting things, but those who can't do 'Lower-Right, Magnifying Glass' really shouldn't be using a computer.
There's a philosophy in here someplace. Microsoft's long-term 'Contempt for Customers' and 'Complicated Solutions to Simple Problems' business model have created a world full of people who use the products but hate the company. Win-8 came out to universal panning because those who write these reviews were pre-disposed to pan it.
Win-8 is fast and clean. It really is a nice product if you give it a unbiased chance. It's main failing is the lack of a 30-second auto-tour.
