Microsoft killed the start button because...

[zag]

Do you have an alt link?

"This site was blocked by restriction list: RM Pornography and Illegal or Age-Restricted Activity List"

I'm really getting fed up with this filtering...

Don't believe the lies, you can have a Start menu on Windows 8 Release Preview

[glennda]

Groupcall Emerge - the powerful yet intuitive iPhone / iPod 'App' which enables schools to have an up-to-the-minute copy of their MIS data instantly and securely available in the palm of their hand

So much better than lesson monitor in every way.

Quick, instant access, touch interface for taking registers. Really is an outstanding product if a little expensive.

Its cheaper then Lesson monitor I think (havn't seen pricing in a while).

Problem with all the OS companies is they are still driving fully towards just the Consumers (both apple and M$).

Which surpises my why the Chromebooks don't have some very good management suites for them. I think this is where the difference is going and with more and more "Cloud" (shivvers from saying that). services and web-based apps they will do job needed.

[SPM]

My whole argument is - why not include both so that each individual can choose whether they want metro/start menu/pin apps.

Why try and force us down a road some of us don't like. Including me. Metro is SOOOO much sower and less useful than the simple start button ever was. I hate it and I hate MS's stupidity.

But that comes with the territory when you buy from a monopoly - what customers' think doesn't matter, the monopoly can force customers to do what the monopoly wants them to do.

[Arthur]

what customers' think doesn't matter

It doesn't.

"A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them." - Steve Jobs

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry Ford (allegedly)

[tech_guy]

After hating then loving and now hating again the Metro interface let's hope MS garner some common sense and allow us to remove it so effectively Windows 8 becomes Windows 7.1......

[chazzy2501]

I'd be so happy if I could purchase windows 2000 2012 edition. all the background updates but the look and feel of 2000.

The SINGULAR reason I'm slogging my way through Windows 8 is direct access. it's upset me so much (win8) that I've actually rage formatted my laptop twice! I hate having to google my way through the interface. (I had to google how to shutdown!)

[FN-GM]

The SINGULAR reason I'm slogging my way through Windows 8 is direct access

Why not use a Windows 7 client with a 2012 server?

[chazzy2501]

PKI for a start and finish. turns into a 3 server setup with CAs, CRLs and a whole host of crud I don't want to setup just to try this technology. Which btw isn't living up to the hype. (DA isn't a magic remote bullet, it's slow & obfuscated)

[jamesfed]

PKI for a start and finish. turns into a 3 server setup with CAs, CRLs and a whole host of crud I don't want to setup just to try this technology. Which btw isn't living up to the hype. (DA isn't a magic remote bullet, it's slow & obfuscated)

I wouldn't agree there (in the sense of not living up to hype).

Yes it is a 3 server setup - however... the CA is hosted on one of our DCs (easy to setup), the In out detection is hosted on our internal web server (already setup) and then the DA server....

It works a treat with Windows 7 and from a end user prespective its like they never even left the network.

[Arthur]

I had to google how to shutdown!

You only have to learn it once (unless you have a very bad memory).

How people coped in the old days going from Windows 3.1/MS-DOS to Windows 95 I'll never know.

[mattx]

My question would be how the hell do they know ?
Have they implemented an update which records mouse and keyboard clicks ?

[jamesfed]

My question would be how the hell do they know ?
Have they implemented an update which records mouse and keyboard clicks ?

Ever seen the 'Customer experiance improvement program' crop up?

Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program

[Arthur]

My question would be how the hell do they know?

See the Building Windows 8 blog. Specifically...

• Designing the Start screen
• Reflecting on your comments on the Start screen

[mattx]

Ever seen the 'Customer experiance improvement program' crop up?

Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program

Nope, anything asking for permission from anything I just deny automatically !!
My system is more tight than a crabs arse at 30000 Fathoms.

[SPM]

You only have to learn it once (unless you have a very bad memory).

How people coped in the old days going from Windows 3.1/MS-DOS to Windows 95 I'll never know.

MS-DOS was easy. Every action you could do on a CLI has a command, so you can look it up in the index of the manual where it was thoughtfully listed, and the commands were a finite, and relatively compact closed set. Also you couldn't mess up something as easily because in order to do something, you had to type the command for it, and if you didn't know it, you probably shouldn't be typing it anyway.

With a GUI, and even worse, a touch interface, things aren't that easy. Things are supposed to be more intuitive than the CLI, but if they aren't intuitive, then things are much more difficult. For example, how do you look up a touch gesture in a manual? You also have a problem with people clicking and dragging etc. to find out what the GUI or touch interface does when you do something, rather than looking up the manual first as you were compelled to do with a CLI interface. This leads to things on the UI getting messed up in a way which didn't happen with a CLI.