Michael Posted June 28, 2012 Posted June 28, 2012 ...it wasn't used. Apparently!? According to this link. The thing I find really interesting about this article, is surely you need to click on the Start menu to pin something on the Taskbar in the first place? And secondly, why have Microsoft made no provisions to allow administrators to 'pin' applications using Folder Redirection for example? You cannot do this, even in 2008 R2 via GPO. All you can do is stop users pinning anything at all via GPO, if you want to keep a clean looking Taskbar. If pinning is so great, why doesn't Microsoft let us do it via GPO? Clearly another example of a company with so many departments that do not talk to each other... 1
PiqueABoo Posted June 28, 2012 Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) I suspect that narrative is either: a) a complete crock to shore up the obvious Metro familarisation mission, b) a consequence of corporates turning off tat like Customer Experience that is apparently the source of their data-that-does-not-lie (ROFL). Windows 2000 was the last one that felt "corporate". Windows 7 is already well biased towards to Consumer land with stuff you turn off here popping up there in addition to the pinning faff (pinning is a 'personal' thing hence no GPO, plus there's that don't want 3rd party apps doing it excuse). Windows 8 is just further up the exponential curve. MS haven't ever cared that much about helping folk lockdown shared corporate Windows boxes.. if they had we'd have long seen some easy abstraction where you could click a few things to achieve your aims in < 1 hour as opposed to that interface to ~3500 GPO settings (GPP is a helpful addition, but seems neglected and isn't the easy abstraction I had in mind). I think a better whinge is: How the [bleep] did we arrive in a massively overcomplex place where apparently no one, really knows how key things work any more e.g. look at the only supported method for making a Default Profile and the info void on what customisation is and isn't preserved from that. There are so many more significant things where that came from.. the perils of folder redirecting the first folder in the list (roaming appdata), or Libraries. the NTFS junction epidemic etc., etc.. It's way out of control, literally I think.. Edited June 28, 2012 by PiqueABoo tpyo 3
morganw Posted June 28, 2012 Posted June 28, 2012 If pinning is so great, why doesn't Microsoft let us do it via GPO? Clearly another example of a company with so many departments that do not talk to each other... I thought that the reason there is no easy way to pin items is that it would be abused by installers 'helpfully' pinning their own icons all over your system. But yes, just look at the desktop.ini fiasco on fileservers to see that no one is running this past the common sense department before it's released into the product. 2
Michael Posted June 29, 2012 Author Posted June 29, 2012 The thing is, it still doesn't make any real sense why they haven't introduced it. As with Desktop or Start Menu redirection, anything already there is ignored, as the administrator specifies the shortcuts required. Windows 7 Home or Starter used by the majority of users do not have GPO functionality, which only leaves the option of a regedit/hack to get an application pinned to the Taskbar.
PiqueABoo Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 The thing is, it still doesn't make any real sense why they haven't introduced it. Again because they don't care that much about folk who are doing what we do. I doubt school-level lockdown shared workstations are an important proportion of their sales, especially at those prices. You buy Windows regardless of how easy/sensible they make it for you.. and interestingly most people appear to think Windows 7 is fabulous despite all the evil hacks and compromises you have to make. More directly most installers do two fundamental things: a) Copy files places, b) Make registry additions/changes. A typical GPO setting is just another registry addition/change that is in some key-path with "Policies" in it (some of the time), and there's nothing much to stop an installer fiddling with a theoretical 'Pinned Items' registry value normally set by a GPO.
PotNoodleTech Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 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. 3
Netwacky87 Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 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. Couldn't agree more - Give individuals the choice. Keep everyone happy then!
zag Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 As much as I hate the decision to remove the start menu, it is the right thing to do in the long term. I'm pretty sure most of us will ignore windows 8 though until it gets a few generations better. An iPad is a much better option for a tablet computer if thats the way you want to go. Its actually nice and locked down already you don't need GPO's. I guess thats what Microsoft is trying to emulate.
edutech4schools Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 An iPad is a much better option for a tablet computer if thats the way you want to go. Its actually nice and locked down already you don't need GPO's. I guess thats what Microsoft is trying to emulate. But if they emulate it to much then My excuses for not putting I-pads in to my schools will diminish and Apple will prevail. I will have the choice of 2 products that work the same but one that staff use at home for listening to music or watching films (I-pad). I think the start button should have stayed as it does set the product apart.
gshaw Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) If pinning is so great, why doesn't Microsoft let us do it via GPO? You can There's a nifty script that controls Start Menu pinning that you can run as a Logon script, I'm doing it as part of the UI settings when moving over to 7 so the most used apps in each area are pre-pinned to the Start Menu (Word etc generally and then Photoshop etc in photography suite etc) Link to script is on my blog post here The feature I'm really irritated about losing in 8 is pinning recently used documents to the Start Menu as there's no equivalent on Metro. For example I have order forms I need all the time as well as reports I'm working on etc. As it stands it's one swish of a mouse and they're at the top of the list for easy access. The best you can do in 8 is have shedloads of tiles on the Start screen... progress eh... Edited July 2, 2012 by gshaw
zag Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 But if they emulate it to much then My excuses for not putting I-pads in to my schools will diminish and Apple will prevail. I will have the choice of 2 products that work the same but one that staff use at home for listening to music or watching films (I-pad). I think the start button should have stayed as it does set the product apart. I think over the next few years there will be a massive shift away from the desktop/laptops to tablets and mobile devices. We already offer teachers an iPad instead of a laptop now. Unsurprisingly they always choose an iPad, its a better teaching tool and makes taking registers far quicker than loading up sims on a laptop. It really is a new way of working and I'm thinking Microsoft have seen this and are going full steam ahead in that direction. I do agree though that corporate office based people will still want a desktop, and taking away the start menu is a bit silly in my opinion.
zag Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 Found this in the comments article. Start8 for Windows® 8 - Bringing back the Windows Start menu
Blue_Cookeh Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 I think over the next few years there will be a massive shift away from the desktop/laptops to tablets and mobile devices. We already offer teachers an iPad instead of a laptop now. Unsurprisingly they always choose an iPad, its a better teaching tool and makes taking registers far quicker than loading up sims on a laptop. It really is a new way of working and I'm thinking Microsoft have seen this and are going full steam ahead in that direction. I do agree though that corporate office based people will still want a desktop, and taking away the start menu is a bit silly in my opinion. How are you taking registers on iPads?
X-13 Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 Found this in the comments article. Start8 for Windows® 8 - Bringing back the Windows Start menu 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...
zag Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 How are you taking registers on iPads? 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.
zag Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 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 1
glennda Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 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.
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