Comment by orthecreedence | Hacker News Reader

Comment by orthecreedence | Hacker News Reader

I'm a bit scared and annoyed of this new interface. I use the start menu such an incredible amount that having it bring up an entire new screen would undoubtedly interrupt a lot of the workflows I'm used to.

It seems everyone is converging on mobile, as if it's going to replace the desktop. It's not. Desktop will always be here, and to pretend it's going away and force tablet interfaces down everyone's throat is a pretty bold/stupid move in my opinion. Then again, I'm biased because I'm not a complete moron when it comes to computers. Maybe 99% of the market will LOVE not having a start menu.

Is my monitor a touch screen? No. So let's not pretend it is. I don't care about pretty interfaces or big video buttons that play when I hover over them. I want something I can launch programs with. Is it really hard to do something like

if(is_computer) { show_useful_start_menu(); } else if (is_tablet) { show_retarded_start_menu(); }

I understand I'm the minority, but if they do away with the start menu, I'll probably stay on windows 7 forever.

I've been using the Windows 8 Developer Preview for a while now as the primary OS on my laptop, and I've been primarily working on the desktop view (well, given that there's essentially not many Metro apps available).

Once I got used to the Start screen I've found it okay to use. I had initial concerns that the constant transition away might be jarring but turns out it's a non-issue. I've also found that the Start menu search in Windows 7 was quite slow, and that in W8 it's actually responsive!

Have you given the new interface a chance?

Doesn't it matter what they ultimately replace it with? To me the Start menu seems like a clumsy catchall from a bygone era when people were still transitioning from DOS. It's grown bloated over the years and it's original design purpose is long gone. Yes, you use it all the time, because there's so much essential stuff crammed in there, but can't you imagine something better?

Sadly, "Program Manager" was better.

Desktop will always be here

If Microsoft and Apple have their way, desktops will only be for developers and "professionals". The mobile transition allows them to fix the bug that users can install software that interferes with their business plans, and without giving them a cut.

Well goody for them. As a professional developer I'd like my OS without a start menu that takes up the entire screen, thanks.

Oh who am I kidding, my Windows OS is a games launcher and web browser these days, and nothing more. I don't mind how retarded Microsoft and Apple want to get, what concerns me is Canonical and their "me too" attitude with regard to stupid design decisions.

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