Comparison of Start menu replacements for Windows 8
Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system introduced an updated Start menu known as the "Start screen", which uses a full-screen design consisting of tiles to represent applications. This replaced the Windows desktop as the primary interface of the operating system. Additionally, the on-screen Start button was replaced by a hidden button in the corner of the screen; Microsoft explained that the Start button was removed because few people used it, noting the addition of "pinning" apps to the taskbar from Windows 7.[1][2][3]
The change was controversial among users, and a market ensued for applications which restore the visible Start button, emulate the previous Start menu design, or allow users to boot directly to the Desktop instead of the Start screen.[4]
The following is a list of Start menu replacements for Windows 8 which have received coverage from third-party sources:
Name | Developer | License | Skins | Run | Pinning | Aero | Sort | Boot to desktop | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Classic Start 8[5] | Crawler, LLC | Freeware | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
BringBack[6] | Revel Software | Discontinued | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Discontinued [7] (http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/revel_bringback8.html) |
Wentutu Start Menu[8] | Wentutu | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Classic Shell[9][10][11][12][13] | Classic Shell team | Freeware[14] | 10+extensible[15] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Allows Modern UI related tweaks |
Classic Windows Start Menu[16] | SourceCodeBoy | CC-BY-NC-ND (Freeware for non-commercial use only) [17] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Ex7forW8[18] | Tihiy | Freeware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Discontinued (http://tihiy.net/files/ex7forW8_1.0.zip) |
Finalbird[19] | Svyatoslav Yudin | Freeware | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Favorites of Start Menu is unified with the other software parts |
Handy Start Menu[20] | ChemTable Software | Freeware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Tweaks.com Start for Windows 8[21] | Advanced PC Media | Freeware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Pokki[9][10][12][22] | SweetLabs, Inc. | Freeware | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | |
Power8[9][23] | Power8 Team | GNU General Public License | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
RetroUI Pro[9][11][25][26] | Thinix | Trialware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Samsung Quick Starter[27] | Samsung | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
StartFinity[28] | WinAbility Software | Freemium | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Supports automatic localization of Start menu |
Start Menu X[29] | OrdinarySoft | Freemium | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Start8[9][10][30] | Stardock Corporation | Trialware | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | |
StartW8[31] | SODATSW | Freeware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
StartIsBack[9][10][11] | Пуск Будет Удобнее | Trialware | 4+ | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | modifies existing hot corners |
Start Menu 8[9][10][12][32] | IObit | Freeware | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | Yes | |
StartMenuPlus8[33] | Winok | Trialware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Start Menu Reviver[34] | ReviverSoft | Freeware | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | touch screen support |
SyMenu | UGMFree | Freeware | 6 | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | The menu is entirely portable |
ViStart[35] | Lee-Soft | Ad-supported | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? | Yes | |
Win8StartButton[36] | Torch Media Inc. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Win8Starter[37] | Engelmann Media GmbH | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Xeesa 1b QuickStart[38] | Xeesa Services | Freemium | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Cloud Start Menu available |
The number of skins in the table givens the number of built-in skins. If there are downloadable skins, then a "+" is appended to the number to indicate that download extensions are possible.
RetroUI, StartIsBack, Classic Shell, Start8, and Pokki are five of the more notable of these.[9][10] RetroUI is offered in 33 languages, and also for Windows Server 2012, and adds a taskbar and resizable windows.[39] StartIsBack is also localized.[40] Classic Shell used to be free and open source (now proprietary freeware), major items are localized and installing the Language Pack from Windows Update makes all items fully localized; Classic Shell is also available for Windows 7 and Windows Server, and claims over 25 million downloads.[41] The Pokki download to restore the Start menu is free; as of January 2013, it has about 1.5 million users.[42] The Pokki application platform, based on Chromium, enables desktop applications to be built—like mobile apps—using standard web languages like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.[43] It is also available for Windows XP and Windows 7.[44] Pokki has raised $21.5M from investors like Google, Intel, and O'Reilly;[45] its business model is to make a commission on software sold through its app. store.[43][46] Start8 has been downloaded over 5 million times.[47]
See also
References
- ↑ "Why Microsoft killed the Windows Start button". PC Pro. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ Whitney, Lance (2012-02-06). "Microsoft removes start button in Windows 8". CNET. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ "Why Microsoft killed the Windows Start button". PC Pro. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ Whitney, Lance (2011-10-12). "Microsoft reacts to gripes over Windows 8 Start screen". CNET. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ Free Traditional Start Menu Style for Use with Windows® 8
- ↑ Revel BringBack (beta) Review | Windows 8 Start Menu Apps
- ↑ "Revel Software - About Us". Retrieved 2014-01-30.
- ↑ Bring the Start Menu back in Windows 8 with this app
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sebastian, Anthony (2013-02-20). "How to bring back the Start menu and button to Windows 8". Extremetech.com.
- 1 2 3 How to get the Start menu back in Windows 8 | Windows 8 – CNET Reviews updated 2012/12/31
- 1 2 3 "6 Start Menu Replacements for Windows 8". HowToGeek.com.
- ↑ Spector, Lincoln (2012-09-06). "Give Windows 8 the Start menu it deserves". PCWorld. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ Classic Shell FAQ, Is Classic Shell open-source?
- ↑ Classic Shell Review: Softpedia
- ↑ "Classic Windows Start Menu". Softpedia. SoftNews. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ↑ SourceCodeBoy. "SourceCodeBoy homepage". Retrieved 2015-01-09.
- ↑ "Disable the new Windows 8 interface for good with Ex7ForW8".
- ↑ "Finalbird - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com".
- ↑ Handy Start Menu – CNET Download.com
- ↑ "Tweaks.com Start for Windows 8". CNET. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ↑ "Pokki Brings Back the Start Menu to Help Confused Windows 8 Users". SFGate. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "What Windows 8.1 Must Be – Personal-tech – Desktop Operating Systems – BYTE". Informationweek.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ "Home · AgentMC/power8 Wiki · GitHub:". Mike Makarov AgentMC. 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
- ↑ Adrian Kingsley-Hughes (2012-04-18). "Make Windows 8 Look Like Windows 7". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ Erez Zukerman. "RetroUI tries to fix Windows 8's usability woes, but only makes them worse". PCWorld.
- ↑ Chris Smith (2012-10-16). "Samsung to return classic Start menu to Windows 8 with free app | News". TechRadar. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ Preston Gralla (2012-10-12). "Windows 8 cheat sheet". COMPUTERWORLD. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
- ↑ Sandeep Yadav (2012-08-29). "Start Menu X: Get Start Menu and Button in Windows 8". TechFeb. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ↑ Gregg Keizer (2012-09-27). "$5 buys a Start button, Start screen bypass for Windows 8". Computerworld. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ Want To Get Back The Start Menu In Windows 8? Here's How | Mobile & Apps
- ↑ Pegoraro, Rob (24 November 2012), Windows 8 woes? Get Start menu sub, retrieved 10 December 2012
- ↑ Jon L. Jacobi. "Review: StartMenuPlus8 is just another utility to give Windows 8 a Start Menu". PCWorld. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ WINDOWS 8 START MENU APPS SHOWDOWN
- ↑ Muchmore, Michael (2012-04-17). "Tip: How to Get the Start Menu Back in Windows 8". PCMag.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ 6 Things Microsoft Must Do In 2013 – Software – Windows 8
- ↑ "Win8Starter: Startmenü gratis für Windows 8 – News – CHIP Online". Chip.de. 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ↑ Xeesa 1b
- ↑ RetroUI web site
- ↑ StartIsBack web site
- ↑ Classic Shell
- ↑ Yahoo! News, Jan. 16, 2013
- 1 2 Kincaid, Jason (30 June 2011). "OpenCandy's Pokki Brings Web Apps To The Desktop, With Style". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ↑ Pokki web site
- ↑ Wauters, Robin (29 September 2011). "SweetLabs Raises $13 Million From Intel, Google And Others For Pokki App Platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ↑ Alex, Wilhelm (17 April 2012). "Meet Pokki: Bringing the power of mobile apps to your desktop". The Next Web. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ↑ Mossberg, Walter S. (2013-05-07). "Review of Start8 and Pokki: Bringing an Old Start to a New Windows - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
External links
- Compare Start Menus:Classic Shell vs StartIsBack, Start8 etc
- 5 Windows 8 Apps to Bring Back the Start Menu by LAPTOP Magazine