Comparison of Start menu replacements for Windows 8

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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]

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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. [3]

The following is a list of Start menu replacements for Windows 8 which have received coverage from third-party sources:

NameDeveloperLicenseSkinsRunPinningAeroSortBoot to desktopNotes
BringBack [4] Revel Software Discontinued ??????Discontinued [5] (http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/revel_bringback8.html)
Classic Shell [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Classic Shell team MIT License [11] 10+extensible [12] YesYesYesYesYesAllows Modern UI related tweaks
Discontinued and forked to Open-Shell
Classic Start 8 [13] Crawler, LLC Freeware NoYes????
Classic Windows Start Menu [14] SourceCodeBoy CC-BY-NC-ND (Freeware for non-commercial use only) [15] YesYesNoYesYesYesDiscontinued (last version here http://www.pypa.es/Utilidades/Software/)
Ex7forW8 [16] Tihiy Freeware ??????Discontinued (http://tihiy.net/files/ex7forW8_1.0.zip)
Finalbird [17] Svyatoslav Yudin Freeware NoYesYesNoYesYesFavorites of Start Menu is unified with the other software parts
Handy Start Menu [18] ChemTable Software Freeware ??????
Open-Shell [19] ? MIT Yes????YesFork of Classic Shell
Pokki [6] [7] [9] [20] SweetLabs, Inc. Freeware No????Yes
Power8 [6] [21]

[22]

Power8 Team GNU General Public License ??????
RetroUI Pro [6] [8] [23] [24] Thinix Trialware ??????
Samsung Quick Starter [25] Samsung ???????
Start Menu 8 [6] [7] [9] [26] IObit Trialware ??No??Yes
Start Menu Reviver [27] ReviverSoft Freeware ?????Yestouch screen support
Start Menu X [28] OrdinarySoft Freemium ??????
Start8 [6] [7] [29] Stardock Corporation Trialware YesYesYes??Yes
StartFinity [30] WinAbility Software Freemium ?????YesSupports automatic localization of Start menu
StartIsBack [6] [7] [8] Пуск Будет Удобнее Trialware 4+YesYes??Yesmodifies existing hot corners
StartMenuPlus8 [31] Winok Trialware ??????
StartW8 [32] SODATSW Freeware ??????
SyMenuUGMFree Freeware 6?Yes?YesYesThe menu is fully portable
Tweaks.com Start for Windows 8 [33] Advanced PC Media Freeware ??????
ViStart [34] Lee-Soft Ad-supported YesYesYesNo?Yes
Wentutu Start Menu [35] Wentutu???????
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. [6] [7] 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

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References

  1. ↑ "Why Microsoft killed the Windows Start button". PC Pro. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  2. ↑ Whitney, Lance (2012-02-06). "Microsoft removes start button in Windows 8". CNET. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  3. ↑ Whitney, Lance (2011-10-12). "Microsoft reacts to gripes over Windows 8 Start screen". CNET. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  4. ↑ Revel BringBack (beta) Review | Windows 8 Start Menu Apps
  5. ↑ "Revel Software - About Us". Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "9 Windows Start menus for Windows 8". IT World. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  7. 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.
  8. 1 2 3 How to get the Start menu back in Windows 8 | Windows 8 – CNET Reviews updated 2012/12/31
  9. 1 2 3 "6 Start Menu Replacements for Windows 8". HowToGeek.com.
  10. ↑ Spector, Lincoln (2012-09-06). "Give Windows 8 the Start menu it deserves". PCWorld. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  11. ↑ Classic Shell FAQ, Is Classic Shell open-source?
  12. ↑ Classic Shell Review: Softpedia
  13. ↑ Free Traditional Start Menu Style for Use with Windows® 8
  14. ↑ "Classic Windows Start Menu". Softpedia . SoftNews. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  15. ↑ SourceCodeBoy. "SourceCodeBoy homepage" . Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  16. ↑ "Disable the new Windows 8 interface for good with Ex7ForW8". 11 December 2012.
  17. ↑ "Finalbird - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com".
  18. ↑ Handy Start Menu – CNET Download.com
  19. ↑ Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu, Open-Shell, 2022-07-18, retrieved 2022-07-18
  20. ↑ "Pokki Brings Back the Start Menu to Help Confused Windows 8 Users". SFGate. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  21. ↑ "What Windows 8.1 Must Be – Personal-tech – Desktop Operating Systems – BYTE". Informationweek.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  22. ↑ "Home · AgentMC/power8 Wiki · GitHub". Mike Makarov AgentMC. 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  23. ↑ Adrian Kingsley-Hughes (2012-04-18). "Make Windows 8 Look Like Windows 7". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  24. ↑ Erez Zukerman. "RetroUI tries to fix Windows 8's usability woes, but only makes them worse". PCWorld.
  25. ↑ Chris Smith (2012-10-16). "Samsung to return classic Start menu to Windows 8 with free app | News". TechRadar. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  26. ↑ Pegoraro, Rob (24 November 2012), Windows 8 woes? Get Start menu sub, retrieved 10 December 2012
  27. ↑ WINDOWS 8 START MENU APPS SHOWDOWN
  28. ↑ Sandeep Yadav (2012-08-29). "Start Menu X: Get Start Menu and Button in Windows 8". TechFeb. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  29. ↑ Gregg Keizer (2012-09-27). "$5 buys a Start button, Start screen bypass for Windows 8". Computerworld. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  30. ↑ Preston Gralla (2012-10-12). "Windows 8 cheat sheet". COMPUTERWORLD. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  31. ↑ Jon L. Jacobi. "Review: StartMenuPlus8 is just another utility to give Windows 8 a Start Menu". PCWorld. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  32. ↑ Want To Get Back The Start Menu In Windows 8? Here's How | Mobile & Apps
  33. ↑ "Tweaks.com Start for Windows 8". Advanced PC Media LLC. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  34. ↑ Muchmore, Michael (2012-04-17). "Tip: How to Get the Start Menu Back in Windows 8". PCMag.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  35. ↑ Bring the Start Menu back in Windows 8 with this app
  36. ↑ 6 Things Microsoft Must Do In 2013 – Software – Windows 8
  37. ↑ "Win8Starter: Startmenü gratis für Windows 8 – News – CHIP Online". Chip.de. 2011-08-27. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  38. ↑ Xeesa 1b Archived 2015-08-02 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ↑ "RetroUI web site". Archived from the original on 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  40. ↑ StartIsBack web site
  41. ↑ Classic Shell
  42. ↑ Yahoo! News, Jan. 16, 2013
  43. 1 2 Kincaid, Jason (30 June 2011). "OpenCandy's Pokki Brings Web Apps To The Desktop, With Style". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  44. ↑ Pokki web site
  45. ↑ Wauters, Robin (29 September 2011). "SweetLabs Raises $13 Million From Intel, Google And Others For Pokki App Platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  46. ↑ Alex, Wilhelm (17 April 2012). "Meet Pokki: Bringing the power of mobile apps to your desktop". The Next Web. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  47. ↑ 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.
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