Developers explain why they killed "Start" in Windows 8
Following the stormy online discussions on the new Metro interface, the Windows 8 developer blog published the first of a series of articles explaining why they decided to abandon the Start menu. The first article is devoted to the history of this menu and the problems that have always surrounded this part of the interface.
The main thesis is that in recent versions of Windows, people pressed the Start button less often (-11% in Windows 7 compared to Windows Vista).
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To quickly launch programs, the taskbar at the bottom of the screen was used more often. Well, if this is so convenient, then this method will be the main way to run frequently used programs in Windows 8.
First, you need to understand that touchscreens are a new breakthrough in computer interfaces, comparable to the invention of the mouse. The only difference is that in the 80s the perspectives of the mouse were not obvious and there were almost no useful uses for the exotic novelty. Many IT professionals were confident that working with the keyboard is much more convenient, and the mouse is a waste of time. Now the touchscreen immediately appeared a huge variety of useful and popular areas of use (ATMs, terminals, tablets, etc.). That is, the perspectives of touchscreens are much more obvious than the perspectives of a mouse in the 80s. Therefore, it is natural that operating systems support technological progress and a breakthrough in interfaces.
The transition from the menu to the Start screen is a natural evolution of the interface, this has been going on for a long time, and the Metro shell has nothing to do with it. The Start menu itself was invented in 1992, replacing the “Program Manager” (Program Manager) from Windows 3.x. With each version of Windows, this part of the interface has changed and improved. For example, the Windows Frequently Used Programs (MFU) section appeared in Windows XP, which was updated automatically.
The developers tried in different ways to solve the problem of overcrowding in the "All Programs" section. For example, starting with XP, users could choose programs themselves to add them to the Start menu next to frequently used ones. Then they added a search line for the same purposes (quickly find the desired program and launch it).
However, problems could not be solved even in Windows 7. Moreover, more and more new ones appeared, so that a heap of them accumulated and the developers made a decision: it’s easier to start a new interface from scratch than to try to solve the accumulated problems.
Recently, people have become much less use different parts of the Start menu, which is confirmed by statistics. The developers explain this by the growing popularity of the quick launch panel. As proof, they provide statistics on the average number of fixed programs in the Start menu (at the top) and in the quick launch panel (at the bottom). The second option is much more popular.
Thus, in Windows 8, the taskbar may well play the role of a missing Start button for those who want to get an alternative to Metro and run regular programs. Even with a resolution of 1024x768, there will fit 22 tabs for launching programs, and the usual hot keys for quick launch will work, like Win + n , where n is the number of the tab on the toolbar.
The developers also emphasize that the final view of the user interface of Windows 8 is not yet finished and not approved, it is being finalized taking into account the ongoing discussions. But the "Start" button will definitely not return.
The main thesis is that in recent versions of Windows, people pressed the Start button less often (-11% in Windows 7 compared to Windows Vista).
')
To quickly launch programs, the taskbar at the bottom of the screen was used more often. Well, if this is so convenient, then this method will be the main way to run frequently used programs in Windows 8.
First, you need to understand that touchscreens are a new breakthrough in computer interfaces, comparable to the invention of the mouse. The only difference is that in the 80s the perspectives of the mouse were not obvious and there were almost no useful uses for the exotic novelty. Many IT professionals were confident that working with the keyboard is much more convenient, and the mouse is a waste of time. Now the touchscreen immediately appeared a huge variety of useful and popular areas of use (ATMs, terminals, tablets, etc.). That is, the perspectives of touchscreens are much more obvious than the perspectives of a mouse in the 80s. Therefore, it is natural that operating systems support technological progress and a breakthrough in interfaces.
The transition from the menu to the Start screen is a natural evolution of the interface, this has been going on for a long time, and the Metro shell has nothing to do with it. The Start menu itself was invented in 1992, replacing the “Program Manager” (Program Manager) from Windows 3.x. With each version of Windows, this part of the interface has changed and improved. For example, the Windows Frequently Used Programs (MFU) section appeared in Windows XP, which was updated automatically.
The developers tried in different ways to solve the problem of overcrowding in the "All Programs" section. For example, starting with XP, users could choose programs themselves to add them to the Start menu next to frequently used ones. Then they added a search line for the same purposes (quickly find the desired program and launch it).
However, problems could not be solved even in Windows 7. Moreover, more and more new ones appeared, so that a heap of them accumulated and the developers made a decision: it’s easier to start a new interface from scratch than to try to solve the accumulated problems.
Recently, people have become much less use different parts of the Start menu, which is confirmed by statistics. The developers explain this by the growing popularity of the quick launch panel. As proof, they provide statistics on the average number of fixed programs in the Start menu (at the top) and in the quick launch panel (at the bottom). The second option is much more popular.
Thus, in Windows 8, the taskbar may well play the role of a missing Start button for those who want to get an alternative to Metro and run regular programs. Even with a resolution of 1024x768, there will fit 22 tabs for launching programs, and the usual hot keys for quick launch will work, like Win + n , where n is the number of the tab on the toolbar.
The developers also emphasize that the final view of the user interface of Windows 8 is not yet finished and not approved, it is being finalized taking into account the ongoing discussions. But the "Start" button will definitely not return.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/129776/
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