Microsoft prevents direct access to Windows 8 desktop

Microsoft

(MoneyWatch) Microsoft (MSFT) has wrapped up another edition of Windows: Windows 8 has been released to manufacturing, which means you'll be able to buy a copy (or get it in a new PC) on October 29. And with the new operating system set to hit stores, interesting facts are starting to leak out.

Like the fact that it's impossible to avoid the "Metro"-style "start" screen.

Metro is Microsoft's codename for the all-new, "modern" interface that borrows heavily from the Windows Phone aesthetic to reinvent Windows as a lighter, simpler, touch-friendly operating system. In Metro, icons are gone. All apps are represented by large tiles, and multitasking takes a back seat to apps that can for the most part only run full screen.

As ZDNet reports, Windows 8 will not allow users to boot directly to the traditional desktop, bypassing the modern start screen. Instead, Windows will always start one way and one way only -- directly to the Metro user interface.

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Microsoft critics are livid, as one might expect. I've read many a criticism about this decision by Redmond, and most of it can be summarized along the lines of "Microsoft has eliminated choice," and "Microsoft has made using Windows harder by adding clicks to getting started."

There's certainly some merit to these arguments. Assuming that you always want to stick with the traditional desktop, and assuming that all the programs you need are pinned to the taskbar or have shortcuts lying on the desktop, there's no reason to start on, well, start.

Those users would benefit from having the ability to make their PC boot directly to the desktop, so they can start working right away. I presume most enterprise and corporate users will fall into this bucket, at least for the first few years, before Metro-style line of business apps are widely developed.

But for everyone else, you need to get to the start screen anyway. Let's be clear: Unless you've pinned your apps somewhere on the desktop, the Metro-style start screen is... the start screen. It's the new--and radically improved--start menu, and it's the way you fire up your apps. It only makes sense to start there.

And if you land on the start screen when you turn on your PC but don't really need to be there, remember that the desktop is a tile, so it's just one click away. Or press Windows+D (the same keyboards shortcut that takes you to the desktop in Windows 7). Either works, and both are the equivalent of a single click.

I'm justifiably dubious about how well Windows 8 is going to do this fall when it hits the streets, but this much is true: If Windows 8 fails, it won't be because Microsoft made you perform an extra click to get to the desktop.

What do you think about this latest kerfuffle over Windows 8? Does it concern you, or is it just a distraction? Sound off with your opinion about Windows 8 in the comments.

[XxsnakespitxX]

I think this might just be a big turning point in history. Personally I like the new windows 8. Yes there are a few things that are wrong with it. The need to make a option that allows you to go to the desktop at start up. I feel that they are making the rules when it comes to windows 8. I would like to make the choice to either be on the tiled desktop or the original windows 7,vista,xp type desktop. That would be a great inprovement if they would allow all the older desktop themes. So if were used to using xp, or windows 7 that we could still have the ability to go back to that era. It is just like anything else that comes out new. Things need to be improved. Not everything is perfect the first time something new comes out to stores. I'm just going to wait and see what happens, if nothing good comes of it within the next 6 or 7 months I'll switch to windows 7 again. Personally I already am thinking about it. They need to think of something quick or all that work will just go down the drain. Right now I feel bad for them for all the bad critisim. The new Surface RT for instance, they got people to buy it even though it is the worst platform that they have put out so far. The RT OS takes up so much space that you will only have like half of what you paid for. With that they put a slot in the back so you can pay more money than you should just to get more memory. Hopefully I see a bigger improvement in the Surface Pro. All I have to say to microsoft is, try harder. If you do what the people want you will get alot more money in pocket. Do you remember the quote, customers always come first. In this case it's true. I like microsoft, they are a great corp. but need a little more improvement on windows 8 and give us more options, to customize windows 8 OS like we want it. I'm not dissing Windows 8, I like the new style. Just make it more customizable to the peoples needs.

[XxsnakespitxX]

I think this might just be a big turning point in history. Personally I like the new windows 8. Yes there are a few things that are wrong with it. The need to make a option that allows you to go to the desktop at start up. I feel that they are making the rules when it comes to windows 8. I would like to make the choice to either be on the tiled desktop or the original windows 7,vista,xp type desktop. That would be a great inprovement if they would allow all the older desktop themes. So if were used to using xp, or windows 7 that we could still have the ability to go back to that era. It is just like anything else that comes out new. Things need to be improved. Not everything is perfect the first time something new comes out to stores. I'm just going to wait and see what happens, if nothing good comes of it within the next 6 or 7 months I'll switch to windows 7 again. Personally I already am thinking about it. They need to think of something quick or all that work will just go down the drain. Right now I feel bad for them for all the bad critisim. The new Surface RT for instance, they got people to buy it even though it is the worst platform that they have put out so far. The RT OS takes up so much space that you will only have like half of what you paid for. With that they put a slot in the back so you can pay more money than you should just to get more memory. Hopefully I see a bigger improvement in the Surface Pro. All I have to say to microsoft is, try harder. If you do what the people want you will get alot more money in pocket. Do you remember the quote, customers always come first. In this case it's true. I like microsoft, they are a great corp. but need a little more improvement on windows 8 and give us more options, to customize windows 8 OS like we want it. I'm not dissing Windows 8, I like the new style. Just make it more customizable to the peoples needs.

[jdonalds]

I have very much been looking forward to Windows 8. My long term desire is to have it on my desktop, a new convertible laptop that I'll purchase, and hopefully a Windows 8 device that competes with the iPod Touch (I haven't seen any promise of this yet). I think Microsoft is on the right track with an OS that will run on all of these devices.

For a beginning my plan was/is to upgrade from Windows 7 (which I really like) to Windows 8 but continue to use it as much as possible in desktop mode. I even thought I would find a third party start bar which is one of my favorite things about Windows 7. I would then occasionally switch to the start screen to play with new apps. I figured over time I would use the start screen more and more. But I often have 5 to 10 apps running and have three or four tiled on the screen. I often have a movie running while I'm surfing the web. None of my typical behaviors will be available in the start screen mode.

So in response to the article I'm disappointed that Windows 8 will always start on the start screen instead of the desktop. Yes it is only one click but I'm not happy that I can't make the desktop the default.

As I don't have a touch screen on my desktop I may wait to install Windows 8 for a while because of this forced start screen thing. I'm in no hurry. I'm quite happy with Windows 7.

[L84WRK]

I've been working with Windows 8 on a desktop for a while now. It's really nice when you get used to it. My most common apps are pinned at in a section by themselves so I can easilly find them. And, compared to the old Start Menu, I can launch programs much faster. Before, I had to press <Start>, then point to programs. That opened up a huge menu to the right. I end up having to search and scroll through a lot of stuff that I don't care about until I get to the folder. Then it expands and I have to search the icons below that for the program I want. Now, I press the Start key on the keyboard with my left hand which opens the start screen with only the stuff I want on it. I just click the tile I want and BOOM! For those that do not want the start screen, just pin the programs you want to the task bar or put a shortcuts on your desktop. BOOM! Even if the start screen comes up by default, you only have to click once on the desktop tile to open the desktop. The rest of the day, you would look pretty much the way it does in Windows 7 at that point. BOOM! The start screen really is much faster when you get used to it.

[jimmypowersca]

No one has yet explained or demonstrated how or why the new start screen offers any improvement over the old start menu, much less a "radical" one... Couldn't disagree more.

I have 43 apps pinned to my start page. 25 are visible w/o scrolling and 8 of those display active info like weather, calendar, mail, social updates, headlines etc. 45 apps in the old start list menu is, in my experience, far less efficient at quickly finding apps not pinned to the taskbar. Especially once you memorize tile locations.

I agree with you on the messiness of some apps once installed, that's a problem that needs fixing but unpinning the junk is simple and once it's done, when the Start page is exactly how you want it, it's far more superior than the old menu. IMO experience of course.

[reinux]

>No one has yet explained or demonstrated how or why the new start screen offers any improvement over the old start menu, much less a "radical" one...

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/11/reflecting-on-your-comments-on-the-start-screen.aspx

[PC987]

"The Metro-style start screen is... the start screen. It's the new--and radically improved--start menu"

No one has yet explained or demonstrated how or why the new start screen offers any improvement over the old start menu, much less a "radical" one, and the reasons it's more cumbersome and less efficient are readily apparent. We keep hearing claims such as the above repeated without any justification whatsoever, as if repeating something that's not true will somehow make it true.

On a touch interface, yes, the start screen is easier to use. On a keyboard/mouse driven system, in most cases it's not. It's just, simply, not, and here's why. As initially configured, the start screen looks very nice - large tiles, many of which display active information. It's a great idea. But how many of the programs you typically install provide any active information that could be displayed in it's application "tile". Very few. And not just because they haven't been "optimized" for Windows 8, but because the application just doesn't have any active information to display. After you install dozens of applications, each of which will create a small tile (what used to be refereed to as an icon) for the application itself, any help files, any uninstall routines, etc. These will all be jumbled up without any organization to the right of Microsoft's default start screen tiles and finding the one you want is much more difficult than using a hierarchically organized menu system.

I'm not saying the start menu didn't have it's own inefficiencies, but none of them have been solved by the start screen and, much to the contrary, many of them have been made worse.

[carchase007]

It's a bit jarring at first, but eventually it won me over. The jumble of tiles you describe is customizable. You can remove and move items around after they are installed to avoid complete chaos. But more importantly, you can just start typing while on the start screen and Windows 8 does a great job of finding what you want. WIN + Q brings up the same search option from any screen.