Run Windows 8's "modern" apps on the desktop
(MoneyWatch) Windows 8 is without a doubt the most controversial OS that Microsoft has ever released. It's not objectively bad in the same way as Windows ME or Windows Vista; instead, it's reviled by many for its tablet-like interface, even on desktop PCs, and schizophrenic interface that splits you between the windows, multi-tasking desktop and the mono-task modern screen.
Well, good news for anyone who wants to leverage the best bits of Windows 8 without the frustrations... or who simply has no choice but to upgrade with a new PC. Stardock has just released ModernMix, a program that lets you run modern apps in resizable windows on the traditional desktop.
In other words -- and I can't believe I have to say this in 2013 -- ModernMix lets you multi-task apps in Windows. Say goodbye to full-screen-only modern apps.
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Stardock has a great reputation for releasing utilities that improve on basic Windows features. Start8, for example, is an excellent program that restores the old Start menu to Windows 8, while Fences lets you create structured groups of icons on the desktop, sort of like invisible folders. (Fences, by the way, is one of my favorite programs, ever.) ModernMix, on the other hand, solves the second biggest gripe with Windows 8 (second to the lack of a Start menu) by converting modern apps to run on the desktop.
ModernMix isn't especially complicated; the app lets you choose whether modern apps will run full screen or in a window, and once on your desktop, modern apps work like any old program, complete with full multitasking, a minimize button, and a close button. You can also pin modern apps to the taskbar, just like traditional Windows programs. And it works like a charm.
You can try ModernMix for free for 30 days, or buy it for $5.
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How out of touch is Microsoft if they can't see what is obvious to everyone else?
Metro UI also obtrusive and very difficult to bypass permanently. In fact, can't be bypassed permanently without adding a third party program like the free Classic Shell, adding several additional third party programs and then pointing ALL default file associations away from the crippled Metro UI apps to the newly installed third party ones.
And why would would anyone want to bypass it permanently? Well, here's why:
1. Anybody who needs multiple concurrent windows.
2. Anyone who needs the taskbar.
3. Anyone who needs the Start Menu (via 3rd party Classic Shell).
4. Anyone who needs Quickstart.
5. Anyone who needs to use the familiar -#x window controls in the upper right hand corner of every desktop window.
Those things are all absent from Metro UI. And that's an "objective" fact.
2. why would you Need a taskbar? to change tasks or for the clock? Those are the things you need - you do not actually need the taskbar itself. The task switcher when you learn how to use it is decent (not as good as the taskbar but still good) and I wish they would someone add an always present date and time (with other info too like wireless status, etc.)
3. Again you do not need a start menu - just you believe (rightfully or wrongfully) that the start menu is better than the start screen
4. Stop using need - nobody needs quickstart. They believe (again righfully or wrongfully) that it makes their usage easier.