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JohnInSJ
Premium Member
join:2003-09-22
Aptos, CA

JohnInSJ to RazzyW8

Premium Member

to RazzyW8

Re: [WIN8] Some Observations about Windows 8

said by RazzyW8 :

I am sorry but the Start screen IS for the desktop also. Why is it when you install desktop applications it'll put icons on the start screen? Even Microsoft said this.

yes, but the Metro behavior is the default behavior for everything you put there. You want it to act like the desktop, you keep it on the desktop.

plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
53403-1242

plencnerb

Premium Member

said by JohnInSJ:

said by RazzyW8 :

I am sorry but the Start screen IS for the desktop also. Why is it when you install desktop applications it'll put icons on the start screen? Even Microsoft said this.

yes, but the Metro behavior is the default behavior for everything you put there. You want it to act like the desktop, you keep it on the desktop.

That really is what I think we are all trying to figure out here.

We know that there is no longer a "start menu" in Windows 8 that is comparable to the "start menu" in Windows 7, Vista, or XP. Instead we have "Metro / Start Screen".

The way I see that interface, you have two different types of things you can do in there. You can have "Apps" like "Weather, Sports, Stocks, Music, Bing" and so on. All of those came out of the "App Store". The ones that come pre-installed in Windows 8 are probably free from the App Store. Others you have to pay for.

These "Apps" function as "Live Tiles", meaning (at least to me), their icons are not static. They update, showing new information (updated weather forecast, changing sports scores, breaking news items, etc), and they do that without you clicking on them. That is what makes them new and unique. When you do click on them, you get a full screen view of that application. From what I have seen, if you are in the News app, and want to share what you are reading with friends, you can either tie it to the people app, or the e-mail app with a few simple clicks. Its all very cool and the way computing is going (at least from the mobile side of things). I actually like that a lot from a usability standpoint.

THEN you have in this new interface a section that says "All Apps". Clicking on it you get a 2nd screen of "Icons". They are not "live tiles" like on the first screen, as they are all the same square size, and none of them update. You also have things like "Windows Accessories", "Windows Tools", and so on. Basically, any folder and its associated set of Icons from the following two directory locations shows up on this screen

• C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
• C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

(xxx = a specific user account).

This is exactly how the "Start Menu" worked in Windows 7. When you clicked on "All Programs" you got a similar list.

There is nothing stopping you from "Pinning" any item from the 2nd "All Apps" screen to the main screen. This makes getting at your most used applications or items very easy.

Microsoft did not limit what could be displayed inside the new Metro / Start Screen GUI. There is no rule that says "Only Applications downloaded and installed from the Microsoft Store are the only ones that can be displayed and run from inside of this interface". As I said above, if there is a folder or icon in one of those two directory locations, it will show up on the 2nd "All Apps" screen in the new Metro / Start Screen UI.

Because of that, Microsoft SHOULD have been able to figure out what is a "Metro App" and what is not, and code the launching of said app to match it. If not, then maybe they should not have allowed "Non Metro Apps" in there to begin with.

--Brian