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Why Microsoft Killed the Windows Start Button
Barence writes "Microsoft claims it took the controversial decision to remove the Start button from the traditional Windows desktop because people had stopped using it. The lack of a Start button on the Windows 8 desktop has been one of the most divisive elements of the new user interface, and was widely assumed to have made way for the Metro Start screen. However, Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager at Microsoft, said the telemetry gathered from Windows 7 convinced Microsoft to radically overhaul the Start menu because people were using the taskbar instead. 'When we evolved the taskbar we saw awesome adoption of pinning [applications] on the taskbar,' said Sareen. 'We are seeing people pin like crazy. And so we saw the Start menu usage dramatically dropping, and that gave us an option. We're saying "look, Start menu usage is dropping, what can we do about it? What can we do with the Start menu to revive it, to give it some new identity, give it some new power?"'"
By far my favorite feature of Win7. Windows key -> type want I want to run (usually under 4 characters) -> Enter. Very efficient.
I know of no regular users that understand pinning. Myself, I only pin my email and web browsers (by far my most frequently used programs) and nothing else.
Absolutely correct.
I support 120+ users. One thing I've noticed during our Windows 7 migration is that our staff do not use the start menu at all. The server places shortcuts for six or seven common use tools on users' desktops, and are shown how to pin apps to the taskbar.
The result I've noticed is that users have pinned office and internet apps used frequently to the taskbar, and use the icons on the desktop like they always have. I'd say about 5 users have seen the usefulness of the search feature on the Start menu. The other 115 don't use it.
The only time I've seen staff use the Start button here is to log off when they're done with the machine. If there was a button on the taskbar to do that, they'd never use the Start menu at all!
Try using Windows 8 in a Virtual Machine. Moving the mouse into the lower left corner is impossible when doing so moves the mouse out of the vm window. Added bonus: My keyboard lacks a Windows Button.
Lets just say it's more than a minor annoyance.