Microsoft should not resume the start button

Computer Store News: In the screenshot of the recently released Windows 8.1 update, we saw that Microsoft has made great progress in the update. It is expected that the update of Windows 8.1 will appear in consumers in the second half of this year. On the desktop. These updates include a more user-friendly setup application, users no longer need to go to the control panel for complex settings; a richer multi-tasking mechanism that can display more applications on the same screen, multi-screen support for applications and uniform Search.

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If Microsoft wants to make a big splash in the application space, it must teach the user to use a new system without a start button instead of compromising the user.

Another one that is most eye-catching is the start button that returns to the bottom left corner of the desktop. The function of this start button is not much different from the start button in Win8's previous operating system. Now it is back.

Logical Thinking of the Start Menu

First of all, the changes mentioned above are the changes that users care most about. For example, the "Settings" setting under "Modern" application function is insufficient, the search results are not uniform, and the installation software will appear multiple shortcut icons on the Modern interface. These problems will be solved in this update.

The interactive interface of Windows 8 can be said to be oversimplified to a certain extent, and the view is flat, which forces developers to be very similar when designing application programs. Many applications look great when split into small screens, but they are simplistic when they are on a single screen. Traditional desktop software allows users to automatically set the display size of the software, while Windows 8 applications have only three sizes. There are also some Windows 8 applications that are almost invisible after zooming out to a 1/4 screen. For example, the built-in PDF reader and IE browser have this problem.

There are also problems with the split-screen format of Windows 8 applications. For example, there is no half-and-half split screen (this split screen can be implemented on desktop software), which means that users are using the application. You can't use two equally, you can only choose one of the two to be the main application, and the other is squeezed aside. Those who have used Windows 8 know that it is almost impossible to use the Windows 8 application to access the Internet and watch movies at the same time, because no video can be placed vertically, and IE can not browse the web completely when occupying a small screen. Therefore, Windows 8 is always used to customize the split screen or have more split screen options.

But I'm not sure if Microsoft's update is worth it, especially with regard to the return of the Windows Start button. The departure of the Windows Start button has always been a hot issue for consumers and commentators, but the author believes that it is a very wrong and very unwise decision to return the Start button.
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Why is it wrong to let the start button return?

The Windows 8 application (including settings, search, and Modern start screens) does not have a taskbar, so there is no start button. However, most users do their work, games, and entertainment on the desktop, need a taskbar, and need a start button. So, unless Microsoft makes more radical behaviors, such as leaving the start button permanently on the screen sidebar, Windows 8.1 has little overall impact on Windows 8 systems.

The current version of Windows 8 will "cancel the start button" and will not see the start button on either the start menu page or the desktop. In Windows 8, users can select the Windows key on the keyboard, the charm bar on the right, and the start menu shortcut in the lower left corner. The tablet can also click the Windows button, either on the desktop or in the Windows 8 application. Through the above several methods to enter the start menu, the entry method is unified.

In the upcoming update, the Start button reproduces the desktop taskbar, causing inconsistencies in the overall system's start menu switching mechanism at both the software and application levels. You know, if the user sees a button that can be clicked, they prefer to click; but in the Modern application, the user has to learn the Windows key, the charm bar, the bottom left corner quick start menu, and so on. Not only does the recovery start button not let the consumer get rid of the three ways of returning to the start menu, but it creates an inconsistency between the desktop and the Modern application. And for those who are used to the original way of switching the menu, the new button doesn't make any sense to them.

The real reason for Windows 8's lack of a start button is not to cancel the button, but because Microsoft has not considered the consequences of this stupidity when trying to change the way people use it. Some readers who read this article may now find that they can use the Windows key to quickly enter the start menu. Most ordinary users choose to enter the start menu by clicking the start button, so the user is transferred from Windows xp, window 7 to Windows 8. I am looking for the start button. So, Microsoft has put a lot of effort into teaching people how to get into the new start menu, but the video introduction in the advertising and login interface is not enough. Consumers have not learned the three ways to enter the start menu.
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Education is not in place

Time back in 1995, in Windows 95, Microsoft also tried various visual ways to remind users to use the Start button to enter the Start menu, however on Windows 8, We did not see it. The Cancel and Resume Start button will increase the user's learning cost.

In addition to the lack of publicity and education in the start button, Microsoft is also whispering in promoting the function of the charm column. Because the charm column needs to be called out, calling out the charm column should increase the user's actions. Many applications have added some functions in the charm column to the application in order to overcome this problem, which also causes the user not to call up the charm column. You can complete the operations you need to enter the charm column.

Back to the start menu, Microsoft hopes to get the start button back to the desktop to quell the user's "no start button" complaint, in fact, Microsoft misread the data passed by the user complaint. People complain that there is no start button, but they are complaining that there is no start menu; they want to recover not only the start button, but also the familiar start menu full of software. For this type of population, there is no point in restoring the start button.

In order to quell users who still want to start menu regression, Windows 8.1 has added more personalized elements, such as custom application tiles, making search closer to the start menu search results, using desktop wallpapers when Modern starts Interface background, etc. But if you like to start the menu, you will still not be satisfied.

Adding a Start button is not good for the popular use of the application

First of all, I have to admit that the quality of Windows 8 applications is still at an early level, and some core applications are not powerful enough. .

Microsoft also highlights the core application features in the promotion. Although it is not good enough, it is enough. People will use it. When it is used, it will naturally encounter the problem of how to quit. Microsoft's recovery of the Start button in Windows 8.1 does not help much with the exit and switching of applications that do not have a taskbar.

Microsoft naturally knows the importance of applications in today's market environment, and consistently promotes their applications in advertising enough that many people use them. Microsoft claims to have sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses, and has 250 million downloads of Modern applications, which means that on average, every Windows 8 user downloads 2-3 applications and then completely deprecates …… Br>

However, it should be pointed out that Windows 8 tablets perform much better than desktop computers and laptops. The use of such tablets is not sensitive to the start menu, and there are many application downloads, but Windows 8 new The system lacks quality applications.

So, the action of Microsoft to resume the start button can be said to be the differentiation of the tablet and the desktop computer, that is, the desktop computer has the performance and application of Windows 8, and at the same time has a familiar operation experience, the tablet The computer is not disturbed by the update, and the iPad is responded to with a higher quality attitude.

But the author believes that it is better to continue to use education than to compromise with consumers and restore the cumbersome start button. People can learn to use the new interface just as they did with Windows 95 for the first time; they also adapted to iOS from Windows Mobile. Consumers want someone to teach, they are willing to learn, and in terms of using education, Microsoft is not doing enough.