Start Menu Replacements

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with other
programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded, and why.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:43:40 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.


I like Start8 the best, but that shouldn't matter a whole lot to you.
My view is that you shouldn't rely on other people's views. Rather,
try the major ones yourself and decide for yourself which one works
best for you.

On 9/23/13 11:07 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:43:40 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.


I like Start8 the best, but that shouldn't matter a whole lot to you.
My view is that you shouldn't rely on other people's views. Rather,
try the major ones yourself and decide for yourself which one works
best for you.

I do intend to do that, I'm hoping folks will tell me why the like one
over another, and what problems cropped up. Things you only find out
after using them for longer than a trial period.

There's one replacement, can't remember the name, but the styling
strikes me as being similar to Windows 8. I want to test that one in
Windows 8 one of these days.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:27:18 -0600, Ken Springer wrote:

There's one replacement, can't remember the name, but the styling
strikes me as being similar to Windows 8. I want to test that one in
Windows 8 one of these days.

Perhaps you should ask your question in alt.comp.os.windows-8 or in
another newsgroup that discusses W8.

Anyway, is it Classic Shell that you're thinking about?

--
s|b

Ken Springer :
Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being
discussed heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with
other programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded,
and why.

I use the "Windows 7 Basic" theme, which (as I'm sure many people know)
is a part of Windows 7 rather than a separate program.

--
Mike Barnes

On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:27:18 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 9/23/13 11:07 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:43:40 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.


I like Start8 the best, but that shouldn't matter a whole lot to you.
My view is that you shouldn't rely on other people's views. Rather,
try the major ones yourself and decide for yourself which one works
best for you.

I do intend to do that, I'm hoping folks will tell me why the like one
over another, and what problems cropped up. Things you only find out
after using them for longer than a trial period.


I tried several, and settled on Start8. Unfortunately I didn't keep
notes, and I can't remember the differences between them. So
I can't really tell you anything about why I like it better than the
others.

But I can tell you that I don't remember any problems cropping up with
any of them.

On 9/23/13 12:28 PM, s|b wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:27:18 -0600, Ken Springer wrote:

There's one replacement, can't remember the name, but the styling
strikes me as being similar to Windows 8. I want to test that one in
Windows 8 one of these days.

Perhaps you should ask your question in alt.comp.os.windows-8 or in
another newsgroup that discusses W8.

The comment here is just conversation, I've got it downloaded but just
can't think of the name. CRS... LOL

Anyway, is it Classic Shell that you're thinking about?

It's not Classic Shell, I have that on my Win7 netbook, but it's not
quite what I want on the new desktop. This is one of those searches
where you know the one you want when you find it. LOL


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

On 9/23/13 2:30 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:27:18 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 9/23/13 11:07 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:43:40 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.


I like Start8 the best, but that shouldn't matter a whole lot to you.
My view is that you shouldn't rely on other people's views. Rather,
try the major ones yourself and decide for yourself which one works
best for you.

I do intend to do that, I'm hoping folks will tell me why the like one
over another, and what problems cropped up. Things you only find out
after using them for longer than a trial period.


I tried several, and settled on Start8. Unfortunately I didn't keep
notes, and I can't remember the differences between them. So
I can't really tell you anything about why I like it better than the
others.

But I can tell you that I don't remember any problems cropping up with
any of them.

Thanks, it's nice to know they are stable.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

On 9/23/13 1:25 PM, Mike Barnes wrote:
Ken Springer :
Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being
discussed heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with
other programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded,
and why.

I use the "Windows 7 Basic" theme, which (as I'm sure many people know)
is a part of Windows 7 rather than a separate program.

I tend to customize my desktops to my liking, and usually none of any
themes interest me that much.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

Ken Springer wrote:
Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with other
programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded, and why.



Just for clarification - replacement for and in lieu of the included SM
in Windows 7 ?

Personnaly, I rarely use the Win7 SM..preferring the Quick Launch
(restored) and the Task Bar. My usage of the latter is different than
most who just pin the program. I pin the additional items to a given
program icon on the taskbar or app for quick and direct access.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

On 9/23/13 6:41 PM, ...winston wrote:
Ken Springer wrote:
Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with other
programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded, and why.



Just for clarification - replacement for and in lieu of the included SM
in Windows 7 ?

Correct.

Personnaly, I rarely use the Win7 SM..preferring the Quick Launch
(restored) and the Task Bar. My usage of the latter is different than
most who just pin the program. I pin the additional items to a given
program icon on the taskbar or app for quick and direct access.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

On 23/09/2013 16:43, Ken Springer wrote:
Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with other
programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded, and why.

With Win7 I have been using Classic Windows Start Menu
(http://sourcecodeboy.eshost.es/classicwinstartmenu.htm) for nearly 4
years. Seems very stable to me, and I believe it works ok with Win8.
Quite customisable, too. And it doesn't need to be installed.

Why do I prefer it to Classic Shell? Because it is (I think) the only
replacement which offers to put "Programs" (ie all programs) at the top
of the menu, rather than some way down below a divider. For programs I
use every day I use the Quick Launch bar, but if I need access to one of
the others I can simply click the top entry and all the programs are
listed immediately in a cascade, no drop down arrows are required.

--

Jeff

Ken Springer wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with other
programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded, and why.


I have been running Win 8 since RTM. I tried five or six replacements to
get the start button back and decided to spend the $4 for Start 8. It
just works and is completely customizable.

Why mess with a utility like that if you run Win 7?


--

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Ben Franklin

On 9/24/13 4:05 AM, G. Morgan wrote:
Ken Springer wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences good or bad with other
programs people here have used, and then settled on or discarded, and why.


I have been running Win 8 since RTM. I tried five or six replacements to
get the start button back and decided to spend the $4 for Start 8. It
just works and is completely customizable.

Why mess with a utility like that if you run Win 7?

There's just something about the Win 7 Start Menu that doesn't "feel"
quite right, to me. An intangible you just can't put your finger on. I
don't have any problem using it, just looking for something that feels
better to me. And this is a component of the other 3 similar threads
I've started.

I've almost always looked for small OS customizations that made me more
happy with the computers I have, which makes using it pleasing to me.
I've often wondered if and how many others feel/do the same thing.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 23.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.0.4

On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:43:40 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

Customizing a new Win 7 install, here...

Whenever the thread leads to Start Menu replacement programs, the
discussion usually ends up with Start 8 and Classic Menu being discussed
heavily.

But there's a plethora of other replacements out there.

http://www.startmenux.com/index.html

--
-gufus
Thou Shalt NOT excessively annoy others or
allow Thyself to become excessively annoyed