Windows 8.1 preview version confirmed the Microsoft's high-level statement. So, this lost and "start" can make the old users happy? What is the start button of Windows 8.1?
Start button of Windows 8.1: Click to enter the Metro interface
Unlike Win7, The Start button of Windows 8.1 will enter the Metro style start screen.
According to sources, the Windows 8.1 start button looks a bit like the "Start icon" in the Windows 8 Charms bar. Click the Start button and the system will enter the Metro style start screen. However, Windows 8.1 adds a setting —— users can choose to use the "all programs" mode instead of the Metro interface tile — — that is, click the Start button in Windows 8.1, will pop up "ld"; Program icon list & rdquo;, instead of the current dynamic tile combination.
Start button (hypothetical map)
<;All programs" mode will display all the applications and settings of the computer, users can rearrange the icons according to their own use, put the most commonly used The first one. This setting is undoubtedly moving closer to the past Windows desktop.
It is worth mentioning that in Windows 8.1, users can choose to go directly to the desktop mode when the system starts, avoiding the Metro start screen.
In addition, Windows 8.1 brings a very important change —— users can use the same background in the Metro style start screen, desktop mode. This will undoubtedly make the two systems more visually harmonious.
Metro interface can also choose the background
In summary: Windows 8.1 start button does not return to the original "start menu", and become a traditional desktop and Metro start interface "Head" button.
When the new "Start button" is no longer the start menu, can it also carry the original design features? Let's review the history of the Windows Start button!
Why Windows systems will have Start button?
In Windows 1.0, a program called "MS-DOS Executive" provides file management and “ menu" In Windows 3.0, this program was replaced by the file manager and program manager, and the program manager is the prototype of the start menu;
Windows 1.0 interface
The start menu officially appeared in Windows 95. Win95 condenses the program manager into a start menu. When not in use, it is a “start” button;
Windows95 start menu
to Windows 98, the system allows the user to drag and drop in the start menu. Added customizable start menu;
Windows98 Start Menu
In Windows XP, the Start Menu has added a list of recently used program shortcuts, further increasing the user's customization space;
Windows XP Start Menu
In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Start menu has a search function that allows users to list matching start menu items after entering text. It is worth mentioning that the words “Beginning” can't be seen directly from Windows Vista. Only when you hover your mouse over the start button will the prompt text “Start & rdquo;” appear. At this time, more and more people enter the start menu by pressing the Windows key or pressing the key combination Ctrl+Esc.
Win7 Start Menu
To the last year's Windows 8, the Start button no longer exists, replacing it with the Metro style "Start Interface". Click the bottom left corner of the screen to enter the start screen. The start interface contains icons for all programs, but does not display the most recent documents. Functions such as shutdown, control panel, and search are transferred to the Charm bar on the right.
Win8 no start button
In summary:
The start menu is essentially a user-customizable program manager. As the Windows file manager and taskbar continue to mature, the use of the Start button has been decreasing year by year. In theory, starting with Win7, the Start button is not a necessity, because all programs can be opened in Resource Management. There was a software called "Start Killer" that was specifically designed to hide the Win7 start button.
If this is the case, why did Win8 cancel the start button last year, it will attract the user's opposition?
The old user's voice: Why can't we leave the start button?
I have done one "Why are you?" Use the start menu & rdquo; survey. The results show that Windows users use the Start menu mainly for the following purposes:
1, shutdown;
2, enter the control panel;
3, think "ld"; the program is placed in the start menu, the desktop can be very clean ”;
Visible, shutdown is the most common reason users use the start button. However, in the current Windows 8, because Microsoft has more consideration of the habit of long-pressing the power button to shut down the mobile device, the shutdown procedure in the system is more complicated: click on the lower right corner --->Set---> ; power ---> shutdown. This is not convenient for PC users who are used to shutting down in the start button. Some users have created a nostalgia for the “start button”.
Win8 shutdown in Charm's "Power" option
Secondly, Win8 takes into account the sliding requirements of touch screen devices, so most of the system functions are concentrated in the Charm bar on the right. However, since most people read the content in order from left to right, it is generally accepted that “there is a start button in the lower left corner that is more in line with browsing habits”.
Charm bar on the right
In addition, there is another reason for the user to miss the start button: the background of the Metro interface is too different from the background of the traditional desktop —— when the Win7 user clicks the start button, the pop-up menu Still on the desktop, the information in front of the user is not separated from the overall structure of the Windows window, so the visual impact is small; and when the Win8 user enters the start interface, the visual will jump from the traditional desktop with the photo background to the Metro style. In the tile combination, this is of course a relatively blunt experience.
As Relex, the co-director of Microsoft's Windows division, said: "Win8 has a lot to change. & rdquo; So, how does Windows 8.1 solve the above problem? Let us focus on the Windows 8.1 button again.
Windows 8.1 enlightenment: respect for users can be respected
In order to solve the problem of conversion between the Metro interface and the traditional desktop, in Windows 8.1, users can use the same in the Metro style start interface, desktop mode Background. This improvement unifies the two interfaces so that their transitions no longer produce a sense of tripping.
Windows 8.1 Restart Start Button
Metro interface uses the same background as traditional desktops
Windows 8.1 users can choose to use the "all programs" mode instead of the default Metro interface. In other words, after the user clicks the start button, it will enter the display interface of “Program Icon+Name” instead of the Dynamic Tile page. Unlike the tile, “All Programs” will include all the features in the original “Start Menu”, including various settings in the Control Panel, and even the Shutdown button.
All Program Modes
In the "All Programs" mode, users can also freely select the icon sorting of these functions. Users who are not used to the tile can choose this way.
In addition, Windows 8.1 will also open the default settings for the Metro interface to the user, we can choose the way to enter the system.
As long as there is a better way User habits are not unchangeable
The author believes that the user's habits are not immutable, as long as the software can provide a more efficient and beautiful way.
“The start menu” came out in the 1990s. Compared with that, the current Internet environment has changed a lot, so the Windows interaction mode is also very normal. For users who have entered the mobile age, the start menu is not a necessity, but a convenient and convenient system is required. Windows users need to be able to efficiently replace the original start menu function —— I believe this time Windows 8.1 can accomplish this task.
For Microsoft, software must keep up with the pace of the times, not only to cater to user habits, but also to respect users, so that users have the right to choose the way they like. Last year, Microsoft executives changed, Julie · Julie Larson-Green was promoted to the top of the Windows department. The appointment of the female manager who is a user experience means that Windows will consider the user's personal experience more and respect the user's needs and become more humane.
With the changes in Windows 8.1, we can see that Microsoft, a world-class company, has a tiger, but sniffs Rose. The return of the start button, this is indeed the user's victory, but at the same time is the human victory of Microsoft.