I heard somewhere that windows 9/blue wont have the start button either. I personally see this as a disappointment, the start screen is designed for touch screens not desktops.

Thoughts? Do you think this is a disappointment?

I don't want to sound stubborn, but I think I'm going to stay with Win7 for as long as a possibly can until new games and applications clease to function unless Microsoft makes non-awkward desktop OS before that happens.

I don't want to sound stubborn, but I think I'm going to stay with Win7 for as long as a possibly can until new games and applications clease to function unless Microsoft makes non-awkward desktop OS before that happens.

They seem to have a policy of alternating between making an annoying OS and a follow-up more stable version of it, so I'm down with this plan. According to the pattern, Win9 has to be decent

95 -> 98 -> Me -> XP -> Vista -> 7 -> 8 ...

I don't really care anymore. I have decided to stay with Win7 myself and have set up my laptop with elementary os to get comfortable with linux. Now that steam is available for linux and more games get ported it can only gain traction.

I am currently running windows 8. I have no start button but I find I do not really miss it. This is probably because I have heavily used linux with the new gnome desktop environment. After a while you just get into the groove of hitting the windows key type the application name and hit enter. It is very fast if you know the name of the application you want. My most used applications are as shortcuts right on the desktop so I can access them quicker. Over all it is a very solid OS with very few issues. The only time I see that metro start screen is when I need the odd ball application and when the computer boots up. As for Linux I really wish I could make it my primary OS I have tried several times but so many things I do run better on windows or only on windows. One such case is AVR micro controllers. The IDE with all the awesome memory view features is built on Visual Studio 10 issolated shell. On linux you are stuck with avr-gcc/gdb/avrdude. Not that this is bad but I don't think avr-gdb gives you the ability to see the values the registers are holding. PIC has full linux support but I am using both chips at the moment. Then there is the new MSOffice 2013 totally amazing this time around. Really well done set of software. Then there is my Oscilloscope that has software for windows/mac only.

I am currently running windows 8. I have no start button but I find I do not really miss it. This is probably because I have heavily used linux with the new gnome desktop environment. After a while you just get into the groove of hitting the windows key type the application name and hit enter. It is very fast if you know the name of the application you want. My most used applications are as shortcuts right on the desktop so I can access them quicker. Over all it is a very solid OS with very few issues. The only time I see that metro start screen is when I need the odd ball application and when the computer boots up. As for Linux I really wish I could make it my primary OS I have tried several times but so many things I do run better on windows or only on windows.

QFE, if you got used to just typing the application name in windows 7, then you really don't need a classic start menu anymore. I don't have any desktop icons anymore just because I know what i'm looking for. I never have to go through the control panel because i can just type in "Network" and get to the network and sharing center, i can type "folders" and modify my folders settings, "Devices" to get to devices and printers, etc. Windows 8 just improves this process imo.

I don't have any desktop icons anymore just because I know what i'm looking for. I never have to go through the control panel because i can just type in "Network" and get to the network and sharing center, i can type "folders" and modify my folders settings, "Devices" to get to devices and printers, etc. Windows 8 just improves this process imo.

Agree 100%. I am using windows 8 and I am not going back to windows 7. When I want something I just type it instead of seraching the start button tree. I find it more convient :)

QFE, if you got used to just typing the application name in windows 7, then you really don't need a classic start menu anymore.

Yeah I hated it at first when 7/vista redesigned the start menu... but now the only way I use it is by typing in that search box.

I also hardly bother organising my file system in windows explorer any more thanks to Everything...

I've been pressing the windows key and typing in the program name since windows 7. Now that I use windows 8, not much has changed. In windows 7 I had a few programs listed in the initial start menu that I frequently used that I'd click on. In windows 8 I have a set of tiles, which I quite frankly like more than my old start menu.

I'm not up to speed on this, but from a developer's perspective, wasn't the main concern the fact that Microsoft was moving towards closing the OS, and that people will no longer be able to release applications unless Microsoft approves of those applications?

I'm not up to speed on this, but from a developer's perspective, wasn't the main concern the fact that Microsoft was moving towards closing the OS, and that people will no longer be able to release applications unless Microsoft approves of those applications?

I think if Microsoft were to release a full closed OS, they'd basically be killing themselves, for the desktop at least.

I don't want to sound stubborn, but I think I'm going to stay with Win7 for as long as a possibly can until new games and applications clease to function unless Microsoft makes non-awkward desktop OS before that happens.

They seem to have a policy of alternating between making an annoying OS and a follow-up more stable version of it, so I'm down with this plan. According to the pattern, Win9 has to be decent

95 -> 98 -> Me -> XP -> Vista -> 7 -> 8 ...

Yes but I feel that this time is going to be different, just a feeling. I did read they were going to "improve" the start screen some how... we'll have to wait and find out, hopefully it takes desktop into consideration this time and does not completely fill the whole screen unnecessarily.