As you know Windows 8 introduces a radical different menu called Start screen that takes full advantage of the new Windows 8 UI — formerly known as Metro –, with live tiles that represent applications and brings forward important live update information about what is going on on each app, that replaces the traditional Start menu and the widely known Windows orb.
There are many people, included myself, that love the new menu and others that don’t feel very pleasant about the change. If that is your case, some time ago the developers at Stardock released the first beta version of Start8, which is a small application that was focus to give back to users the traditional Start menu in Windows 8. Today, the company has made available the next free beta of Start8 that includes quite a few new interesting features.
In the previous released version of utility only made it possible to add a start button in the Windows Taskbar to launch the “Modern” user interface, and now users can enjoy some new features:
- Identical look and feel of the Windows 7 Start menu in Windows 8 with the following improvements: Search for Windows 8 “Modern” app, the ability to pin Metro style apps to the menu, jump list support, universal search, and automatically matches color scheme of the taskbar.
- Custom Start button settings
- User can boot directly to the Windows Desktop
- Quick access to the shut down menu, music, devices, videos and documents
- Beta support for WindowsFX 5.1 startmenu animations
- Easy access to the Windows 8 Start screen from the Start menu
- Start menu fully configurable and more
Check out all the features of Start8 in action in the video below:
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Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].