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Comparison of Start menu replacements for Windows 8
List article

Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system introduced an updated Start menu known as the "Start screen", which uses a full-screen design consisting of tiles to represent applications. This replaced the Windows desktop as the primary interface of the operating system. Additionally, the on-screen Start button was replaced by a hidden button in the corner of the screen; Microsoft explained that the Start button was removed because few people used it, noting the addition of "pinning" apps to the taskbar from Windows 7.

The change was controversial among users, and a market ensued for applications which restore the visible Start button, emulate the previous Start menu design, or allow users to boot directly to the Desktop instead of the Start screen.

The following is a list of Start menu replacements for Windows 8 which have received coverage from third-party sources:

NameDeveloperLicenseSkinsRunPinningAeroSortBoot to desktopNotes
BringBackRevel SoftwareDiscontinued??????Discontinued (http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/revel_bringback8.html)
Classic ShellClassic Shell teamMIT License10+extensibleYesYesYesYesYesAllows Modern UI related tweaksDiscontinued and forked to Open-Shell
Classic Start 8Crawler, LLCFreewareNoYes????
Classic Windows Start MenuSourceCodeBoyCC-BY-NC-ND (Freeware for non-commercial use only) YesYesNoYesYesYesDiscontinued (last version here http://www.pypa.es/Utilidades/Software/)
Ex7forW8TihiyFreeware??????Discontinued (http://tihiy.net/files/ex7forW8_1.0.zip)
FinalbirdSvyatoslav YudinFreewareNoYesYesNoYesYesFavorites of Start Menu is unified with the other software parts
Handy Start MenuChemTable SoftwareFreeware??????
Open-Shell?MITYes????YesFork of Classic Shell
PokkiSweetLabs, Inc.FreewareNo????Yes
Power8

Power8 TeamGNU General Public License??????
RetroUI ProThinixTrialware??????
Samsung Quick StarterSamsung???????
Start Menu 8IObitTrialware??No??Yes
Start Menu ReviverReviverSoftFreeware?????Yestouch screen support
Start Menu XOrdinarySoftFreemium??????
Start8Stardock CorporationTrialwareYesYesYes??Yes
StartFinityWinAbility SoftwareFreemium?????YesSupports automatic localization of Start menu
StartIsBackПуск Будет УдобнееTrialware4+YesYes??Yesmodifies existing hot corners
StartMenuPlus8WinokTrialware??????
StartW8SODATSWFreeware??????
SyMenuUGMFreeFreeware6?Yes?YesYesThe menu is fully portable
Tweaks.com Start for Windows 8Advanced PC MediaFreeware??????
ViStartLee-SoftAd-supportedYesYesYesNo?Yes
Wentutu Start MenuWentutu???????
Win8StartButtonTorch Media Inc.???????
Win8StarterEngelmann Media GmbH???????
Xeesa 1b QuickStartXeesa ServicesFreemiumNo?????Cloud Start Menu available

The number of skins in the table givens the number of built-in skins. If there are downloadable skins, then a "+" is appended to the number to indicate that download extensions are possible.

RetroUI, StartIsBack, Classic Shell, Start8, and Pokki are five of the more notable of these. RetroUI is offered in 33 languages, and also for Windows Server 2012, and adds a taskbar and resizable windows. StartIsBack is also localized. Classic Shell used to be free and open source (now proprietary freeware), major items are localized and installing the Language Pack from Windows Update makes all items fully localized; Classic Shell is also available for Windows 7 and Windows Server, and claims over 25 million downloads. The Pokki download to restore the Start menu is free; as of January 2013, it has about 1.5 million users. The Pokki application platform, based on Chromium, enables desktop applications to be built—like mobile apps—using standard web languages like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. It is also available for Windows XP and Windows 7. Pokki has raised $21.5M from investors like Google, Intel, and O'Reilly; its business model is to make a commission on software sold through its app store. Start8 has been downloaded over 5 million times.

See also

References

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