Items tagged with Start Menu
If all the rumors are accurate, Microsoft will launch its next-generation Windows 11 operating system in October. Windows 11 builds upon the strong foundation that Windows 10 provided but brings some critical functionality and user interface improvements to improve the customer experience. Now, in a Medium post penned by Microsoft's Christina Koehn and Diego Baca, we're getting the inside track on some of the critical design decisions behind Windows 11. Not surprisingly, some of the changes within Windows 11 are due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected the way we work and learn. "We created the digital equivalent of your work desk nestled into your home, empowering you to achieve something...
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It may have taken a bit longer than Microsoft originally anticipated, but Windows 10 is now installed on more than one billion active devices (for real this time, unlike back in January when an Italian-language Microsoft website jumped the gun). To celebrate the achievement, Microsoft teased a fresh look headed to Windows 10. Panos Panay, chief product officer of Microsoft's devices group, posted the teaser video on Instagram. It's a catchy little clip that highlights some of the visual changes users can expect to see in future builds of Windows 10, which notably includes a refresh of the Start Menu. At long last, Live Tiles are getting the boot in favor of app logos. View this post on Instagram...
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Microsoft has attempted several times to fix a Start menu problem in Windows 10 build 1903 (May 2019 Update), the latest effort coming as part of the most recent cumulative update, KB4522355. Unfortunately, affected users report the issue persists even after applying the fix. As with before the update, they are seeing an error message when accessing the Start menu. "Critical Error. Your Start menu isn't working. We'll try to fix it the next time you sign in," the error message states. Affected users are instructed to "Sign out now" when this happens. I have not seen this myself, nor have I experienced the other issues Microsoft addressed with KB4522355, those being stall outs in the Cortana Search...
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If there's been one constant when it comes to Windows 10 1903 (May 2019 Update) over the past few months, it's been Microsoft's inability to tackle lingering problems with the Start menu. The company has issued a number of cumulative updates for the operating system that have broken the Start menu, fixed it, then broken it again. The last cumulative update, KB4517389, once again bungled the Start menu causing problems for numerous users. Thankfully, Microsoft has issued its third cumulative update so far this month for Windows 10 1903, and hopefully this is the silver bullet to squash any remaining Start menu ailments. There's a whole laundry list of fixed with the new KB4522355...
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Redmond, we have a problem...again. For the third time in a month, Windows 10 users are reporting a recent update is messing with the functionality of the Start menu. This time it is KB4517389 that is the culprit. On affected PCs, users are seeing a critical error message when accessing the Start menu. "KB4524147 originally caused a critical error when using Start menu AND it prevented my printer from printing. The latter was because of some mess up with the print spooler. I uninstalled KB4524147 and BOTH problems disappeared. This morning, I updated with KB4517389. The printer seems to work, BUT I receive a critical error when using the Start menu. I suppose I need to uninstall KB4517389?,"...
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Yesterday, Twitter lit up with user frustration after Microsoft pushed out an internal "canary" build of Windows 10 20H1 to Windows Insiders on all of its developer rings (including Fast and Slow). The build was not meant to escape the confines of Redmond, Washington due to its early developmental status, and now we're getting a detailed answer from Microsoft on what exactly wrong. Microsoft first confirmed what we already knew, stating that Build 18947 was an "internal preview build was unintentionally released to a broader audience than expected." The company goes on to explain that if you have the build installed and aren't too keen on its appearance [or the potential for bugginess]...
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Microsoft is making some changes to the Start Menu in Windows 10, which you'll get to see in full force when it rolls out its Windows 10 Anniversary update sometime this summer. In the meantime, Jen Gentleman, a software engineer and community champ at Microsoft, gave anxious users a sneak peek by posting an animated GIF of the new Start Menu on Twitter. There's also a short Sway presentation that Microsoft put together. If you're a fan of the Start Menu, don't worry, Microsoft isn't doing anything all that drastic to it. Barring a user revolt, following the update, clicking on the Start Menu will bring up the All Apps view by default. As it's currently configured in Windows 10, you have to bring...
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Microsoft decided to really shake things up today when, instead of announcing what many expected to be called Windows 9, they jumped right to announcing their next OS as Windows 10. Many of the leaks and rumored feature enhancements were in fact accurate, though with full details on how Microsoft will implement these features and new information on other enhancements as well, it has become much more clear that the Redmond team wants to not only simplify the experience for novice and power uses alike but also bring a common, “delightful” experience across all platforms and usage models. One Product Family, One Platform, One Store One of the more important announcements at the...
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New rumors on an upcoming release of Windows could be sweet tidings for users who either aren't satisfied with the OS's current state or who have refused to upgrade to the present version. Microsoft is reportedly planning a new release of the operating system, codenamed Threshold -- and it contains two huge changes. According to long-time Windows guru Paul Thurrott, Windows Threshold will offer the following: Metro applications running in windowed mode on the desktop. A genuine Start Menu If true, these are features I'd upgrade for. Hurrah! It's 1987! Let's start with windowed more for Metro applications. One of the improvements to Windows 8.1 was that tiles could be two sizes (up from just one)...
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Getting to the top in any business is hard work. Even more difficult is staying on top, but if you put customers first and deliver products, features, and services they want, it will go a long way to building brand loyalty. Perhaps that is what Lenovo has in mind by partnering with SweetLaps to bring back the Start Menu that's absent from Windows 8. Developed by SweetLabs, the full version of Pokki will come pre-installed on select Lenovo desktops and notebooks running Windows 8. While the reemergence of the Start Menu is a primary selling point, Pokki also introduces modern desktop apps, real-time notifications, games, and more. "We started SweetLabs with the dream of building the world’s...
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Earlier this week, Microsoft principal program manager Chaitanya Sareen dished out information on why Microsoft ultimately decided to kill the Start Menu and replace it with the polarizing Start Screen. According to her, killing the Start Menu wasn't seen as a big deal, given that consumers and businesses had largely stopped using it. We’d seen the trend in Windows 7. When we evolved the taskbar we saw awesome adoption of pinning [applications] on the taskbar. We are seeing people pin like crazy. And so we saw the Start menu usage dramatically dropping, and that gave us an option... So I’m a desktop user, I pin the browser, Explorer, whatever my apps are. I don’t go the Start...
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