Stan's Chrome-Plated Tech Tips
Monday, May 20, 2013
Windows 8 - You Can Have It Your Way!
Oh Windows 8 - you poor soul. You're actually a pretty decent OS (minus the Metro or whatever you're calling it these days interface), but we're about 6 months in, and folks would have you believe it's the second coming of Vista. Well on this you can trust me - it's in no way a nightmare of Vistonian proportions. A quick installation of a handy start menu rebuilder, and you're back to the natural progression of the traditional Windows desktop.
So let's say you're willing to give it a go, what should you do first? Well on initial installation, you're going to probably run into a few "huh?" moments, but I'll go over those in a future blog post. First things first, go to your web browser (probably Internet Explorer at this point), search for "Windows 8 Start Menu," and choose from any of the free or very inexpensive start menu apps.
FWIW, my personal fave is Startisback! for a whopping $3. For you extra "frugal" types, go with the free Classic Shell. Either of them does the job, and unless Microsoft gives you some good reason, you never have to see the new interface until you're ready. There are grumblings that the first major update for 8 (codename: Blue) might recreate the start menu as well, but in the meantime this'll have to do. Couple of simple clicks and there you go, right as rain:
For most of you this is enough to get you going in the wild and crazy universe that is Windows 8. Now what it won't do is get rid of all the preloaded bloatware your new Windows 8 computer came loaded with. For that I recommend you take the thing to the best Computer Repair Los Angeles has to offer - I know the guy well and I promise he'll take care of you! ;-)
Thanks for reading!
As Always,
Stan
I'm not a Geek. I'm your friend. And I'm here to help.
Labels: computer repair, computer service, start menu, windows 7, Windows 8
