Microsoft: Start button killed because of low usage

Posted on Thursday, June 28 2012 @ 22:23 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Microsoft's decision to get rid of the Start button in Windows 8 is one of the more controversial changes in the new operating system, but according to the software giant they decided to go through with this change because people have stopped using it:
"We’d seen the trend in Windows 7," said Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager at Microsoft, referring to the telemetry gathered by the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program. "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. We’re saying 'look, Start menu usage is dropping, what can we do about it? What can we do with the Start menu to revive it, to give it some new identity, give it some new power?'"

"So I’m a desktop user, I pin the browser, Explorer, whatever my apps are. I don’t go the Start menu as often. If you’re going to the Start screen now, we’re going to unlock a whole new set of scenarios, or you can choose not to go there, stay in the desktop, and it’s still fast. You can’t beat the taskbar."
This could be the case for a large share of Windows users, but for power users it's hard to imagine they'll be better off without the Start button.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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Re: Microsoft: Start button killed because of low usage
by Anonymous on Thursday, June 28 2012 @ 22:48 CEST
Laughable.

I doubt they are being truthful with regard to the data they collected by the spying they have done with regard to users actions.

I pin several applications to the Taskbar, but I use the Start Menu as well.

Microsoft lost me as a customer for Windows 8 because of their 'we know what is best' attitude.