A history of the Windows Start menu

[Brink]

Microsoft’s Start menu is a big deal. It’s the first thing many people think of when they think of Windows, or even Microsoft. The simple Start menu has existed for more than 20 years now. It started off as a way to make Windows easier to use, and now it’s the center of how we interact with Windows on a daily basis. Whether it’s launching apps, searching for documents, or simply shutting down your PC, you probably use the Start menu more than you think.

Microsoft’s Start menu made its first appearance with Windows 95. It quickly became the go-to menu to find everything you needed from your PC, and it changed very little until the blue-and-green theme of Windows XP. The Start menu became so intertwined with the identity of Windows that users freaked out when it disappeared in Windows 8. It didn’t take long for Microsoft to reverse course: the Start menu was brought back to life with Windows 10.

Microsoft has tried a variety of different Start menus over the years, but the Windows 10 version is the best combination of the modern ideas the company has attempted and the classic menu. The Start menu is iconic, and it’s the identity of Windows. As long as Microsoft doesn’t have any crazy ideas, it’s probably here to stay for many, many more years.

Twenty years is a long time for any software, so let’s take a look at how exactly the Start menu, and by extension, Windows itself, has changed since Windows 95....

Read more: A history of the Windows Start menu | The Verge

 

[Indianatone]

Windows 10 has the best Start Menu? Read from the Redmond script. Classic Shell is the best Start Menu as it gives you choice for the start menu you want. The Windows 10 default start menu is awful much like the OS it is built on there is a lack of options and choices IMHO.

 

[strollin]

Interesting article.

IMO, the Start menu isn't really needed, it's a throwback to Win 95. I didn't miss it when they removed it from Win 8.x (I don't like the Win 8.x Start screen any better) and don't use any 3rd party Start menu either. The Win 10 Start menu is terrible, wish they would leave it out or make it configurable to not have it.

 

[ThrashZone]

All apps list is the one that is really annoying to me
It has no place on a desktop or laptop for that matter it's purely cellphone based list which I was never fond of anyway even on an iphone which win-10's is the same pretty much.

There's also no real reason you shouldn't be able to have text on the right side
If start8/10 can do it why can't M$ do it