Start menu

The first time I found myself wanting to run a program from the start menu, I hit a wall. The start menu is apparently not included in Windows 8. A quick online search taught me that the "Metro" way to do this is to swipe in from an edge and choose Search, then start typing the name of the program you want to run. This is fine if you normally use the tiled view.

Since I use the desktop view most of the time, I wanted an easy way to do the same thing without having to switch to the tiled view. I found a CNET article describing several third-party programs that restore the start menu functionality.

Of the products reviewed, I thought RetroUI Pro was the most compelling. Unfortunately, it is not free. Having already paid for Windows, having to pay an additional amount just to get functionality that an OS ought to support by default felt like a case of adding insult to injury. For that reason, I chose a free product called Start Menu Reviver. It's intuitive and works well.

Start Menu Reviver uses the Win key as its trigger, when you are in the desktop view. Pressing the Win key in desktop view will show or hide the Start Menu Reviver panel. To switch to the tiled view, you have to use the swipe technique on the touch screen. I haven't found this to be a problem, as I normally use the desktop view. On a handheld device, you probably don't need this program at all.