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Fixing Windows 8, Part 2: Boot to the Desktop

This one is a no-brainer, but it should be done correctly too
Dec. 21, 2012 Paul Thurrott

The ability to boot to the desktop is a fairly obvious request, I know. And given that Microsoft is clearly pushing towards a future in which the desktop is eventually phased out, you may believe that this particular change can be safely ignored. I couldn’t disagree more.

Yes, Windows 8 represents an amazing transition from PCs to devices, but Windows 8 is designed for PCs and devices. And unless something unexpected happens, most Windows 8 installs will occur on traditional (non-touch) PCs or on traditional PC form factors that also happen to have touch screens. As such, most Windows 8 users will in fact spend most of their time—in some cases, virtually all of their time—in the desktop environment. Why punish your own customers, Microsoft?

Now, I’m not calling for the return of the Start button or the classic Start menu. Far from it: The new Start screen may not be ideal on the traditional PC form factors that everyone actually uses, but it’s at least consistent and it does work. And those who do use the desktop exclusively or nearly so are certainly well served by tasking app pinning.

But I think Windows 8 users deserve more than a cheap Registry key hack. I think Windows 8, modern and intelligent OS that it is, should do the work. And when you first boot into Windows 8, and the Start screen appears, you should see something like the following:

If this were a touch-screen device—not a traditional PC—this message could be changed to note that, or it could simply not appear, since users of such devices will probably want the Metro interfaces by default.

You should also be able to choose between the Start screen and the desktop in PC Settings at any time.

It’s just customer-centric common sense.

Discuss this Article 93

TheRackow
on Dec 21, 2012

One thing I really want is a single notification system. If I have skype open, Facebook open, the messaging app up, and my windows phone with me etc. Ill get a ton of notifications... its kinda insane. Same with email

ozaz
on Dec 21, 2012

Poor notification system is a pretty big annoyance for me too.
Plus I want a notification system to be well integrated into desktop notification area and not require me to dip into metro to access it.

arrow22
on Dec 21, 2012

Yup. And maybe disable by default the lock screen on any device that isn't touch-capable. It makes no sense on such hardware.

sevenacids
on Dec 21, 2012

Why does the lock screen make no sense on a traditional PC? Locking a Windows PC (using WinKey+L) has always been a good security feature to protect your PC while you are away, for example. Now, IMO the lock screen in Windows 8 is just a more beautiful version of the login screen in previous Windows version.

Boots
on Dec 22, 2012

"Why does the lock screen make no sense on a traditional PC?"

I agree. I always accidentally switch on my 20kg desktop computer when I carry it around in my pocket. I can't wait to upgrade to Windows 8 with it's lock screen, so that I will no longer be plagued by this problem.

zorb58
on Dec 21, 2012

I agree. Or just make it more useful all around, like in Windows Phone 8. Right now its just a massive picture with a small amount of important data... I wish I could put more on there!

Jarret
on Dec 21, 2012

Me personally, I think booting to the Start Screen is just fine - I prefer it. If you need ultra-easy quick access to the Desktop, just put your Desktop tile in the upper-left corner and it's a simple Enter key away.

pthurrott
on Dec 21, 2012

I see. And where you do "discover" that you can that?

Windows should work the way you want it to, not some arbitrary way.

FlyerMike
on Dec 21, 2012

Completely agree. I always thought the brief "tutorial" they show you about moving the mouse to the corners was incomplete because it was a consumer preview. I was surprised to see the retail release was just as vague. They hardly tell you anything. I had to go out of my way (read this site) to learn all the shortcuts and tricks. No way the casual user will do that.

johnwbaxter
on Dec 21, 2012

It was from you that I discovered that the top left tile is special. Desktop there is one way to use that. Excel (for example) there is another...for those spending their days in Excel, that would make sense.

It took me a while to discover that Windows Key plus Digit launches the digit-th app even from the start screen. Except when the Desktop hasn't been started yet.

On my Dell tower and my traditional laptop, I use the start screen and some of those apps heavily. And I go to desktop when that makes sense for what I want to do.

A clean boot-to-desktop option should certainly be available. I'm not sure that the out-of-box experience should highlight it...it might have taken me longer to learn to use Windows 8 my way if the OBE had tempted me to set up boot to desktop.

darkurious
on Dec 21, 2012

In my opinion, to fix Windows 8 from a platform management perspective, let WP8 team manage Windows 8. There are several little things wrong with windows 8 which windows phone 8 has mastered. Also, instead of "boot to desktop" they should "boot the desktop!" it really isn't needed. It's confusing the customer.

mrasmussen
on Dec 21, 2012

Is it too much to ask that if I have a second monitor that a second active app not be confined to the vertical side panel (whatever the're calling the split screen). If they can split the screen can't I split it between two monitors?

darkurious
on Dec 21, 2012

I guess I should give an example. In the People Hub in Windows Phone 8, when you touch a letter of the alphabet, you are given the option to jump to the group of contacts starting with that letter. That's not an option for Windows 8...or at least on my SurfaceRT. If there's an option to turn that feature on, please tell me. Truly, this is a manifestation of platforms in silos. Hopefully, this will change with new leadership. If not, I guess someone else will be teaching at Harvard. LOL

AdrianJSClark
on Dec 24, 2012

Windows 8 has a slightly different UI device, compared to Windows Phone, for situations like this. That is known as "Semantic Zoom". For the People hub, just like the Start screen, you can "zoom out" to get a more overall view. In the case of the people list this view is a list of letters. To perform this zoom, either click the minus icon in the bottom right corner, Ctrl + Mouse Wheel, or pinch.

Rev
on Dec 21, 2012

I understand the desire for this, but I disagree. The future is Metro, both on traditional machines and desktop. You're writing about how to make Windows 8 better, and basically saying "give me Windows 7" feels like a cop-out. I'd rather read about how you think Microsoft could improve Windows 8 for traditional desktop users, like your last Fixing Windows 8 article.

For the past week, I've been using an app called Code Writer for coding websites. I'm doing this at a professional design firm, and I'm just as productive as I was in the desktop. When an app is written to work well with both keyboard/mouse and touch, there's no need for the desktop.

pthurrott
on Dec 21, 2012

Ridiculous. And your comment confirms it: Metro is the future. Yep. It is.

I'm using it today, however, and like most Windows 8 users, I'm doing so on a traditional, non-touch PC. Computers should work the way I want, not force me into a UX paradigm "of the future" that makes no sense on my current hardware. That's the point of this, not to subvert Metro, but for their to be a fricking choice.

I cannot believe this is not obvious.

Rev
on Dec 21, 2012

Like I said, I completely understand why you want this. I just think that if Microsoft makes this an option, people will stick to the desktop, and at that point, why even include Metro on a traditional computer?

I'd much rather see a more refined version of Metro that makes using it on a traditional machine better than watch Microsoft backtrack and offer the same interface we've been using for 15+ years.

I completely get why you don't like Metro on a non-touch machine in its current state, but going back to the desktop in the next update to Windows isn't the solution (even if that's a minor update to Windows 8). Fixing Metro is.

tboggs13
on Dec 21, 2012

First, I don't think Paul is saying to go back to the Desktop as much as giving an option to give it more priority depending on your work habits.

I use Windows 8 in four environments, Work Desktop, Home Desktop, Surface Tablet and via remote desktop.

At work I am 98% in the desktop mode. I have little use for the Metro environment due to the apps that I use. If the charms would interact with desktop apps, I would love it and use it for the sake of having a unified workflow between the two environments. I could also see boot to desktop being an advantage, along with a Start button. I am fine with the Start Screen for search, but do miss being able to type in UNC paths for quick access to shares.

On the Home desktop, I am probably in Metro for 80 of what I do. Again a desktop, but I have less use for traditional desktop apps. Pretty much just Quicken and occasional use of Office. I prefer Outlook.com to the mail app, but I typically access that from IE Metro. Here I take full advantage of the charms and love it.

On the Surface, 95% Metro and love it. Looking forward to Pro so I can use a couple of work utilities, but no complaints.

Remote Desktop, I really want the Start Button back. Hitting corners in a remote desktop window is a pain. So far, running Windows 8 inside of Windows 8 in and RDP is inconsistent at best. Sometimes you get the local Start Screen and sometimes you get the remote Start Screen. A button would solve the problem immediately. I know there is a way to activate the Windows button from the RDP toolbar, but that is in the totally wrong direction from where you are supposed to activate it.

kevm14
on Dec 24, 2012

Winkey+R still brings up the run dialog...use that for your UNC paths.

jsepeta
on Dec 28, 2012

You're totally on the money with regard to this, Paul. Users have a lot of choices out there that they may be comfortable with: Windows 7, XP, even Vista will be a better choice for most users out of the gate because they already know how to use it. And while newfangled operating systems like IOS and Android may teach users to be comfortable running one program at a time, my biggest frustration as a professional user is when the interface is inflexible and user-hostile. Besides, it will take a year or two for software developers to not just get comfortable with a new desktop-free paradigm, but to become clever enough to exploit it, and make functions more obvious for their users.

In my free time, I write songs in my home music studio. My DAW never gets the latest updates because that would break the drivers that Avid ProTools relies on. It's a terrible thing. But seeing as how their latest version 10.0 came out last year, and it was STILL 32-bits (when all their competitors have been 64-bits for 3-4 years), it's safe to assume they're still a good 3-4 years away from knowing how to deal with a desktop-free environment. Programs like ProTools are too resource-heavy to work right in the cloud -- the apps and plugins all must be installed locally, and many of them require a security hasp to run (iLok). I wouldn't recommend anyone use Win8 with ProTools until Avid gives it a thumbs up, and the plugin developers have updates. Swtiching to Metro is going to be a painful experience for audio professionals & hobbyists, especially because we usually rely on 3-5 different apps to execute production & mastering.

If Microsoft won't support a desktop mode by default, then Win8 is probably not a good choice for us.

ozaz
on Dec 21, 2012

Personally, I don't think this is anywhere near as big an issue as the one raised in part 1 of this series (hidden app bar, which I think is a huge problem).

In fact, I would speculate that the current boot behavior may force people into getting familiar with the new start screen (and metro in general) more quickly, which I think is a good thing. But obviously, wouldn't hurt to have a boot behavior option in PC settings, I just wouldn't have it as an initial choice when booting into the PC for the first time, as suggested in the article.

pthurrott
on Dec 21, 2012

Actually, this is a bigger issue since everyone using Windows 8 today actually does need the desktop. Few people are doing work in Metro.

ozaz
on Dec 21, 2012

Agreed, desktop is much more useful today (I use desktop apps exclusively). But booting to start screen does not make desktop any less useful, nor does it hide it.

I don't disagree that it could be appeasing to provide a boot destination option in PC settings (so that those who really want this option can have it). I just think it would be a bad move to provide that option as a configuration step when setting up a new PC as it could stunt the rate at which people (particularly casual users) start to explore, try out, and learn the start screen and metro.

kevm14
on Dec 24, 2012

Exactly the problem which is why MS should take very measured steps IF they even decide to address this.

HeldR
on Dec 21, 2012

How about bringing back Aero Glass to the desktop with the boot to desktop option? I think the desktop is kind of ugly now without it.

rx78
on Dec 21, 2012

This probably won't match metro UI very well, with plain colors everywhere. But yes, plain is simplistic at best. They just need to address it universally, allowing to theme UI with gradients, transparency, shadows, rounded freaking corners and everything else designers want. There should be an option to switch from default simple and efficient but ugly plain dark theme to all out with crazy colors like in some win8 backgrounds, including win8 phone. You can theme Android to look like iPhone - no reason to not be able do it on win8, accept bad taste.

arrow22
on Dec 21, 2012

I think you're unfortunately in the minority on this. Cheesy glass and transparency effects were fun when they were novel, but Aero was a resource hog for what it actually provided. I personally love the more honest design of the new flat desktop.

PeterS
on Dec 26, 2012

This is a user choice issue for which Microsoft made a mistake taking out window-frame translucency when they went from the Release Candidate to RTM. I understand (and concur with) reducing the number of pixels taken-up by window chrome, and I understand that rendering translucency hurts battery life. Some of us laptop users, however, spend 95% of our time plugged-in, and desktop users 100%. I'd love to see window-frame translucency back.

Sterling
on Dec 21, 2012

By saying that the user is using a keyboard and mouse, doesn't it contradicts what Microsoft says about Metro being mouse and keyboard friendly?

What it should say is that the user is spending more time with desktop apps and if he would like to start Windows 8 in desktop mode.

Waethorn
on Dec 21, 2012

Rumours suggest they may have a regular UI control that sets the same setting as the current GPO in Blue.

Timo47
on Dec 21, 2012

I don't know about this Paul. What are you going to do when you boot directly to the desktop? Probably launch a program by clicking it's icon. So why not simply add that icon to the start screen and you'll arrive at your destination just as fast. It's not as if booting directly to the desktop will help you avoid using the start screen.

@HeldR: I agree. I really liked Aero Glass they way it was implemented in the Win8 previews (without the rounded corners and shadows of Win7). I understand it being a performance/power consumption issue on tablets but why remove it for desktops as well? In fact, in Windows 7 the system already decided for you when if the graphics were sufficient or not to run Aero. Was it too much too bother to ask for something similar.
It seems like the Microsoft engineers had blast removing code from Windows 8.
The current default where the border color matches your background only works if you have a single program open over that desktop. Once you have multiple programs open overlapping, the fixed color borders are butt ugly.

Vinny4
on Dec 21, 2012

I like fixed color borders. The important thing here is having the option to boot to the desktop, that would be great. I'm on Win8 Pro and I'm always on the desktop, moreover, I think the desktop looks much better in Win8 than compared to Win7.

Silversee
on Dec 21, 2012

Hi Paul... Great series of posts.

In keeping with this idea I think Microsoft should add a configuration wizard that lets one choose to optimize Windows for either desktop or tablet experiences, especially for media handling. One of the most jarring experiences on a newly installed desktop is being launched into Metro apps for music, pictures, videos, etc. Instead of having to individually change default file handlers (which many users do not even know how to do), it would be great if you could toggle all of that at setup, and have Windows make intelligent assumptions based on the presence or absence of touchscreen hardware...

rx78
on Dec 21, 2012

I want desktop apps delivered through app store. It won't work for all, but most apps I install every time setting up new PC are single downloadable MSI file anyway - why not let devs submit this file to app store? I would happily pay $1.99 to Paint.NET instead of playing minesweeper with sponsored links on website. That would give a boost to app store, familiarize desktop crowd with new UI in a friendly way and dramatically reduce volume of viruses and crapware people inadvertently download.

korggy
on Dec 21, 2012

How about this for a compromise we can all live with: have Windows boot up in the same mode where it left off. Arguably this offers the most continuity -- if you were on the start screen when you shut down, you're on the start screen when you start up. If you were on the desktop, you start up on the desktop.

Microsoft should be happy with this compromise as well because the vast majority of users probably shut down from the start screen and would therefore start up on the start screen.

There, is everybody happy now?? :)

baioc
on Dec 21, 2012

This is actually possible if you are shutting down via hibernate!

johnwbaxter
on Dec 21, 2012

You essentially have return to where you left off with sleep. (Which won't help in a business that requires shut down, of course.)

arrow22
on Dec 21, 2012

It's a good idea, but to be fair, that's exactly what happens in every day situations. Who cold boots their machine every day? For that reason alone, this problem is mostly non-existent.

milky_cereal
on Dec 21, 2012

Paul, I think I see what you are getting at here, not only with this idea, but with many other critisicms. The thing is we all know that the Metro style stuff is the future of Windows. It will of course change and improve, but the desktop will eventually go bye-bye. That's fine. I just think, and you seem to agree, that MS is forcing us in to this whether it makes sense or not.

Ron H
on Dec 21, 2012

Great suggestion. Last post as well.

Can't wait for Windows 8, Thurrott Edition

Timo47
on Dec 21, 2012

Here's another thought: since MS seems to treat the desktop as just another app on the start screen, why not make a "boot into app x" feature where x can also be the desktop? That way, heavy metro users can also benefit.

WRowland
on Dec 21, 2012

So far the "He who must not be named (Metro)" interface is designed for producing rich, simple, consumption applications. The desktop is the mode where real work gets done. I don't think this is a concept that's going to go away. Multiple windows, drag and drop, there are just situations that CALL for a workspace that is more complex than metro provides. With that in mind I think Microsoft would be well served rethinking the concept of the desktop.

Instead of a single workspace that is the home base for everything (which is now the start screen). They should introduce the desktop as a Workspace, a tile you click that opens into a desktop environment for a specific task or set of tasks. A user should be able to set up multiple workspaces.

Easy examples: A gaming workspace, a development workspace, the "office" workspace. Of course all of these are just customized variants of the desktop and could run any true windows app, but it adds the concept of a single tile performing a single function, and gives the windows side of things a way to organize non metro apps in a way that went away with the start menu...

hellcatm
on Dec 21, 2012

This is an interesting idea. Let me expand on it. How about if you have multiple monitors you can say have your game workspace open on one and work on the other so you can have your email open while you game. Also this would be cool because for internet browsing you can have your gaming sites up on one Window and news on the other. Taking it a step further all the workspaces can be sandboxed so if you get malware on one you can just restore the workspace to get rid of the malware.

mp
on Dec 21, 2012

Isn't this called Hyper-V?

WRowland
on Dec 23, 2012

I think the sandboxing is a great idea. Originally I was just thinking this would be insanely easy to implement as it's really no different from how they do multi-user setups now with each having their own desktop except that one user could have multiple. Sandboxing and having multiple up at the same time is a cool idea.

I just like the idea of compartmentalizing work tasks into logical units. The way multitasking is set up now where you can slide out applications like sifting through tiles. It makes the desktop feel like just one more tile or app. That said, once users have that concept in mind, multiple desktops is no longer a confusing idea. The desktop concept just becomes one more "windows 8 app"...

AlexKven
on Dec 21, 2012

Because it's really just THAT hard to click the desktop tile.
Actually, I don't turn it off that often, but I put it in sleep mode. When I wake it from sleep mode, it goes into the previous state, which might be desktop. But I want it to go to the start screen all the time.

I'm beginning to wonder how long it will take for people to realize the true value of the start screen.

edenmachine
on Dec 21, 2012

What a completely minor issue to complain about. First off, who turns off their computer these days?? Secondly, it takes two seconds to click on the desktop icon once a morning if you actually do turn your computer off. And Thirdly, if you are real producer that cares about such things, you have two monitors so your desktop is ALWAYS visible. There are plenty of other worthy feature requests that should have made your "Part 2" article on this subject (I agreed with your "Part 1" article).

hellcatm
on Dec 21, 2012

Paul I agree. I think this can also be done at the login screen. You can have a button or pull down menu that says "go to desktop or go to Tiled interface" and when clicked you will either always boot into the desktop or Tiled interface. The option is always there for you to switch if you want.

spaul41
on Dec 21, 2012

Have it start up in normal desktop mode with a link to put it in Metro mode if you're wanting to surf or play.

glarson7
on Dec 21, 2012

Learn the new system. Don't make hacks to the OS for those afraid of change. The start screen is easy to learn and SOOO much better than the old start menu. Stay in this century. Do not boot into 1995.

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