Not opposed to change, but progress needs to be forward
First, I am not opposed to change. Been a Windows guy since Windows Dos Executive! (v1). Every version has been a welcome change over the last, except for ME and Vista, and now probably 7. I have ran every version, I have to at least have one machine loaded with the current OS, whether I like it or not for testing and client support. I also have been through all the MAC stuff, and have a very nice G5 foot stool!
I have read most of the posts here, and don't want to beat a dead horse, but I really hate the new menu also. It works great for my Mom, but is horrible for me. While I would be happy to just use the Classic Menu, my real beef is why didn't MS make it MORE customizable? It seems like it is just a matter of "here is what we like, you should too". I do a lot of UI work, and it is always function over form. A search is usually a sign that the UI has failed in my opinion. "We can't figure out a logical way to organize it, so put on a search". I have been through all the Beta stuff before, but now wait till the RC stage, so I just recently jumped in with a new i7 workstation.
So I do have a couple questions:
-First are there any tutorials that explain what the Start Menu is really capable of? Maybe I am missing something?
-Is there a way to make the left side of the Start Menu default to "Show All Programs"? Removing the Search is probably too much to ask for.
-Is there a way to make the shortcuts in the Start Menu sort in a custom order?? In XP you can drag and drop the order, doesn't seem to work in 7. Alphabetical doesn't work for me.
-Is there a way to move a group of shortcuts from the Start Menu over to the Right and replace one of the Fluff buttons like Pictures??
I do UI development, design work, and a touch of IT support. I don't have a porn collection for Pictures, an MP3 library for Music, or a Divx library for Movies. I do have Terrabytes of Data, Audio, Video and Graphics files that are organized by client and project on a file server. I also have a separate media server for my music collection. None reside on my Workstation. There is also a separate server for personal projects and files. I need to keep biz and personal separete, I do this with mapped drives. I also have 50-60 various applications I use routinely and have developed a method to carefully organize everything to make it quick and easy to find on the Classic menu system. The fly out menus worked great, because it was a simple way to visually isolate the items in that particular group of programs, and is quick and easy to access with the keyboard. I hate the idea of typing an application name.
Thank you.