Using Classic Shell on one of my laptops, and Start8 on the other. Both is working great...but I'm sure Start8 will not be free after the beta. If so, Classic Shell will be the winner.
While I'm all for open source I think Start8 is a lot more polished. The start menu in the latest beta looks much better than anything I've seen from any other solution and it also makes editing the menu very simple. IMO $4.99 isn't a bad price until it has some real competition. EDIT: And it's not that I don't like classic shell, but if you compare the two you see that classic shell isn't pixel perfect and it's icon set (from what I've seen) often looks like it was pulled from Windows XP. That's why I say Start8 looks a lot more polished.
I must also admit, somewhat grudgingly, that Stardock is doing an excellent job on this. This is what I imagined the start menu to look like in Windows 8. It seems to be worth the price but it angers me that Microsoft's customers must pay for a "feature" that was present in previous versions of Windows for free. Stardock is a business satisfying a high demand so it is understandable that they would charge for this very functional piece of software. It is unforgivable, on the other hand, that Microsoft's idiocy necessitated such a demand in the first place.
Notice I said "isn't a bad price until it has some real competition" If someone can come up with a free solution that looks as professionally made and offers the same settings then Start8 would have to go free or they'd scrap it and advertise the more expensive object dock. Windows 7 is still my main OS as it does everything I need, but if I were to use Windows 8 then Start8 would be a must for me. @ geneticplasma Because by only adding a start menu everything Modern UI (metro) still works.
I got Windows 8 Pro for free and would have to pay $5 for the Start button but I'm just testing it out and would probably get rid of it before the 30-day trial expires. Classic Shell definitely lacks this polish but it's free so no one can really complain.
Come on guys really? It's 5 bucks, cheaper than a gallon of gas in some parts of the world. You pay for that right? Why not pay for something you will probably use every single day you use your PC. 5 bucks is nothing, I honestly thought they were going to ask at least 10 for it, I already bought my copy before even trying the trial because I was that confident it was exactly what I wanted, and it is. This functions exactly like windows 7, where classic shell feels like a half assed replacement for something much better.
I just got it for $3.99 using this 20% off coupon - WK4-MYLR-QLXP-BOOW, supposedly only valid for 2 days, today is probably the last day it can be used
Speaking of Start8,does anyone know if the beta app is time-bombed,because .. well,I downloaded it from their site before the whole 4.99$ shenanigan began (Not that I wouldn't buy it at double the price.. This app is probably the main reason why my transition to 8 was so.. painless)
It "may" - but it doesn't! Interessting...do you also know, how M$ will do that? M$ will block that "workaround", as they (try to) block activating unofficial windows-copys. Sorry, don't understand you. What does Start8, what that workaround not does?
Start8 allows you to keep the Modern UI (metro) and all of it's applications working, but by patching explorer you can no longer use any of that stuff and you also break things such as toast notifications and may also have more UAC prompts. Why replace the whole shell when you can add only whats needed and have everything still working exactly as it's intended? And with myself being a developer I don't want to totally remove "metro" because that's the environment you're now expected to develop for.
I agree, I both use the Start button, and the Metro interface. It's not so bad. Not often I use the Start button anymore, but I like to have it, and I like to work on the desktop, not on the Metro Start screen. So both Classic Shell and Start8 do the work. I have to admit that Start8 has been improved allot with the two last beta versions, so I have paid for it, so I can use it on my two laptops.