Gary Marshall: Should Microsoft save the Start button?

According to The Verge, Windows is about to lose something precious: the Start Orb, better known as the Start button.

We're already familiar with the new, touch-optimised, orb-free Windows 8 Metro interface, but it looks like the Orb's getting booted from the traditional desktop too.

There's no doubt that many people would like to see the back of it - we've had comments of the "OMG LOL YOU HAVE TO PRESS START TO SHUT DOWN YOUR PC BUY APPLE BUY APPLE BUY APPLE" variety since it was introduced in 1733, and there's no doubt that Metro looks much more modern and friendly than the ageing Windows UI.

But in the whoosh of Microsoft throwing out the bathwater, some people think they can hear the waaah of a baby.

Stopping Starting something

The rumours, I'm sure, are right: Microsoft has been making Windows 8's interface more Metro-y for some time, and killing off the Start button makes sense from that perspective.

The thing is, though, Microsoft isn't killing it: it's hiding it. When you move the mouse to the bottom corner the Orb magically appears again. You'll still be able to access the Orb from the Start key on your keyboard, too.

If we were living in a time of great pixel shortages, where gangs of graphics card manufacturers fought in the streets over packets of stolen pixels, hiding the Start Orb might be a great advantage.

However, we aren't, and as a result all that's really going on is that Microsoft appears to be making the classic Windows desktop a little bit more confusing, choosing to hide a key part of the user interface. Maybe once we get our hands on the Consumer Preview we'll think the new way is fantastic, but right now it looks like a step backwards in user-friendliness for no real benefit.

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According to Windows boss Steven Sinofsky, "people 'in the know' who valued efficiency were moving away from the Start menu, and pinning their frequently used programs to the taskbar so that they could access them instantly in one click."

Program pinning is handy, but you can't pin everything to the taskbar or things start getting silly - and if you're in legacy mode rather than Metro mode, surely you want Windows to work like Windows always has?

Sinofsky says that the old Start menu is bad because it provides access to lots of programs and features people don't use very often, but for some of us that's exactly the point: we *like* having something that provides access to the things we don't use very often.

I'm imagining Sinofsky as a crazed vivisectionist here, cutting up cats and gluing their heads onto horses to make the cats better at showjumping.

Maybe, like cats and horses, Metro and classic Windows are best kept separate. Anyone fancy FrankenWindows?