No and No.

Right now, Windows 8 treats the desktop a lot like how Windows treated DOS. It's a box you can go back to. But you're "supposed" to live in Metro. The desktop is designed for legacy apps.

The problem is, Metro doesn't make a lot of sense for desktop use in its current incarnation where everything MUST BE FULL SCREEN NO MATTER HOW TRIVIAL. With Metro, it's not Windows. It's Window.

(incidentally, I don't have a problem with Metro as a tablet OS, but as a desktop OS? insane).

Great to see some alternatives being developed.

I'd give it two thumbs up, were it not that one of them was digested by my tractor a couple years ago.  

That looks good! But I will stay with my win 7 as long as possible Windows 8 is more for consuming...

But wouldn't it be cooler to have a complete selfmade start menu that is customizeable? So you just have a quick icon, that opens a menu. And for having it open real quick just let it run in the background (may access the options through an icon in the system bar), while clicking the icon once in the quick bar, just brings the software/menu to the foreground. Just my two cents

I think, there will be some need for this. Great !

How bloody awful!  If this Metro abomination is the default and the traditional desktop is just a goto for legacy apps, then I will bypass Win 8 entirely... and if Win 9, 10, 11 follows suit, then I will remain with Win 7 until it's no longer possible.

To abandon the traditional desktop is sheer madness and could well see MS' predominance in the software market decline dramatically.  Apple must be licking its lips with glee over this MS lunacy

I see a (possible) dark future for "old" windowslike os´s.....

As some of you know my daytime Job is as a Janitor at a school here in Sweden and I see these kids growing up as we speak...literally.

-They wake up, grabs their Cell/Mobile and hits Facebook or check their mail and from there on they´re more or less hooked up all day long.

Waiting for the bus I obviously stand there with kids going to school as well and ALL of them are clicking their Phones.... There, on the bus and pretty much all the daytime after that... They probably haven´t got the latest Cells/mobiles, but the userinterface is similar to what metro is... Plain simple stupid easy access no thinking at all OS and that will be what the kids unfortunately will be most accustomed too in the future... It´s like MS are trying to take Android to the Pc´s of the world.

-And they might win this.

Definitely interested in this if MS don't fix this themselves!

I'll skip Windows 8 if they try to force that Metro crap-interface on my pc. I can see how Metro makes sense on a tablet but this is just crazy!

Another thing you can do in W8 to replace the start menu, add a whole bunch of toolbars and scrunch them together, then put your program shortcuts in them. You'll be able to select your internet menu, or games menu and get a list of all the ones you have setup.

So where do I download this?

When I saw a preview of Windows 8 and read some of the reviews about 2 months ago, I went out and bought a computer with Windows 7 as the operating system.  I put it away, for when this computer breaks. Windows 8 is the ugliest thing I have ever seen.  Please keep making the Windows 7 WB available for those of us that don't want Windows 8.  I can not see how you could make blinds for it that were not a step backwards.  I have been using WB since version 3 and it is one of the best applications and I love it.  I would have to completely relearn how to use a computer with Windows 8 and I am at the stage of my life that learning from scratch is not a pleasure.

Darco

This is great news.  While I don't expect to grab Windows 8 (unless it's for a touchscreen device), knowing that somebody is making Windows right for a desktop configuration is a breath of awesome.

The Windows 7 taskbar is the first one I've used since Windows 95....why abandon a good thing?

Excellent. Frankly I can't thank you enough, I have to work on win8 to test office 15 and frankly it's a nightmare for me. I guess I just don't get it or something, because I have this crazy notion that I'm a happy desktop user that has absolutely no interest in touch platforms, like to build my own computer systems that are X10 powerfull in every wayt hat matters to me and while I love some of the under the hood stuff about windows 8, am totally discusted with the decisions and direction they have chosen to go, with respect to desktop users. I'm sure the phone and iPad like touch device type people that don't actually have to spend 12+ hours or more a day doing productivity type work (say developement and testing, for instance) will be reasonably happy, if not thrilled that the UI for Windows 8. I doubt the desktop users will be quite so thrilled.

However, I am happy to say I've been using windows blinds for quite a few years now and a couple years ago was really enjoying playing arround with and using desktopX. I gave up on desktop X as my work hours increased and I found myself needing wipe machines and reisntall the OS/etc for work reasons (not because of desktopX, it had it's issues but worked reasonably well I thought. It was just a bit too much distraction, I think). With this win 8 nightmare UI though, I hopped onto wincustomise hoping to find just such an out for myself so that I could get the goodness that is there for win8 without having some win phone a phobe program managers dream of dreams inflicted upon me, ya know?

I really hope that the dismal Desktop UI that comes with Win8 provides a really awesome opportunity for total shell replacement, heavy augmentation, like DesktopX, plus beautification that really works like Windows blinds, etc to make an absolute killing with windows 8. I think that would reall be a win/win for everyone to be honest. I've never really liked that with very few exceptions, like Desktop X and windows blinds, there was next to zero choice in the shell, ya know?

Sorry to babble so long and loud, but it feels nice to vent and I'm extremely excited to try out Start8 on the latest build of windows 8 I can get my hands on and create a VM for so I can work, develop, and test in it without struggling with the darn UI so much that I end up wanting to hobble from my office (I'm disabled so running wildly isn't gunna happen:)) screaming madly. Frankly I think alot of folks in my team/group, and mmm area here are of that same mind, ya know?

Take care, John.