When ProfileUnity v6.0 is available this month (July 2014) there will be several new features. One small yet very requested feature that will be included is an optional classic Windows 7-like Start Menu for Windows 8.x.SnipImage

That’s right, ProfileUnity is bringing back a real Start Menu for Win 8.x that looks and feels just like the original. If you’ve tried to use Windows 8.x you know first-hand that there is a learning curve involved with the Metro interface and that it can be very difficult to find Windows options without training. Many of our customers have told us that they’d directly benefit from a Windows classic Start Menu in Windows 8.x. The consensus is that it will directly boost user productivity and adoption of the new OS from day one when there is an upgrade or migration.

Many of you may be thinking, “But Microsoft already said they are relenting and bringing back a Start Menu,” while that’s true, as far as everyone in the know can tell, it likely won’t be until Windows 9 (June 2015) and it won’t exactly have the same lightweight and quick look and feel. The Windows 9 Start Menu will likely be animated and may still be a bit unfamiliar to many users.

While many people are coming around to the Metro interface in Windows 8.x, it was really designed for use with touch screens and tablets. The world has not yet fully adopted touch screens and tablets and many early corporate adopters of Windows 8.x have pushed back on the radically different Metro user interface. Animations and graphics are not friendly to every type of Windows environment (may impact performance in RDSH, Citrix, and VDI environments) therefore we foresee that some may still prefer our classic Start Menu even when Windows 9 ships.

If you have chosen ProfileUnity as your User Environment Management solution you can turn back on the classic Start Menu in Windows 8.x by simply selecting a group and saving your configuration. The very next time a Win 8.x user logs on they’ll have their Start Menu back, it’s as easy as that. See screen shot for a quick preview of the classic Start Menu as restored by ProfileUnity v6.0.

What do you think? Use the comments area below to let us know!