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Filed under: Utilities, Microsoft

Hate the new Windows 'start menu'? Get the classic XP menu back with this little app!

By now a lot of you will have experienced the 'All-in-One Omnipotent Start Menu' thing that was first introduced with Windows Vista and can now be found in Windows 7. It combines My Computer, My Documents and your installed programs into one big, gribbly menu.

Some people love it. Some hate it. Personally, I like the all-in-one search/run input box... but that's about it. I much prefer the old drop-out menu, even if it is a bit stupid when you've got 500 programs installed. I still use icons on my desktop, rather than getting at everything through my Start Menu.

There have been a few tools that replicate the old Start Menu, but this one(aptly called 'Classic Windows Start Menu'), unlike the others, also works with the Windows Aero theme. Sadly, as you can see in the screenshot below, there still seem to be some bugs with the display (ironically, probably when you have a lot of stuff installed), but otherwise it all seems to work as intended!


So if, for some reason (and I'm sure there are lots of possible reasons) you don't like the Vista/7 Start Menu, why not grab this tiny little app?

Direct download link
/ developer's site (it ain't pretty, but you can find other-language versions there, if you don't want it in English)

[via Into Windows]

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Shareware, Freeware

Bring order to the XP, Vista start menu with Winstep Organize


While manually sorting your start menu using Explorer isn't the most annoying task confronting a Windows user, it's not all that fun, either.

Winstep Start Menu Organizer makes the process much simpler. Install it, fire it up, and you're presented with three panes to help sort things out easily: categories, items in the current category, and uncategorized items. Within about 20 seconds I managed to drag my folders into Winstep's default categories and streamline my previously chaotic menu.

Also included is a handy start menu backup and restore feature, which makes rolling back to your intial Windows default setup a painless procedure.

The free version does have some serious limitations: you can't create your own categories or subcategories, which could be a major inconvenience for some users. Still, the included default catgories are general enough to help just about anyone compact and bring order to their start menu quickly and easily.

[ via Life Rocks 2.0 ]

Do you already have a preferred app to tackle this task? Share it with other DS readers in the comments!

Filed under: OS Updates, Features, Windows, Microsoft, DLS Podcast

Switching to Vista: Download Squad Switcher Podcast #3

VistaMicrosoft threw a curve ball to PC users who have spent the last five years getting to know the ins and outs of Windows XP. Windows Vista promised enhanced security, new and improved graphics, and a redesigned start menu and file explorer.

But Vista also suffers from backward compatibility problems and some design changes that seem to value flash over function.

Is it worth upgrading your computer, or are you better off waiting for Service Pack 1, or Vienna, the next version of Windows due out in 2009?

Read more →

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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