Pokki Brings The Start Menu Back To Windows 8

By Author: Alexandra Chang
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Open up the Windows 8 desktop mode and you'll notice a major change: The Start menu is gone. Without the familiar button at the lower left corner, many veteran Windows desktop users are lost in Windows 8. SweetLabs wants to make the transition smoother for them by bringing the Start menu to the Windows 8 desktop with its Pokki software.
In addition to resurrecting the Start menu, Pokki for Windows 8 offers a more modern menu experience. Dubbed the "Pokki Menu," it lets users browse through and find their apps and files, access the control panel, search the web and computer, shut down the device, and more. While these all sound like simple tasks that should be easy for users to find in Windows 8, the SweetLabs team found otherwise.
"Most of the normal Windows users who have used Windows 8 for the first time struggle," SweetLabs co-founder and CMO Chester Ng told Wired. "We think there's a need to provide a bridge - a bridge between this old world of desktops to this new bold, beautiful, innovative world."
The Pokki Menu also allows users to customize their Windows 8 experience ...
... in ways that the operating system won't on its own. For example, users can choose to automatically boot to desktop or even completely disable the tile-based Start Screen, though this does defeat the purpose of upgrading to the OS. (Microsoft promises that Windows 8 performs better than Windows 7, even in desktop mode, but the main differentiator is the Start Screen.)
Pokki is mainly known for offering a modern way to discover and download desktop apps on Windows PCs. The software came out of beta at the end of August and already has 2 million monthly active users. Pokki for Windows 8 will maintain the Pokki app store, which includes apps like Facebook, Angry Birds, Gmail and Instagrille (for Instagram). With the Pokki Menu, users will be able to add apps to a Favorites section, access a notification center, and get app recommendations. And Pokki won't limit itself to its own apps - the Pokki Menu will also let you access your Windows Store apps and desktop software.
"We just don't know if Windows 8 is going to work - on touch, let alone on non-touch devices," Ng said. "What we did agree with Microsoft is that the Windows 7 Start menu is outdated. We made a Start button for today."
Pokki for Windows 8 beta is available to download for free from the Pokki website .