by Microsoft recently released the release-preview of Windows 8, and I must admit, it is simply awesome (although many might disagree!). While a lot of new features have been added, some old stuff has been removed, including the legendary ‘Start’ button. The Start button has been there since the release of Windows 95 in 1995, and naturally we have all become accustomed to it. For those users of Windows 8 (beta) who are really missing its presence on the button left corner of their screens, there’s no need to panic, as there are a couple of ways to get it back.
For a new add-on start buttons available now, the best one (and the most realistic) is ViStart. Head over to <tinyurl.com/Win8button>, click the download button, and install the program. Be warned, it is bundled with extra useless software, so press ‘Decline’ when it asks to install the extra stuff. Once the installation is complete, you’ll see the Start orb on your taskbar, which pretty much mimics the way the real Start orb works. Other than this, you can try the one from Stardock which gives you a metro-styled start menu that matches with the Windows 8 look and feel!
It is worth mentioning that these add-on Start buttons might not perform as the real Start orb does in Windows 7, but they’re probably enough to fill the gap. If you’re not satisfied with that one, don’t worry; you can create your own start button (tinyurl.com/ownStart). We still don’t know if Microsoft will decide to bring back the Start orb in the final release of Windows 8 (keeping in view the feedback of the users), but these methods are applicable as long as you’re using one of the beta builds.
