How to get the Start Button back in Windows 8

OK, so now that Windows 8 has gotten pretty stable, the only thing which annoys pretty much everyone is the fact that it takes SO much longer to do everything without a Start button. Having worked in several Ergonomics labs, including at NASA and IBM’s Santa Teresa Lab, I know for a fact Windows 8 violates all the basic tenets of “sound ergonomic design”. Why? The psychology of it has to do with our ability recall vs. recognize. For example, to use Windows 8’s search function to access the Control Panel, you have to remember “Control panel." With a start button, you click the button and see "Control Panel” as one of your choices. That means that there are significantly less errors and less inputs to find it.  Now, how do we add it back when Microsoft says it is impossible? The easy way, using a feature called “Classic Shell,” a freeware program which adds the start button back in Windows 8./8.1.

To get this, go to www.classicshell.net then download and install. I would deselect all the check boxes and hit “decline” on the offers. Then voila, you’ve got your start button back!

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