The folks over at Stardock have released a near-final build of Start8, which is a cool utility that adds the Start button back to the Windows 8 desktop. Not only that, but Start8 also provides a fully functional post-Windows 7 style Start menu!
So whats new in this near-final build of Start8?
- Windows 7 style Start menu with Windows 8 enhancements (Users can search for Windows 8-style (Metro) apps with it; Users can pin Metro apps to it; Full support for Jump Lists; Unified Search; Automatically matches color to the color of the taskbar)
- Start button is now skinnable
- Users can boot directly to the Windows 8 desktop
- Optionally disable the desktop “hot spots”.
- Fast access to shut down, devices, music, documents, videos
- Supports WindowFX 5.1 startmenu animations (currently in beta)
- The Windows 8 Start screen becomes accessible from the Start menu
- Start menu size fully configurable
- Adds option for WinKey to show fullscreen Metro desktop.
Further reading: Windows 8
