A number of days in the past, I shared my viewpoint concerning how Microsoft hasn’t been capable of persuade me emigrate to Home windows 11 as my sole every day driver, regardless of the OS being obtainable for roughly 4 years. Inside that piece, I highlighted the truth that though the Begin menu has been utterly revamped within the newest model of Home windows, it isn’t one thing that I take advantage of often.

And that received me pondering: is the Begin menu actually a vital piece of my Home windows expertise? I get it, I do know that the Begin menu is an iconic Home windows factor that has existed within the working system for so long as many people can keep in mind. And but, I am unable to actually inform you concerning the final time I truly used the Begin menu.

The rationale for italicizing the phrase “used” above is that whereas the Begin menu could be launched whenever you click on on the Home windows icon within the Taskbar or the Home windows key, I’m not counting that as precise utilization for the aim of this piece. It’s because I do launch the Begin menu a number of instances a day, I truly use it to get to Home windows Search. I do not truly use the checklist of apps, app folders, and lately opened recordsdata. I merely faucet the Home windows key and begin typing the search question for the merchandise that I’m on the lookout for.

For instance, if I wish to open Energy BI, I do not open the Begin menu and discover the pinned app. I simply faucet on the Home windows key and begin typing “Po…” and shortly hit Enter as quickly as the appropriate possibility comes up, which is normally after a few keystrokes. Equally, if I wish to open “Items.xlsx”, I do not open Excel from the Begin menu and even peruse my checklist of lately opened recordsdata, I simply begin typing “Gi…” and press Enter.

I really feel like it is a a lot sooner expertise and also you needn’t depend on muscle reminiscence to seek out the merchandise that you’re on the lookout for. And as your checklist of put in software program grows, it solely turns into extra tedious to maintain monitor of the place you pinned an app or the folder that you simply stored it in. Home windows Search eliminates that drawback utterly.

Moreover, the Begin menu detracts me from no matter else I could also be specializing in in parallel. If I’m utilizing Phrase and now wish to open PowerPoint, I’d in all probability get distracted by the Begin menu as I launch it and attempt to find the PowerPoint icon. As a substitute, I can simply get to PowerPoint inside just a few keystrokes with out even realizing the hassle concerned.

I might additionally like to spotlight that I’m not inherently in opposition to the concept of pinning stuff that you simply use often or lately, however I do suppose that the Taskbar and Desktop view already solves that drawback to some extent. Proper now, my Taskbar accommodates my most used software program, whereas my desktop accommodates different secondary software program and recordsdata. I perceive that folks have their fair proportion of complaints in opposition to Home windows Search, however it works fairly properly for my use-cases.

Because it presently stands, my precise utilization of the Begin menu is nil. And though this fashionable Home windows UX is at all times the topic of debate every time Microsoft makes even a minor change to it, I merely could not care much less. That mentioned, whereas the Begin menu in its conventional use is useless to me, I’m not positive how many individuals actively make the most of this UX. Any proof I’ve is only anecdotal, however I’d be very focused on seeing the telemetry that Microsoft tracks concerning its utilization.

Seeing how often Microsoft makes adjustments to the Begin menu and the following debate that follows, I really feel like I’m within the minority. However I simply cannot think about opening the Begin menu after which counting on muscle reminiscence or a set grid of icons to get to the app I want, after I can do extra with a few keystrokes.