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Keep Programs Close at Hand with Vista Start Menu
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 2:00 AM on February 19, 2008
Windows only: Vista Start Menu offers an expanded, feature-rich Start menu for Windows 2000/XP or Vista, one in which program menus, power-off options, and a number of control panel items are available right from the first click, instead of requiring menu mouse-overs to unfold. Vista Start Menu runs as a system tray app and doesn't touch a thing on your system—shut it down, and you're back to your plain vanilla Start layout. It used a little over 7 MB of memory on my Vista Home Professional setup, which might be a steep price for the convenience for some, but for those who can't get down with an alternative program-finder like Launchy, it definitely saves a little time. Vista Start Menu (basic) is a free download for Windows 2000/XP and Vista only.
Tags: featured windows download | start menu | top | windows | windows vista
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
the_Sleepwalker
Posted 3:46 AM 19/2/08
I'm not sure why people aren't trying to develop XP theming runtimes that mimic the new Windows Mobile design. Talk about slick! The designers for Vienna or Windows 7 or whatever should just do that instead...
Check it out: Via
the_Sleepwalker
trstn
Posted 3:46 AM 19/2/08
I've barely used my start menu since I installed a combination of Rocketdock and Launchy. I use Rocketdock more often, keep meaning to look at the QT stuff but never get there.
trstn
The How-To Geek
Posted 3:46 AM 19/2/08
Launchy never takes more than about 5MB of RAM on my system... but I keep hearing people say it's gone out of control on their systems.
To keep Launchy memory usage down, it's best to only index certain folders... don't index the entire program files directory, for instance.
I index the quick launch and start menu, and then I have a custom folder of shortcuts to index as well. So far I've had no issues.
The How-To Geek
evangelistc01
Posted 3:46 AM 19/2/08
I'll have to make a pass on this start menu. To be honest, the default start menus are fine. If I launch a program, I usually use DashCommand on my admin account or the very useful Quick Launch on my limited.
evangelistc01
LethAL
Posted 3:46 AM 19/2/08
Steep usage? I've only seen Launchy take between 18-36MB of RAM, and I bet the QT version is worse. I prefer keybreeze or Find and Run Robot for such things, as their ram usages are between 1-10MB (although FARR does go over, sometimes).
LethAL
DogHead
Posted 4:46 AM 19/2/08
@gpzbc: Have you tried the Kk menu plugin with RocketDock? I'd agree that RD is mostly eyecandy, but adding that feature with dynamic folder trees and manually-set menus drastically increases the usefulness, especially if you have a ton of programs geared toward the same basic tasks (like making a popup list for CS3 apps).
It *is* a bit choppy on Vista though. Never had it crash, but then again, we only kept Vista on the new computers for a week before "upgrading" to XP.
DogHead
gpzbc
Posted 4:46 AM 19/2/08
Does this have the index capability that Vista has?
I can't get into Rocketdock. It looks cool, but once the eyecandy appeal wears off (usually in a few days) I find myself wondering why I installed it. Launchy does everything better and more conveniently than it can.
Plus I am still suspect that Rocketdock doesn't always play nice with Vista.
gpzbc
Joshiii-Kun
Posted 4:46 AM 19/2/08
Hrm... I've tried this menu before, but in my opinion it looks very cluttered, not very professional and I found it to work very sluggish. I really do prefer the Rocketdock + Launchy combo.
Joshiii-Kun
jtimberman
Posted 5:46 AM 19/2/08
I've never really seen the appeal of replacing the start menu with some other program on Windows. evangelistc01's point that the defaults are fine is spot on, especially when one uses multiple different computers, and sometimes has to support end users.
I actually like Vista's start menu. The all programs list is much improved over XP, which didn't bother me. I "pin" all the applications that I use more than twice a week.
jtimberman
Temoto
Posted 6:51 AM 19/2/08
I just downloaded this last week and I definitely love it. I was using ViStart for a while.. but this does what ViStart does and more.
Temoto
Dom
Posted 9:18 AM 19/2/08
For Windows Desktop Search related stuff, Vista's actual Start bar does fine.
Dom
dekay46
Posted 9:57 AM 19/2/08
I <3 Dash. It may take more ram than this program, but it launches programs and so much more.
dekay46
trunk8
Posted 10:43 AM 19/2/08
I tried this program a month or so ago, it wasn't for me. One thing that I really like about Vista's start menu is how it keeps everything compact in a single-column start menu (which scrolls to accommodate extra content). This program makes the start menu 3-4 columns wide and takes up a good portion of the screen. It just looks bloated, I really don't need to see every program in my start menu when I click start.
When I uninstalled, it brought me to the developer's site and asked me why. I gave him this very same feedback, it's a good program but it just doesn't fit my needs.
trunk8
gpzbc
Posted 12:08 PM 19/2/08
@DogHead: I'll have to check it out. Thanks
gpzbc
salmonmoose
Posted 3:52 PM 19/2/08
I'm a Dash Command convert and sponsor. It's the little things, like tying into the windows scripting engine that make it cool
salmonmoose
Mike.leger
Posted 2:58 AM 21/2/08
i have tried this since this was posted and i was horrified. it was extremly slow to respond, and i felt that it was over all lacking. and it was just ugly looking imo.
2/5
Mike.leger