Samsung S Launcher for Windows 8
On all Windows 8 machines, Samsung will include the S Launcher, which replicates many of the abilities of the old Windows Start menu (a casualty of Windows 8). Users can expect the same one-click system searches and instant results.
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Windows 8 changes a lot of things about how the operating system works, but one of the features Windows traditionalists will find jarring is the lack of a Start button. Although the button's functions are still present in various places, users may miss its easy click-and-start-typing familiarity. Well, Samsung's bringing it back.
The all-in-one PCs Samsung unveiled this morning are the first Windows machines to sport the S Launcher, a simple widget that acts just like the old start button: Click, start typing (say "keyboard") and it instantly shows you the settings and apps that relate to your term. There's also a separate settings icon for quick access to the most commonly needed controls.
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Sure, Windows 8 has native ways to search your system and call up settings, but as others have observed it's not always in the most intuitive places. To anyone who's been using Windows for a long time (read: the whole world), Samsung's S Launcher is like seeing an old friend in a new country -- it's very reassuring.
And of course, the S Launcher is also a launcher. Simply drag apps or files to it for easy access, tossing them off when you don't want them anymore. Nothing groundbreaking in that, but it doesn't hurt, either, and the icons are bigger than in the Windows taskbar.
The settings icon is helpful, too. Windows 8 moves your computer settings to different places, and Samsung's custom settings saves you the trouble of finding out where. It gathers many everyday controls -- including user accounts, power management, display settings and sound -- into one spot on the desktop.
How do you like Samsung's take on the Start Menu? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable here.