Windows 10 brings the Start menu back, but if you still hate it, try this app

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One of the big banner features of Microsoft Windows 10 is its revamped Start menu, bringing it back to the forefront after Windows 8 cruelly cast it aside.

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The Windows 10 Start menu is designed to be useful on both desktops and tablets, combining a more traditional app list with big, easy-to-push application shortcut buttons.

But not everybody loves it. Just in case you want your Windows 10 Start menu to look a little bit more like the one from Windows 7, there's a new app called Start10, from developer Stardock.

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Check out this diagram to see the difference. On the left is the default Windows 10 Start menu, and on the right is the Start10 menu:

windows 10 vs. start10

Stardock

Windows 10 vs. Start10

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It eliminates Microsoft's vaunted "Live Tiles," where apps present you with information straight from the menu.

It's supposed to make it simple to get around the operating system. And to take it a step further than even what Windows 7 let you do, Start10 has advanced configuration options that let you put exactly what you want on your menu.

Start10 reflects Stardock's belief for where it thought the Windows 10 Start menu would go, says CEO Brad Wardell.

"I thought they would be a little more minimalistic," says Wardell.

Still, Wardell says, at least it includes the Start menu at all. Stardock's business is in making tools that improve Windows, and saw Windows 8 as a big step backwards. Its Start8 software was designed to bring Windows 8 more in line with Windows 7, too.

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Windows 10 may not be perfect in Wardell's eyes, esepcially not in regards to the Start menu, but he says he likes it a lot and that it's a step forward for Microsoft.

"If you use Windows 8, Windows 10 is a no-brainer," Wardell says.

Start10 is a $4.99 download with a 30-day free trial.

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