It’s been clear for quite a while now that one of the biggest impediments to rapid adoption of Windows 8 is its forcing use of the new Modern UI on people uninterested in embracing change. The Windows Desktop as we know it is still largely intact, of course, but without the familiar Start Menu users will have to get acquainted with at least the fundamentals of the new interface whether than want to or not.
Naturally there have already been a number of workarounds developed. Things like the fairly popular Start 8 from Stardock are freely available and do a fair job of replicating the Windows 7 experience. This is probably going to be a problem down the line, however. Microsoft is quite invested in their new aesthetic and can be expected to regularly break such alternatives.
Samsung seems to realize that, but wants to help users familiarize accept the new operating system anyway. As such they are including software called “S Launcher” on their new Series 7 and Series 5 all in one desktops running Windows 8. The S Launcher is a fair middle-ground that will make it easier for particularly disinterested users to avoid learning their way around the Modern UI for a while.
This is not precisely the same thing as software solutions like Start 8. While the S Launcher does look much like the Start Menu from previous Windows iterations, it is not quite going so far as to create an identical experience. This may be what allows Samsung to build this in as a selling point with some degree of certainty that Microsoft won’t randomly break it in an update.
The appearance, as shown, will be familiar to just about everybody. The launcher itself does not seem to populate itself, however. A user will have to choose which of their programs, files, folders, etc. are included in the listing. Dragging things on and off should be a simple matter for users of any experience level, so hopefully that will not prove too much of an impediment.
More importantly, for those who have seemed rather easily confused by the Modern UI, the S Launcher provides quick access to things like the Shut Down button, the Run prompt, and the Control Panel. It even allows access to many of the more commonly used system settings from the Desktop.
While it is unlikely that this will be a long-term selling point, Samsung has hit on something that will probably help them sell computers in the short term. In many ways this sort of interface enhancement seems to complicate tasks even more than Windows 8’s new UI, but the familiarity will be enough to offset that in many cases.
Samsung’s S Launcher might not be doing anything new or innovative, but it does give the outspoken protesters against the Modern UI something to work with. Chances are good that they won’t be the last OEM to make a similar decision. Nothing forces users to keep around the pre-installed programs like this, so there’s no real harm in quietly including them to ease the transition, from the OEM standpoint.
