Ok, I've made the suggestion for a clickable image to start PAM before.
But I have a new argument so I thought I would post it.
A came across a different launcher from PC Magazine called Start Eaze.
Really did not like the launcher, but I LOVED what they did with the clickable image to start the launcher.
On the subject of ease of use for beginners, where is the most "natural" place to click to launch programs?
The start button right..
Well StartEaze floats there clickable image which is the same size as a system tray icon directly over the windows logo on the start button, the most logical place ever to put it.
Users also have the option to use their own image and select where they want the image to float, but the default location is just so logical I would change it anyway.
So anyway, that is my new "argument", simplicity and logical ease of use.
It just makes sense.
[Moved to PortableApps Menu platform by moderator JTH.]
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That would be pretty unexpected for most people. And it would make it impossible to use the Start button while it's running. It's a secondary menu, so it shouldn't be taking over primary status. Couple that with the fact that some machines have the start bar up top and there is no totally reliable way to determine it's up there.
It would simply confuse the heck out of most users to lose their start menu. Keep in mind that most people use PAM in addition to the apps on a local PC while at home, work or school.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I found the location much more "intuitive" then the system tray.
I still forget to go to the sys tray to launch PAM when I want to launch apps and still look to the start button for half a second before I "remember" to go to the sys tray. I "took" to the location of this instantly. Unfortunately the launcher itself is totally NOT intuitive.
It actually doesn't interfere with the start menu at all. I think most people click on the word "start" which is still completely accessible.
The image is only the size of a sys tray icon and only covers the windows logo, the rest of the start button is still visible and accessible.
Anyway it is just a suggestion as an option. I really did find it to be much more "intuitive" than the sys tray.
You could download StartEaze from PC Mag utils and try it out to get a real "feel" for what I mean.
For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)
And it didn't work right for me with the whole start button thing. Of course, I use a custom Windows theme and that may have messed with it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
The image is only the size of a sys tray icon and only covers the windows logo, the rest of the start button is still visible and accessible.
What about Vista? Vista's Start button is a glass ball with a Windows logo on it. No label to speak of.
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"You missed the bigger picture, Bruce. You always have."
- Robert Spellbinder, Spectacles: Bruce's Story
Royale and mods, which is what John (and I) use.
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I thought Royale had a full-size Start button?
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"You missed the bigger picture, Bruce. You always have."
- Robert Spellbinder, Spectacles: Bruce's Story
I use RoyalFour with it set to RoyalBlu (compact) so that the start button is just the Windows logo.
I'm fairly sure that John does the same.
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I never really liked compact themes, since they hide the text on the right half of the Start menu. I rely on the text moreso than the icons, so removing it slows me down. Besides, the Start menu already fits comfortably on an 800x600 display; how much smaller do you want it to be?
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maggie n. The fattest thing known to man, a gigantic woman whose name is rendered invariably in lowercase. Eats everything that isn't nailed down and even some things that are.
I regularly have 10 different programs open. The more space on my taskbar used, the less programs I can fit.
I don't mind having the text not on there, I rarely use those and I can easily recognise the icons.
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I think someone mentioned that some computers have access to the systray locked, so the floating desktop button would be handy for those. I've never personally encountered it but I could see where it would be a problem.
Personally the U3 desktop button on my cruzer micro annoyed the crap outta me, but I think it was due more to the fact that it wasn't customizable or optional.
If it was a user-selectable option, movable, and skinnable I wouldn't mind it being in PAM at all.
This may interest you.
In order to double the PortableApps Menu as a start menu, first go and download Portable Dev's version of the PortableApps Menu, which I believe you already have, it allows instant theme changes, and moving of the menu.
Next, go and download JHdD's theme pack, which has all the standard Windows XP themes.
If you wish, you can also go and get agent 9000's Vista theme, which is a very nice vista style theme.
Once done, with Portable Dev's version of the PortableApps Menu, read the readme on theming, and put all those theme in their specific folders, calling each one the Windows Theme name -Olive Green, XP Standard, or whatever you prefer. Then, with the ability to move Portable Dev's PAM version, you can move in and align in right on above the taskbar like the Windows Start Menu would be. (Or it maybe on the side of the screen, top, etc). So with that, you can just go in the PAM->Options->Themes->Name of Theme, and it will look more like the Windows Start Menu. Hope you found this useful cause it's good for any computer you're on by just quicly moving it there, changing the theme to the system standard, and faking out the start menu. To open it, just click on the icon in the system tray from Portable Dev's version of the PAM.
I know I made that really simple, but I didn't mean to make you sound like an idiot lol, it's the next best thing to using your PAM for the Windows Start Menu until something better comes out. Which may not.
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Thanks for the info. Not really what I was looking for though.
I don't want to "replace" the windows menu, I want to use pam in addition to the windows menu, no "faking out" needed. Also clicking in the system tray icon then having to move the mouse clear across the screen to the menu would be annoying.
Being able to put an image either directly above the start menu, or over the windows logo is exactly what I was looking for so both the windows menu and the pam menu were in the same place on the screen.
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For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)
I know it's not what you're looking for, but it's close, and it's a handy idea, so i posted a package in the beta forums.
Edit
I just thought, no worries about the mouse moving distance, the menu has a shortcut key, Shift+Win.
It's your own Ctrl+Esc.
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I felt so different without a signature.
I thought he meant it was directly above, as in over, as in not on top of, but above like it's standing on it... that would make sense too. It would be covered when you opened the start menu.
The only problem would be that it wouldn't be visible when you had any windows open and covering the whole screen. You could also have a sys tray icon...
Just my thoughts.