Microsoft Windows XP (Beta 2) Review
Start menu
The Start menu is one of the most changed parts of the new interface. It has been redesigned to provide access to important and frequently used tasks more easily. In addition to prominent Internet and E-mail links, there is now a Frequently-Used Programs list that displays the most frequently used programs (5 by default, but it can be set from 0-9). Important user folders, such as My Documents, My Pictures, My Music and My Computer are also given prominent positions on the new menu. The Start menu is easily customizable by right-clicking the Start button, choosing Properties, clicking the Customize button, then clicking the Advanced tab. A few "adjustments" that seem worth making IMHO (they should have been default): Setting both My Computer and Control Panel to show as a Menu (Figure). This way they will cascade, allowing you easier access to their functions.
Another useful function is the Pin to Start menu function. This lets you put a shortcut to any program on top of the Start menu, where you have quick access to it.
What seems odd in this Beta 2 version is the way you access the Programs menu. It's a link called More Programs at the bottom of the frequently-used programs list, and when pointed to, a more familiar (old style) Windows menu slides into view (Figure).
OK, I'll admit, it could take some time to get used to this new menu, but I think that if you use it for some time, you will see the benefits. If not, you can always revert back to the "classic" Windows Start menu (Figure), by right-clicking the Start button, choosing Properties > Classic Start menu.
The Taskbar also underwent some changes. One new feature is called Taskbar grouping. It consolidates all windows that are open in a particular application into a group. When space on the taskbar runs out, the taskbar buttons form a menu to provide more space and facilitate switching from one window to another. Also, similar windows are always grouped together on the taskbar. For example, if you first open Outlook Express, then an Internet Explorer window, followed by My Computer, and then lastly you open another Internet Explorer window, the two Internet Explorer windows will be arranged after each other, followed by My Computer. Previous Windows versions always used to arrange them in order in which they where opened (Figure).
Also improved are User Notifications (in the "Tray area"), providing more meaningful notifications and reducing clutter on the taskbar. Icons that are not clicked on become hidden. You are informed periodically that icons are inactive, and you can modify this behavior with customization settings, or disable this altogether.
