While Ubuntu runs on my laptop, my desktop system will remain a Windows machine for the foreseeable future.

For a while I had both systems running Ubuntu. As a long time Windows user, this was a pretty big nerd step for me. Booting up everyday for work into Linux instead of Windows took some getting used too. Of course, I still had Windows 7 within quick reach via a virtual machine. That allowed me to jump in and out of Windows when needed - particularly for the use of Adobe Creative Suite.

Yet, as I found out, given my time on the PC is spent mostly within Creative Suite there was not enough justification to deal with the performance hit when working through a VM. Though it was actually very snappy, for graphics design work you need perfection. So before long I was booting into Windows again.

In case you didn't know: Windows 7 has really shitty shortcut management. Gone is the ability to create custom shortcut menus like in the classic Start Bar. Don't get me wrong: it's great to be able to find programs using the built-in search feature in the new Start Bar. But for some of us hardcore nerds - we like to see our own customized summary of icons.

And no, the convoluted mess of the "All Programs" list doesn't cut it. We want something more relevant, more specific, and more efficient.

After trying every utility out there, from start bar replacements to circle docks, I discovered a real winner.

I present to you ObjectDock v2.0: a really cool shortcut dock program for Windows. Frankly, it's the best. I couldn't have designed it better myself. And certainly Microsoft couldn't have: because if they did - it would be included with Windows.

Microsoft has killed the Classic Start Bar in the new Windows 7.
Its gone and it doesn't seem to be coming back, much to the disarray of Classic Start Bar lovers worldwide. Yet there is hope...

The Case for a Classic Start Menu

Its a common assumption that people who want the Classic Start menu back in Windows 7 are just refusing to embrace the "new superior start menu". Or that we are Windows 98 fanboys or something. This is plain wrong. For Nerds like me, the real reason we want the Classic Start Menu back is this: efficiency. Specifically pertaining to the use of expanding custom folder trees for organizing program shortcuts. Sure, the new Windows 7 Start Menu is good - but they omitted the ability to add custom shortcut menus.