Pokki grabs half a million downloads

Pokki's 500,000 downloads show that many Windows 8 users still want the good old-fashioned Start menu.

 

 

Pokki's Start menu for Windows 8.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Microsoft kicked out the Start menu for Windows 8, but at least one app is proving that a lot of users still crave it.
   One of many Start menu replacements on the market, Pokki for Windows 8 registered 500,000 downloads in the six weeks since Windows 8 officially debuted, according to a company blog.
Further, Stardock's Start8 program has sold thousands of copies, say the folks at Pokki. And in about 30 days, 30 different Start menu replacements have popped up.
"All of which is early proof of our original hypothesis that people need, want, and use the Start menu more than ever," Pokki said in its blog.
   Julie Larson-Green, the new head of Windows product development, recently said that it can take about six weeks for Windows 8 users to start using "the new things more than the things you're familiar with."
But in the two months since Windows 8 debuted, Start menu replacements have risen in number.
In June, a Microsoft program manager said that the company removed the Start menu based on "telemetry" obtained by its Customer Experience Improvement Program. This data reportedly indicated that users were relying more on the Windows taskbar to launch their favorite programs and less on the Start menu.
So Microsoft felt it was time to give the heave-ho to the old-fashioned menu and replace it with something more powerful.
   And yes, the Windows 8 Start screen is more powerful in many ways. It can display Live Tiles with the latest information. It lets you search for and launch applications and settings just by typing their names.

But like much of Windows 8, the Start screen feels more at home on a touch-screen tablet than on a PC.
And I still feel that when you're already in the Windows desktop, using a traditional Start menu to access desktop applications is the most efficient way to work -- at least it is for me.
Given the popularity of Start menu replacements, it seems many other Windows 8 users feel the same way.

Microsoft hands Windows 8 Pro to pirates by mistake

      For what is presumably a limited period, it's possible to just download Windows 8 keys directly from Microsoft -- keys that activate the Pro version of Microsoft's brand new OS.

    You want a copy of Windows 8 Pro? Go ahead and download it -- Microsoft is giving the keys away for free.
    According to VentureBeat, an interesting exploit on Microsoft's download page allows users to pick up a free copy of Windows 8 Pro -- directly from the website, and at no cost.
If you attempt to download the free Microsoft Windows Media Center upgrade, which is being offered until January 31, a strange side effect takes hold. Windows 8 Pro will be permanently activated.

    The Windows 8 Media Center upgrade apparently offers a handy workaround for pirates seeking Windows 9 Pro.

(Credit:  CNET)

    For the pirates among us, this would provide a handy workaround for the tech giant's Key Management Service (KMS). Built for enterprise users, the KMS is intended to make deployment of Windows 8 through a KMS host and KMS client, making Windows 8 fully usable for 180 days before activation. In other words, instead of being required to input an activation key or reach Microsoft authentication channels on each individual computer, businesses can activate Windows copies on a local network and make the transition step-by-step.
   Within the enterprise, making Windows deployment processes easier can only be a good thing. However, this does mean that by setting up pirate KMS servers, keys can be traded across the Internet for free.
One feather in Microsoft's cap, however, is that Windows has to be reactivated every 180 days using this method. Volume keys are no longer in use, and so each individual PC needs a unique key. Thus, "legitimate" activation cannot be achieved through multiple users activating through the same key.

    As a result, pirates have had to come up with more complex methods, possible through the KMS system, but more time-consuming than simply downloading a Windows Media Center upgrade.

Once you've reached the desktop within the Windows 8 Pro installation and after applying a KMS key, using the new Windows Media Center upgrade key -- obtained for free by Microsoft's Web site -- does not result in a validity check. Therefore, any version of Windows 8 Pro, whether obtained through a pirate KMS network or not, will become fully active and "legitimate."
Stephen Hall at Windows Wave originally reported the exploit and was able to confirm that it works, at least for now.
Reddit user noveleven explained on a discussion thread why the method, in theory, works:

When you activate Windows via KMS, in the activation window it says "Windows is activated until..." and a date (so if you were to install it today, it would say it's activated until May). After installing the upgrade, the window just says "Windows was activated on..." and the date of activation. That means the activation is permanent. When you install the upgrade key, that replaces the existing product key; only the new upgrade key is used for future checks. Windows won't check the key you used to install because it no longer has it.