Lenovo First Major PC OEM to Bundle Third-Party Windows 8 Start Menu

btarunr · Aug 23, 2013

It's been a long time coming, sensing market resistance to the Start menu-devoid Windows 8, Lenovo became the first major PC OEM to bundle a third-party Start menu emulation software with its PCs. The company is bundling SweetLabs Pokki custom UI suite, which adds a Start menu to the Windows 8 taskbar, and lets you boot the operating system straight to desktop, pole-vaulting the Start screen. Pokki may come pre-installed, or the bloatware disc might have its installers. Lenovo plans to give away Pokki with most of its ThinkPad, IdeaPad, and IdeaCenter products. As the single largest PC OEM, Lenovo's move to bundle such software could force Microsoft to sit up and take notice of what the market wants.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

Shou Miko · Aug 23, 2013

hmm it looks a little too Lenovo and less useful :laugh:

MT Alex · Aug 23, 2013

Too bad they didn't bundle a Stardock product.

buggalugs · Aug 23, 2013

Its pretty serious when a computer does something like this. Windows 8 is affecting sales because people just don't like it. People want their traditional desktop.

I don't know why Microsoft cant have an option for traditional or modern UI.

remixedcat · Aug 23, 2013

That is so gawdy and too android looking for windows 8.

At least bundle Classic Shell and use the Windows 8 theme for it. This doesn't even look that much like the windows 7 start menu and nearer to XP or KDE.

craigo · Aug 23, 2013

It reminds me alot more of unity than android or K desktop. I do like it though.

Prima.Vera · Aug 23, 2013

buggalugs said:
I don't know why Microsoft cant have an option for traditional or modern UI.

Because Ballmer is just plain idiot, or he is intentionally on a crashing course with Microsoft. He is doing huge "mistakes" one after the other, just like the other idiot who took Apple leadership. The world needs some new great visionaries like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs...

Solidstate89 · Aug 23, 2013

It's glorified ad-ware. Look at all those "apps" it wants you to install. This is the same OEM shitware they always bundle, just in the guise of a Start Menu replacement.

Sasqui · Aug 23, 2013

LOL, I *still* don't see the "Run..." command.

And when are they going to re-instate the windows explorer search options that were in XP, so you don't have to look up help online everytime. :shadedshu

jboydgolfer · Aug 23, 2013

Windows 8 is a TRULY poor release. FanboY's be damned, U know it's true, it is disliked across the MAJORITY of PC users, and takes either a blind follower to like it, or a total yuppie to get it, SIMPLY because it's new.

Wake Me when they bundle it with a Copy of a PROPER follow up to 7.

Octavean · Aug 23, 2013

The first OEM provided / included Start Menu replacement I recall hearing about came from HP and that was a while ago,........

So this is a bit confusing IMO. Who did it first?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c03557078

The Arstechnica artical is claiming some issues with it:

“Start menu” on Lenovo Windows 8 PCs will nag you to install apps
It looks kind of like a Start menu, but it's really an App Store

Rhyseh · Aug 24, 2013

Under the hood win 8 is a good OS. However there is a very good reason why we downgrade every new pc from win8 to win7. No one likes the confusing interface and unclosable "apps" it directs you to...

remixedcat · Aug 24, 2013

Sasqui said:
LOL, I *still* don't see the "Run..." command.

And when are they going to re-instate the windows explorer search options that were in XP, so you don't have to look up help online everytime. :shadedshu

Deadlyraver · Aug 24, 2013

Well, they are ahead of the other partners when it comes to forecasting the amount of W8 haters XD.

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 16GB DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 4070 Ti EX
Storage	Samsung 990 1TB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Lynni PS \ Lenowo TwinkPad L14 G2
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Raphael (Waiting on 9800X3D) \ i5-1135G7 Tiger Lake-U
Motherboard	ASRock B650M PG Riptide Bios v. 3.10 AMD AGESA 1.2.0.2a \ Lenowo BDPLANAR Bios 1.68
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black (Only middle fan) \ Lenowo C-267C-2
Memory	G.Skill Flare X5 2x16GB DDR5 6000MHZ CL36-36-36-96 AMD EXPO \ Willk Elektronik 2x16GB 2666MHZ CL17
Video Card(s)	Sapphire PURE AMD Radeon™ RX 9070 Gaming OC 16GB \| Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
Storage	Gigabyte M30 1TB\|Sabrent Rocket 2TB\| HDD: 10TB\|1TB \ WD RED SN700 1TB
Display(s)	KTC M27T20S 1440p@165Hz \| LG 48CX OLED 4K HDR \| Innolux 14" 1080p
Case	Asus Prime AP201 White Mesh \| Lenowo L14 G2 chassis
Audio Device(s)	Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless
Power Supply	Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W Goldie \| 65W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeedy Wireless \| Lenowo TouchPad & Logitech G305
Keyboard	Ducky One 3 Daybreak Fullsize \| L14 G2 UK Lumi
Software	Win11 IoT Enterprise 24H2 UK \| Win11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 24H2 UK / Arch (Fan)
Benchmark Scores	3DMARK: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/89434432? GPU-Z: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/details/v3zbr

Processor	Intel i7 4790K
Motherboard	Asus Z97 Deluxe
Cooling	Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120
Memory	Corsair Dominator 1866Mhz 4X4GB
Video Card(s)	Asus R290X
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro SSD 256GB/Samsung 840 Evo SSD 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung S23A950D
Case	Corsair 850D
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek
Power Supply	Corsair AX850
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G710+
Software	Windows 10 x64

System Name	RemixedBeast-NX
Processor	Intel Xeon E5-2690 @ 2.9Ghz (8C/16T)
Motherboard	Dell Inc. 08HPGT (CPU 1)
Cooling	Dell Standard
Memory	24GB ECC
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Nvidia RTX2060 6GB
Storage	2TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD//2TB WD Black HDD
Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster P2350 23in @ 1920x1080 + Dell E2013H 20 in @1600x900
Case	Dell Precision T3600 Chassis
Audio Device(s)	Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 // Fiio E7 Amp/DAC
Power Supply	630w Dell T3600 PSU
Mouse	Logitech G700s/G502
Keyboard	Logitech K740
VR HMD	Linktr.ee/remixedcat // for my music ♡♡
Software	Linux Mint 20
Benchmark Scores	Network: APs: Ubiquiti Unifi AP-AC-LR and Lite Router/Sw:Meraki MX64 MS220-8P

Processor	Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s)	ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage	2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s)	Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case	NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair 850W
Mouse	Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software	Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores	30FPS in NFS:Rivals

System Name	CUBE_NXT
Processor	i9 12900K @ 5.0Ghz all P-cores with E-cores enabled
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	EK AIO Elite Cooler w/ 3 Phanteks T30 fans
Memory	64GB DDR5 @ 5600Mhz
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3090Ti Ultra Hybrid Gaming w/ 3 Phanteks T30 fans
Storage	1 x SK Hynix P41 Platinum 1TB, 1 x 2TB, 1 x WD_BLACK SN850 2TB, 1 x WD_RED SN700 4TB
Display(s)	Alienware AW3418DW
Case	Lian-Li O11 Dynamic Evo w/ 3 Phanteks T30 fans
Power Supply	Seasonic PRIME 1000W Titanium
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-bit

System Name	Senile
Processor	I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard	MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling	Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory	16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage	Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s)	34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (34401440) FREE_SYNC*
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software	Win 10

System Name	Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor	i7-11700K
Motherboard	Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s)	RTX 3090 Reference
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s)	Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case	Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s)	on board
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard	AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software	Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	the MLGeesiest

Processor	RyZen R9 3950X
Motherboard	ASRock X570 Taichi
Cooling	Coolermaster Master Liquid ML240L RGB
Memory	64GB DDR4 3200 (4x16GB)
Video Card(s)	RTX 3050
Storage	Samsung 2TB SSD
Display(s)	Asus VE276Q, VE278Q and VK278Q triple 27” 1920x1080
Case	Zulman MS800
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	Seasonic 650W
VR HMD	Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest V1, Oculus Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 64bit

Processor	Intel Core i7 5820k
Motherboard	MSI X99S-GAMING7
Cooling	Corsair H105
Memory	16GB G.SKILL DDR4
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX1070 Gaming G1
Storage	Samsung 840 Evo 256GB
Display(s)	Acer Predator XB271HU
Case	Corsair 800D
Audio Device(s)	ASUS XONAR
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Filco Majestouch
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Game Raver
Processor	Core i7-770K
Motherboard	ASRock Z170A-X1
Cooling	Coolermaster AIO
Memory	16gb
Video Card(s)	GTX 1060
Storage	1TB Crucial SSD. 4TB Seagate HDD
Display(s)	AOC 1080p 144Hz
Case	NZXT Phantom 410 /w/ Silverstone FN121P-BL fans
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Essence STX
Power Supply	Corsair AX760

Lenovo First Major PC OEM to Bundle Third-Party Windows 8 Start Menu

Editor & Senior Moderator