How to tame the Windows 8 Metro Start screen
The Windows 8 Metro Start screen can quickly get overrun with a huge number of tiles, making it hard to find the app you need. How can you manage this mishmash?
Users who've taken the Windows 8 beta for a spin already know that the Metro Start screen poses certain challenges. For every app you install - Metro or non-Metro -- one or sometimes several tiles are plopped onto the Start screen. Each Web site you pin gets its own Start screen tile. Displaying features such as Administrative Tools adds even more tiles.
Windows 8 is designed with a tablet in mind, so the vast array of tiles spread out horizontally rather than vertically. And since Metro doesn't support folders, you can't neatly tuck a group of tiles into their own individual homes. I've been using the Consumer Preview for the past month and a half, and I already have to navigate through countless screens worth of tiles. Though you can't change the behavior of the Start screen, you can work with it to keep your apps better organized and easier to find.
