[dayglored]

Yeah I started doing just that on WinXP, do the same on Win7.

I only use the Start Menu directly when I do something unusual -- or I'm fixing someone else's computer that's still at the defaults.

[newfreep]

My history...

Win7 and XP were not very stable - the infamous BSOD
Upgraded from Win7 to Win8.1 - huge improvement in stability and speed
Win10 - another improvement...and significantly faster

The “Start” menu is small and concise
I have 7 “tiles” of my most used apps - very quick access

I have never seen an ad on the start menu

[dennisw]

great minds......etc etc

Between quick launch and “pinning” to taskbar I have all my commonly used programs covered... Then I auto-hide taskbar too, so out of sight, out of mind until I want “my” programs.