The SmallBizWindows Utility of the Year: Stardock ModernMix

February 10, 2014 John Obeto

Of all the little utilities we used last year, just one stands out as being truly innovative and immediately useful: Stardock ModernMix.

One of the great head-scratchers, and basically the primary reason for the perceived failure of Windows 8x so far, is the “two worlds” concept of use.

As delivered in 8.0, Windows requires you to work either in Metro mode, or in the [old-style] ‘desktop mode.

Either. Or.

And just to make sure you were not confused enough, they – the Microsoft Windows dev team – took out the <START> button from the desktop mode.

To crown it all, they declined to deliver any information or clarification on what users were supposed to do once they had Windows 8 installed. Nothing at all.

Into this breach stepped Stardock, which has a stable of great Windows customization apps.

You should think of, and call Stardock ‘the Sysinternals of Windows customization’.

They really do have an app for just about anything in the Windows client you need to customize.

Stardock first brought to market a product called Start8, which mimicked the old Windows fly-up and fly-out menu scheme.

Then they went for gold, and delivered ModernMix, which is an app that encapsulates Windows 8 Metro apps for windowing on a Windows 8 desktop.

Pure genius.

Thanks to Stardock’s ÜberMeister social media guru, Spencer Scott (Twitter: @islanddog), I was able to obtain a copy of ModernMix.

Folks, this product is inspired.

For people who work mainly on the desktop, this product exposes the grave mistake with Microsoft’s ‘two worlds’ strategy with Windows 8: the switching between Metro and desktop is jarring, non-intuitive, and quite inelegant.

With ModernMix, users are able to use Metro apps, and most importantly, use those Metro apps side-by-side with the desktop apps they use in their daily lives.

The greatest praise I can heap on ModernMix is that it is truly install-and-forget.

You install it, set the parameters you want it to perform at, and then forget that you have it on your system. All Metro apps automagically float in windows on the desktop, and just work.

In fact, the only feedback I had for the Stardock team was this

@IslandDog All you guys have to do is create a #ModernMix where desktop apps will float in Metro, and I'd love y'all even more forever!

— John Obeto II (@johnobeto) May 30, 2013

That was it.

All I want is an app that would do what ModernMix does when I am working from the desktop, and perform the reverse, Metro-fying desktop apps when I want to work in Metro.

These past few weeks, there have been rumors that the current Windows team is returning Windows 8 to some of the conventions used in prior releases of Windows.

Thus validating the brilliance of this app.

The SmallBizWindows Stardock ModernMix Review is here.

Stardock ModernMix website

Follow @johnobeto