Softworld editor's review -
Customize your Windows start menu in a very stylish manner
Aston Menu is an application which enables the users to change the default Windows Start menu with all kind of alternatives.
The moment you have finished to install the program, the first thing that you notice is how cool the Start menu looks.
Right at the top you have a very nice calendar and weather widgets. In the weather widget you have displayed the current temperature, the speed of the wind, the temperature for the next day etc.
By clicking on the Top Programs field, you can set the number of programs that you want to be displayed in the menu.
What i like a lot about Aston Menu is that you can access all of your Windows drives and folders directly from the start menu.
For instance if you point the mouse on My Computer you will have displayed all of your current drives. If you place the mouse on a specific drive you will be able to see all that folders that are in it.
Going further, by pointing the mouse on a folder you will have displayed in the left side all the files and applications that are in that specific folder.
If you feel like, you can very easily launch those programs. This is indeed a very fast way to navigate through the Windows menus.
Now lets take a look at the available settings and options. If you are not happy with the current skin you can very easily change it by going to Aston Skins. Here you have available several skins.
I have checked out all of them and i must say that each one looks great. What i want to mention is that to some of the skins you can set a specific size or configuration.
If you don't want the Start menu to take all of your screen, for instance at the default skin you can pick from three different sizes: max, mid and min.
Also most of the skins allow you to integrate a clock widget directly in the start menu.
What i like a lot is that in the Settings field you are provided a wide variety of Windows options and settings such as Event Manager, Administration (here you can manage various functions: Computer Management, Event Viewer, Local Security Policy, Services, System Configuration etc), Fonts, Network Connections etc.
Also here you can choose to customize the Start Menu in the best way that you like.
Entering Preferences, here you can set the program to run at Windows startup, you may enable sounds, replace system start menu, and set up various hotkeys.
What i want to mention is that by clicking on the system try icon, you can access extremely easy all the main functions of the program: Change Skin and the Aston preferences.
I have to say that Aston Menu is an awesome application. It gives you the opportunity to customize the Windows start menu in a very stylish manner.
What i like a lot is that the program is very easy to use, in the trial version you have a decent selection of good looking skins and you can navigate extremely easy and fast through the Windows menus.
Good:
-good selection of great looking skins
-through the start menu you can access very easy all the Windows folders and menus
-the clock, calendar and weather widgets are integrated into the start menu
-easy access to all the settings of your Windows operating system
Bad:
-none
Version 2.0.3 reviewed on: 14 Jul 2011
Publisher's description
New feature-rich Windows start menu replacement with enhanced functionality
Aston2 Menu opens the new line of Aston2 products, which turn your desktop into a yet more convenient and attractive environment. Aston2 is developed on an absolutely new engine, created from scratch. Aston2 product line includes three basic products:- Aston2 Menu, which replaces the regular Windows start menu.- Aston2 Panels, which can replace Windows taskbar and yet enhance the shell functionality. - Aston2 Desktop, which replaces Windows Explorer desktop and can be filled with any Aston 2 widgets and icons.Thus, complete Aston2 SHELL can be considered the combination of all the above components. But which of them to use is entirely up to end-user's choice.Aston 2 Menu features:- Themes and skins support. Aston2 settings are split into two parts - theme settings and private settings. All Aston2 widgets are skinnable: you can change the skin of any element;- Widgets support (This demo version contains the following default widgets: Clock, Calendar, Recycle bin, Disks, Power control, Search, Toplist, Username, Weather and Uninstall). Widgets can be built into the desktop, panels or popup menus;- Fast and convenient search for the files on the local disks and for the information in the Internet;- Flexible configuration. Every element of the menu can be tweaked and customized, thus letting one to create yet more convenient working area. The same concerns Aston 2 Panels and Aston 2 Desktop as well;- Animation support in every aspect of Aston2: smooth widgets opening and moving, animated wallpaper, animated icons and other elements of skinned widgets;- Aston2 Menu can be used both in Aston1 shell (staring from 1.9.5 version) and in Explorer shell. - Drag'n'Drop operations support, user friendly interface;- Unicode support;- XML standard, used for all the parameters setup;- Multi-language support;- Plug-ins support.There are a lot planned features for the future Aston2 Menu release.
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Shutdown your PC automatically or remotely from any computer or mobile phone.
