
Fences
Start Menu X
Start Menu Reviver
Open Shell
StartAllBack
Power8
StartIsBack
Classic Shell was developed for Windows 8 since that was the first version of the popular operating system to forgo the iconic Start menu.

Logseq
Obsidian
Zim Wiki
Nuclino
Trilium Notes
TiddlyWiki
Roam Research
Personal knowledge management and sharing on VSCode & GitHub

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, Foam should be more popular than Classic Shell. It has been mentioned 49 times since March 2021.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | classicshell.net | foambubble.github.io |
| Pricing | ||
| Company | — | Startup from the United States |
| Listed in |
What each product offers, as listed by its team.


Possible disadvantages
Possible disadvantages
An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.


Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
Classic Shell is recommended for users who miss the classic Windows Start menu and layout, those who find the new Windows designs less intuitive, and individuals who want more control over their interface customization. It's particularly suitable for people transitioning from older Windows versions to newer ones who wish to maintain a certain level of familiarity.
Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
Walkthroughs and reviews on video.
Classic Shell with Windows 10!
More videos
These panels DESTROYED my STUDIO....REVERB? - ArrowZoom Foam Review
More videos
How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


Share your experience with using Classic Shell and Foam. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


There's a great add-on called... ClassicShell http://classicshell.net/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
Windows Classic Shell is what I have used for over a decade. It brings back the old start menu and can be customized. Source: over 3 years ago
ClassicShell is no longer being developed. OpenShell succeeded it. (c.f., http://classicshell.net/). Source: almost 4 years ago
Choose a local Markdown tool like Obsidian, Logseq, Foam, or Tolaria to store all your knowledge as plain .md files you own and control. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
I've been using foam instead of obsidian for my personal knowledge base. It works rather well. And it's completely free and ultimately just markdown. While I might wish it was djot, I don't wish hard enough to make that so myself... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
I gave up on Obsidian and just use Foam (https://foambubble.github.io/foam/) and/or vimwiki. I just can’t get into overwrought, arbitrarily designed organization schemes or proprietary apps (Foam-managed content is just plain Markdown,... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
When comparing Classic Shell and Foam, you can also consider the following products.

Keep your desktop organized with Fences. This is a simple software program that allows you to sort the tabs on your desktop and create files that are easily recognizable to you.
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Logseq is a local-first, non-linear, outliner notebook for organizing and sharing your personal knowledge base.
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Start Menu X with Start Button. Power users know how inconvenient and time-consuming it is to launch programs from the system menu.
Compare Start Menu X to Classic Shell or Foam:

A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.
Compare Obsidian to Classic Shell or Foam:

Free Download! Recover and update your computer with Driver Reviver and Registry Reviver. Easily update software, unlock new functionality and remove hardware device errors and clean, repair and optimize your registry in a few simple mouse clicks!
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Zim is a graphical text editor used to maintain a collection of wiki pages. Each page can contain links to other pages, simple formatting and images.
Compare Zim Wiki to Classic Shell or Foam: