Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GNU Emacs VS StartAllBack

Compare GNU Emacs VS StartAllBack and see what are their differences

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GNU Emacs logo GNU Emacs

GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editorโ€”and more.

StartAllBack logo StartAllBack

StartAllBack is software that helps to customize the start menu to Windows 7 & 8.
  • GNU Emacs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-19
  • StartAllBack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-11

GNU Emacs features and specs

  • Highly Extensible
    GNU Emacs is highly customizable, allowing users to configure nearly every aspect using Emacs Lisp. This makes it remarkably adaptable for various workflows.
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem
    There is a wide array of plugins available for Emacs, extending its functionality for programming, text editing, project management, and more.
  • Versatile
    Aside from text editing, Emacs can function as an email client, web browser, terminal emulator, and more, making it a powerful multi-purpose tool.
  • Free and Open Source
    GNU Emacs is free to use and modify, with source code available under the GNU General Public License, encouraging collaborative improvement and transparency.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Emacs runs on many different operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and various Unix-like systems, ensuring a wide reach and consistent experience across platforms.

Possible disadvantages of GNU Emacs

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its vast array of features and unique keybindings, new users often find Emacs difficult to learn initially.
  • Performance
    Emacs can be slower compared to more lightweight text editors, especially when heavily customized or handling large files.
  • Keyboard-Centric Interface
    Emacs relies heavily on keyboard shortcuts, which can be overwhelming and complex, leading to potential finger strain from extensive use.
  • Complex Configuration
    While its customizability is a strength, configuring Emacs to fit personal needs can be time-consuming and complex, requiring knowledge of Emacs Lisp.

StartAllBack features and specs

  • Familiar Interface
    StartAllBack restores the familiar Windows 7-style Start menu and taskbar, making it easier for users accustomed to previous versions of Windows to navigate the operating system.
  • Customization Options
    The software offers a range of customization options, allowing users to tweak the appearance and functionality of the Start menu, taskbar, and other UI elements to better suit their preferences.
  • Performance Enhancements
    StartAllBack can potentially enhance system performance by optimizing the way UI elements are handled, which may lead to faster access and responsiveness of the Start menu and taskbar.
  • Easy Installation
    The software is relatively easy to install and set up, requiring minimal technical knowledge to get started with restoring the classic Windows interface.

Possible disadvantages of StartAllBack

  • Compatibility Issues
    There may be occasional compatibility issues with certain third-party applications or updates to Windows, which might cause StartAllBack to malfunction or require reconfiguration.
  • Limited Free Version
    StartAllBack may offer limited functionality in its free version, prompting users to purchase the full version to unlock all features and customization options.
  • Learning Curve
    New users or those unfamiliar with previous Windows interfaces might experience a learning curve while adjusting to the changes and customizations offered by StartAllBack.
  • Additional Resource Usage
    While generally optimized, having an additional application like StartAllBack running could potentially consume system resources, which might slightly impact performance on older or less powerful machines.

Analysis of GNU Emacs

Overall verdict

  • GNU Emacs is widely considered to be a powerful and versatile text editor, especially among programmers and developers.

Why this product is good

  • Highly Customizable: Emacs can be extensively customized with Emacs Lisp, enabling users to tailor the editor to fit their specific workflow.
  • Rich Ecosystem: There is a large variety of plug-ins and extensions available, which can transform it into much more than just a text editor.
  • Built-in Tools: Emacs includes numerous built-in tools such as a debugger, calendar, email client, and file manager, making it a comprehensive development environment.
  • Cross-Platform: Emacs runs on multiple platforms, which makes it accessible to a broad audience.

Recommended for

  • Programmers and developers who appreciate a customizable and extensible tool.
  • Users who want to integrate various development tools into a single environment.
  • Individuals comfortable with learning Emacs Lisp to create and understand custom scripts and configurations.
  • People interested in a text editor that has a strong and supportive community.

GNU Emacs videos

Switching to GNU Emacs

StartAllBack videos

StartAllBack for Windows 11

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU Emacs and StartAllBack)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
OS & Utilities
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Note Taking
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GNU Emacs and StartAllBack

GNU Emacs Reviews

14 BEST LaTeX Editor for Mac & Windows in 2022
Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It is one of the best LaTeX editor for Mac that allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.
Source: www.guru99.com
The Top 7 Notepad++ Alternatives for You
Emacs has been around in its various forms since 1976 and is another very worthy Notepad++ alternative. When I first started using Emacs I have to admit that I didnโ€™t find it the easiest to use. But once I got used to it I realized just how powerful Emacs is for the programming community.
10 Best Notepad++ Alternatives in 2020
Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.
Source: www.guru99.com
7 open source alternatives to Dreamweaver
Vim or Emacs. Without participating in the holy war between these two traditional text editors, I can safely say that there are a number of enhancements for web editing available for both. So if you're already a terminal junkie, take your pick. Or, if those don't satisfy, try one of these Emacs/Vim alternatives.
Source: opensource.com
10 Best Sublime Text Alternatives in 2019
Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.
Source: www.guru99.com

StartAllBack Reviews

We have no reviews of StartAllBack yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, StartAllBack should be more popular than GNU Emacs. It has been mentiond 10 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GNU Emacs mentions (6)

  • Emacs daemon as sytemd service in debian 12 (gnome)
    Cat .config/systemd/user/default.target.wants/emacs.service [Unit] Description=Emacs text editor Documentation=info:emacs man:emacs(1) https://gnu.org/software/emacs/ [Service] Type=notify ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/emacs --fg-daemon # Emacs will exit with status 15 after having received SIGTERM, which # is the default "KillSignal" value systemd uses to stop services. SuccessExitStatus=15 # The location of the... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Why does emacs exec path variable not just copy the users path variable?
    ## If your Emacs is installed in a non-standard location, you may need ## to copy this file to a standard directory, eg ~/.config/systemd/user/ . ## If you install this file by hand, change the "Exec" lines below ## to use absolute file names for the executables. [Unit] Description=Emacs text editor Documentation=info:emacs man:emacs(1)... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Hi DM's, what medium do you use to organise your campaign?
    For gathering notes, writing and organizing, Org-Roam which implies Org and Emacs. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • This Guy is getting out of control at this point.
    I was heading to gnu.org/software/emacs to prove my point and it said:. Source: over 4 years ago
  • opam doesn't see emacs?
    <><> Version-specific details <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ๐Ÿซ Version 1 Repository default Homepage: "http://gnu.org/software/emacs" Bug-reports: "https://github.com/ocaml/opam-repository/issues" Authors: "anil@recoil.org" Maintainer: "anil@recoil.org" License: "GPL-1.0-or-later" Flags: conf Synopsis Virtual package to install the Emacs editor Description This... Source: almost 5 years ago
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StartAllBack mentions (10)

  • Is there any way at all to reduce the size of the taskbar (and thereby gain additional space icon/open application space)?
    I did a bunch of searching and am using startallback.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • PSA: If anyone wants a better start menu experience on Windows, install Open Shell
    For a paid option that is awesome(which I personally use) is StartAllBack: https://startallback.com/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Think the upgrade to windows 11 will always be free for windows 10 users?
    Assuming you're talking about the Taskbar, yeaahhhhh that's a thing with Windows 11 unfortunately. You can use something like StartAllBack or Start11 (both of which are paid) to restore that functionality. Either that, or you can use ExplorerPatcher (free) to restore the Windows 10 Taskbar and thus its functionality. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Aero tadkbar in Windows 10 using a new tool I wrote
    Pretty cool, but tools like that already exist (TranslucentTB, StartAllBack). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Available today: The Windows 11 2022 Update
    Yup, it is sadly still unusable without https://startallback.com/ :(. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GNU Emacs and StartAllBack, you can also consider the following products

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Fences - 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.

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Start Menu X - Start Menu X with Start Button. Power users know how inconvenient and time-consuming it is to launch programs from the system menu.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

Classic Shell - Classic Shell was developed for Windows 8 since that was the first version of the popular operating system to forgo the iconic Start menu.