Pokki gives its alternative Start menu a new look

Pokki -- the alternative Start menu and app framework -- has undergone a minor redesign in its latest update, with a new look, more customization options and a host of important bug fixes.

Increased font sizes, panel spacing and sidebar width in this release are all about improving readability, for instance, while the new light color theme helps Pokki blend in seamlessly with your desktop. (Although if you preferred the dark theme, that’s still available: click Settings and choose Dark to bring it back.)

Notifications have been relocated from the Favorites panel to a drop-down window, so they’re less "in your face". When new notifications are available a badge will appear over the button to the right of the search box, and clicking this will display them in a drop-down list.

A new right-click "Add to Pokki Menu" option allows you to add files or folders to your Pokki favorites directly from Windows Explorer.

The Settings panel now gives you more control over exactly which options will appear in the Pokki sidebar (your recently used apps, Admin Tools, Computer, Connections, Control Panel and more).

If the Pokki acorn logo doesn’t mean a lot to you then it’s now possible to switch it for the Windows logo, aiding discovery (another addition to the Settings panel).

And the official release notes also detail some important bug fixes with this build, including "All apps/programs and control panel items sporadically disappear from the menu", "Occasional inability to remove files and folders from favorites panel” and “Duplicate entries displayed in all apps/programs".

This latest update seems to be a solid step forward, then. If you have Pokki installed already then the system should automatically update in the next day or two, but you can hurry the process along a little by right-clicking the Pokki acorn icon in the taskbar and selecting "Check for updates".