Hi, Acme-
Win 8.1 calls its classic desktop "desktop," and its 8.1 desktop the "start" menu. I can clear both of these desktops of unwanted programs, but the 8.1 "start" menu page has a down arrow that leads to a list of all programs - and I see no way to remove that down arrow or block access to those programs. Our preschool kids are smart enough to click that down arrow and fool around with all those programs.

I tried "family controls," and got an error message saying that the Microsoft "family controls" program is incompatible with my Windows 8.1 (I had Win 7 and Win 8 on this computer before, so maybe it's left over from that).

It seems it would be a common thing to want to be able to kid-proof a computer while still allowing them to play games. And of course, all this will change when Win 10 comes out in 6 weeks. I don't look forward to installing Win 10 on a dozen computers, but I suppose it will extend their life a bit.

-Joe-