My first starters were un stirred and randomly shaken when I remembered. Then I got a stir plate and did a couple batches that way. Then I tried and have been still using The James Bond method. All 3 methods did make beers I was happy with. Were they great, I'm not the one to answer that. In my short experience with home brewing, about 35 batches, I have rarely made the same batch twice, and when I did, I followed almost exactly the same procedure as the first time. Did one way produce better beer for me? I really don't have that answer because my early brews had poor or more likely, no notes. For me going forward, the shaken not stirred method is fairly simple and easy, and I will continue to use it. I have an interested new Comer coming to brew with me, and we be be making 2 batches: 1 extract with rehydrated dry yeast and 1 AG batch with a shaken starter. He won't see that starter really until we are ready to pitch, but I will explain it to him as well as its benefits. In the end, if he wants my stir plate, I'll give him a great deal on it. Just my $0.02