The Start menu will return to Windows this summer as part of "update 2" according to a Microsoft source.
When Microsoft announced Windows 8 originally, there was some anger at the removal of the Start menu, and the introduction of the new, modern user interface. Now though, Microsoft plans to bring the Start menu back in Windows update 2, which will roll out in the coming months.
The move follows widespread criticisms of Microsoft for not catering for desktop users with Windows 8, many of whom are the lucrative business customers who use Windows on work computers. The feeling was that Windows 8 was just too drastic-looking to easily replace the aging Windows XP and Vista machines currently adorning most desks.
The new-look start menu appears to be something of a hybrid between the Windows 7 start menu with bits of the Windows 8 user interface thrown in where relevant. This, along with the return of the Start button in Windows 8.1 update 1, signals a reversal in thinking at Microsoft, which was previously bullish about the advantages of its new look OS.
The firm seems to be keen to keep adjusting Windows 8 based on feedback from users, something it should be comended for. And while some might see it as an admission of failure, it's surely better to tweak something to keep your loyal users happy.
Along with the return of the Start menu, there will also be the option to run "Modern" apps - formerly called Metro apps - in a window on the desktop. This makes a lot of sense for business users, especially those on desktop computers, as the larger, Modern UI looks out of place on non-touch devices.
Windows 8 remains a good operating system at its core, but history will no doubt remember it with something approaching the hatred that has been applied to Vista, another basically good OS that needed time to find its feet.
Read more: Microsoft Windows 8.1 review
Via: The Verge