Every time an app or operating system receives improvements, there is always something left in the dust. Sure, the improvements are great, but to allow room for them, the developers have to drop something else. Windows is no different. The Start Button in Windows 8 was eliminated, as well as the Start Menu. Windows 8.1 is promising to bring back the Start Button, but without the Start Menu.
Users weren’t very happy about Microsoft dropping the Start Button in Windows 8, and just the fear of losing it was the basis for an entire article. Even more so than losing the Start Button was losing the Start Menu. This led to even more articles being written on how to simulate having it back.
This backlash is apparently causing Microsoft to rethink a few things. The first major update to the most recent version of the OS, 8.1, will bring back the Start button. It will lead to access to the Start Screen and is said to look much like the Windows flag in the Charm bar. It’s not the only change. A plan is also in place to add an option to boot directly to the desktop environment.
That’s all well and good, but what about the Start Menu? Microsoft has no plan to bring that back, at least not with 8.1. Getting the Start Button back without the Start Menu is almost like they’re teasing users. Is the Start Button even worth having without the Start Menu?
Fret not, though. There are still plenty of options out there to get the Start Menu back, whether or not Microsoft ever plans to do anything about it. Power8 not only gives you the Start Menu back, it allows you to tweak it to your liking. In addition to Power8, there are plenty of other options that will allow you access to a simulated StartMenu.
There’s no announced date yet for the release of Windows 8.1, but expect it later this year. Remember that the Start Button coming back is as the result of customer feedback. Users can make a difference. So how about it? Will you keep complaining until you get the Start Menu back, or will having just the Start Button in Windows 8 make a return be enough? Speak up in the comments section below.
Laura has spent nearly 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with more than 10 of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past three decades. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.
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