The first refresh of Windows 8.1, titled Update 1, is all the rage at the moment, and the usual suspects have started splashing out bits and pieces of information on what this new version could bring.
We checked out a few details and screenshots from Wzor yesterday, and now Mary Jo Foley is writing that Microsoft is considering bringing back the Start Menu a lot sooner than initially expected — that is, well before the release of Windows 9 as previously suggested.
This new report over at ZDNet cites sources that are involved in the development of Windows 8.1 Update 1, and although the news seems too good to be true, it could be a possibility.
Microsoft, it is claimed, wants to make the operating system as user friendly as possible, and if this means bringing back the Start Menu in full capacity, then the company is more than open to it.
Additionally, another source has confirmed that this release will hit the RTM development stage sometime in March. Throw in a couple of weeks of fine turning and polish, and this new flavor of Windows 8.1 will make its public debut one mother later, in April.
So there you have it, friends and neighbors — two of the more trusted Microsoft sources have pretty much confirmed when Windows 8.1 Update 1 could see daylight, and what it brings.
Now all we need is Microsoft to make things official in a lengthy blog post. Or two.
All Comments
Why not just wait for Windows 9 to do this. Windows 8.x is already at almost 11% It will likely be even higher by the time Update 1 comes out. Bring back the start menu is going to make 8.x usage soar. Windows 7 had the start menu, and look how long people clung to XP. Even with a start menu, companies were not going to stop dead smack in the middle of a Windows 7 transition and hop over to Windows 8. A start menu isn’t going to do anything for slumping PC sales either.
oh come on, who needs now a start menu, except some forever whiners!
Even after purchasing start8 I rolled back to Windows 7 because of various other reasons.
So they need to do more than just a start menu to win my attention..
Win 7 theme might be it
It’s a wholesale change, going from the traditional Windows 7 UI to Metro, and I agree it is more than just the Start Menu for now.
Nevertheless, the Modern UI (and apps) are the future. It may not be as polished as it should be, or could have been, right now, but once refined, people will give it another chance surely.
That is unless Microsoft decides to take Metro elements out of the desktop and go for the Windows 7 look, with apps, for PCs.
I agree Metro will continue to be polished. No one comes out with a perfect product the first time out. iOs 1 wasn’t all that great. And anyone who wants to is welcome to go back to a Win95 clone if they think it came out perfect.
This isn’t the first time out though, is it? It’s the eighth (at least). iOS1 wasn’t polished? Neither was Windows 1.0. Now it’s at version 8.1 and several decades later Windows should already be polished (pun intended!)
Win8 is a total new OS and UI than win1.0 even though they are all called Windows.
I know that! – I was just trying to make a point. Obviously I failed.
What else from 7 is missing from 8 other than the start menu?
Even after purchasing start8 I rolled back to Windows 7 because of various other reasons.
So they need to do more than just a start menu to win my attention..
Win 7 theme might be it
It’s a wholesale change, going from the traditional Windows 7 UI to Metro, and I agree it is more than just the Start Menu for now.
Nevertheless, the Modern UI (and apps) are the future. It may not be as polished as it should be, or could have been, right now, but once refined, people will give it another chance surely.
That is unless Microsoft decides to take Metro elements out of the desktop and go for the Windows 7 look, with apps, for PCs.