Early this week the rumor emerged about Microsoft planning to bring back the beloved Start menu in the next major release of Windows, thus far known as “Threshold”. Now a new article published at ZDNet reveals that sources familiar to the Windows Threshold project claim that it is almost certain that Microsoft will move forward to bring the Start menu and it could even before the official release to what the company may brand as Windows 8.2.
One thing that may end up happening is that Microsoft may re-introduce the new Start menu in the Windows 8.1 “Update 1”, which is scheduled to appear in the spring 2014 time frame. Update which is also rumored to include support for smaller form factor Surface tablet.
Apparently the internal name for the project is called “mini-Start”, because the new menu won’t be in full screen as the Start screen is in Windows 8.1. Although, many users may expect to have the same familiar Start menu like the one in Windows 7, Microsoft still hasn’t said anything on how the new menu will look like or how it will function. We can only assume that it’ll be very similar to previous designs, because the point is not to have to retrain the end-user.
SEE ALSO: Threshold: the next wave of Windows updates is coming in 2015
Why the sudden hurry from Microsoft to bring back the Start menu? One of the reasons could be that PC sales hasn’t been that great since the original release of Windows 8 back in October 2012. Also many users and businesses are holding back to upgrade to Windows 8.1, because of the learning curve on the new user-interface and businesses because it cost money to retrain their staff, and Microsoft needs to make sure Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 users move to Windows 8.1.
Source ZDNet
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].