This might seem like old news, because it actually is, since Microsoft said the same thing when releasing Windows 8.1. I remember getting all excited over that release, until I actually researched it a bit and noticed that the new “Start Menu” in Windows 8.1 was actually just a shortcut to the apps menu.
When I read this same promise the second time today, I was very sceptical at first, since last time it was such a huge disappointment, but this time Microsoft might actually deliver.
They are promising an old school start menu in Windows 7 style, but with added active tiles, which in my opinion actually makes this better than just bringing the start menu back. They are also promising to add the option of running Windows 8 apps in windows while in Desktop mode.
Windows 8 Start Menu – Image from The Register
Granted, most power users and myself included have already fixed this with third party application such as Start8 and ModernMix, but for enterprise deployments, applications like these just aren’t feasible, so it’s nice to finally get an official fix from Microsoft.
I myself is looking forward to this new menu, and it might just be the thing to make me migrate my other computers to Windows 8.
One caveat though, don’t expect this to be coming to a computer near you in the near future, Microsoft’s spokesperson cautioned customers that most of the features discussed at Build 2014 are “not coming in the next few days or weeks.”
Update:
Now that Microsoft has confirmed the “real” start menu in Windows 10, I thought it appropriate to also tell you guys that I’ve found a really good substitute, StartIsBack. It does exactly what it says on the the label, and after using it on both Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 for almost a year, I can tell you that it’s very stable, lean and functions perfectly. It’s also very convincing, you don’t notice it as an add-on, it just feels like how the start menu should have been in the first place in Windows 8.
Categories: Tech
Grumpy Techie 
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