Windows 8.1 Bringing Back Start Button

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The Windows 8.1 Start Button rumor of the day is....*shakes Magic 8.1 ball*....there will be a Start Button and a Boot To Desktop option.

I've heard from one of my good sources that the Start Button, as well as a new boot-straight-to-desktop option are included in the most recent internal "Milestone Preview" builds of Windows 8.1.
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Doubt me? I wouldn't, my sources are impeccable:

1369857031hGhsZ7HrDU_1_1.jpg
 
Don't forget the Start Button is *not* the Start Menu

Have fun with your flame wars.
 
* Start icon to open the Metro start screen, allowing users to efficiently move the mouse from whatever they were doing to the bottom left corner of the screen, instead of confusingly pressing the ubiquitous start key on the keyboard. Pretty exciting advancement.
 
Having used the Metro interface on a touch screen (and my phone) I thinks it's a great interface in that environment. On my desktop with mouse and keyboard... it just doesn't... work well. :( So I dumped it. Will be nice with the update to not have to run a third party app :)
 
Gosh. Thanks, Microsoft, but I'm just fine with Win7 Pro. TTFN.
 
And wow, Windows 8.1 is still in the Milestone builds phase with a public preview coming next month at Build! How are they going to push that pre-beta into a release version this year? I suggest flushing. :D
 
Watch there be a Start Button but when clicked it just brings up one box offering to open metro
 
I personally want the the menu itself back (so I no longer would require an entire screen). I'm still running Win7.

That being said, the return of the button and boot-to-desktop will make it a LOT easier on Average Joe/Jane User who wondered how in the bloody hell they were supposed to use Windows 8.

I bet if this had been the original implementation, there wouldn't have been nearly as many complaints. "Sure the Start Button doesn't do the same thing, but we still have an anchor to the past as a bridge to the (possible) future."
 
pxc said:
And wow, Windows 8.1 is still in the Milestone builds phase with a public preview coming next month at Build! How are they going to push that pre-beta into a release version this year? I suggest flushing. :D
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I think a Milestone build is a blanket term that can refer to a release anywhere in the lifecycle. The public preview for instance would be a Milestone build.
 
Madoc said:
Gosh. Thanks, Microsoft, but I'm just fine with Win7 Pro. TTFN.
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The funny thing about this cut-n-paste quote is that Win7 is also a Microsoft product.

What are people like this going to do? Move to Linux? hahahahahahhahaha.....ok :p

Speaking of which - if Jony Ive turns MacOS into a black/white/silver version of Metro then I'm jumping ship, sorry Windows :(
 
Terminus said:
The funny thing about this cut-n-paste quote is that Win7 is also a Microsoft product.

What are people like this going to do? Move to Linux? hahahahahahhahaha.....ok :p

Speaking of which - if Jony Ive turns MacOS into a black/white/silver version of Metro then I'm jumping ship, sorry Windows :(
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Actually yes. i just switched to ubuntu. So far im pretty happy with it. I got star craft, diablo, and world of warcraft all working much easier then i expected to boot.
 
Well least start8 can use the built in start button instead of its own.

I would like to see more desktop options for darker themes. The desktop options are extremely limited in windows 8.
 
Terminus said:
Speaking of which - if Jony Ive turns MacOS into a black/white/silver version of Metro then I'm jumping ship, sorry Windows :(
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It's probably nothing to worry about. The same thing has been feared about iOS. Ars has an article today and uses Apple's "Podcasts" application as an example of what the changes probably mean. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/05/what-tim-cooks-cryptic-comments-at-d11-can-tell-us-about-ios-7/

Unlike many Apple-designed iOS apps, Podcasts is a separate download that is updated independently of the rest of the operating system. It was introduced before Forstall's departure but has since been given a major update or two. That update didn't drastically change how the application worked, but it removed the cutesy reel-to-reel animation and exposed all of the controls instead of hiding them under the podcast's artwork.

These are the sorts of updates I expect we'll see out of the next iOS version—removing superfluous visual flourishes but not drastically changing the way the built-in applications function or (in most cases) the way they're laid out.

Apple-watcher Jim Dalrymple suggested this morning that the iOS overhaul would be more akin to the way OS X's look has gradually shifted over the years, and I'm inclined to agree. iOS 7 won't suddenly look like Windows Phone 8, and Apple probably can't move things around too much without upsetting change-resistant users. However, it will change the OS enough to freshen its visual identity (much of which is going on six years old now) and that may be enough to allay complaints about any iOS "staleness."​
 
Don't need Windows 8 when I have a perfectly fine Windows 7 machine running.
I'll move to Windows 8 (or whatever Windows) when I can no longer get games that run on Windows 7.
 
buttons said:
Actually yes. i just switched to ubuntu. So far im pretty happy with it. I got star craft, diablo, and world of warcraft all working much easier then i expected to boot.
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Good for you.

But still a major mistake for 99.9999999% of users. There is no money in Linux besides support for GUI-less server distros.

And Ubuntu is still one of the most bloated and craptacular distros out there. Touchscreen STILL doesn't work right :(:(:(
 
Terminus said:
Good for you.

But still a major mistake for 99.9999999% of users.
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Disagree. There are some issues, but most users would be just fine *MOST OF THE TIME* on Linux since they mostly sit within a web browser anyways. Also now that games are starting to come, Linux is much more viable as a day to day OS.

I'm still weighing the idea of installing Linux on my grandmother's system and having a secondary partition with Windows *just in case*, but having the primary a Linux install for her daily needs. I could set her up with a restricted account to limit any potential Linux malware (lol) further. She would be virtually bullet-proof, have the familiarity of Firefox still, and know how to check emails and such as before. I could load up sshd and administer it from wherever to keep it goin.
 
somecallmeTim said:
Having used the Metro interface on a touch screen (and my phone) I thinks it's a great interface in that environment. On my desktop with mouse and keyboard... it just doesn't... work well. :( So I dumped it. Will be nice with the update to not have to run a third party app :)
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I've been using it on Server 2012. I absolutely hate it. Took me forever to lovate the reboot button.
 
PornoSatan said:
Disagree. There are some issues, but most users would be just fine *MOST OF THE TIME* on Linux since they mostly sit within a web browser anyways. Also now that games are starting to come, Linux is much more viable as a day to day OS.

I'm still weighing the idea of installing Linux on my grandmother's system and having a secondary partition with Windows *just in case*, but having the primary a Linux install for her daily needs. I could set her up with a restricted account to limit any potential Linux malware (lol) further. She would be virtually bullet-proof, have the familiarity of Firefox still, and know how to check emails and such as before. I could load up sshd and administer it from wherever to keep it goin.
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Bro I feel what you are saying but please don't do that to your granny. Get her an iPad Mini and pay for her AppleCare or something.
 
Terminus said:
Bro I feel what you are saying but please don't do that to your granny. Get her an iPad Mini and pay for her AppleCare or something.
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7" screens and old people don't always mix well.

And if you just surf and e-mail, Ubuntu and a Mac have about the same technical knowhow requirement.
 
Terminus said:
Bro I feel what you are saying but please don't do that to your granny. Get her an iPad Mini and pay for her AppleCare or something.
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She's got a Kindle Fire right now. I told her she should keep using it and she'll eventually get used to it and fall in love. Well a few months later she has downloaded hundreds of books and many different games. It's kind of funny what the result is when one has the ability to do something. She's not going to read even half of the books she got, but better off hording on a digital device than in real life, less work on my back that way. :p It was only but a few years ago I helped her move and she had boxes of dusty old encyclopedias, cookbooks, and casettes just laying around she insisted on keeping.

Anyways, I think Linux would do her plenty of good. She doesn't have to know it that well to click the Firefox icon, and the computer is old enough to have full compatability.
 
A start button to open the metro screen would be nice. It's annoying to have things pop up when you're hovering around the corners and edges. Since I'm used to the start screen I like it better than the start menu. A button on the taskbar for the Charms Bar would be great to. Love Windows 8 but tired of this hovering shit.
 
Spidey329 said:
I've been using it on Server 2012. I absolutely hate it.
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If it wasn't for the improvements in Hyper-V (and that it doesn't cost me anything to upgrade to 2012 with our Microsoft agreement), I'd have stayed with 2008 R2.
 
Yes Microsoft the company that brings you innovation of a start button is back with the new and improved windows 8.1 version of the start button life on this planet just won't be the same without the official free upgrade from Microsoft.

In a few years we will be scratching our heads in disbelieve that we actually had a windows 8 version with a start button this in centuries to come will be something pivotal in the remarkable 21st century.

We all have to admit that Microsoft is on top of it's game again , the start button will enlighten us and bring us further in the universe, it will be grand maybe even epic people , no whole countries will award a holiday to honour the return of the start button, you have been warned!!
 
Pieter3dnow said:
Yes Microsoft the company that brings you innovation of a start button is back with the new and improved windows 8.1 version of the start button life on this planet just won't be the same without the official free upgrade from Microsoft.

In a few years we will be scratching our heads in disbelieve that we actually had a windows 8 version with a start button this in centuries to come will be something pivotal in the remarkable 21st century.

We all have to admit that Microsoft is on top of it's game again , the start button will enlighten us and bring us further in the universe, it will be grand maybe even epic people , no whole countries will award a holiday to honour the return of the start button, you have been warned!!
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LOL, it was an error to remove the original start menu in the first place. They should have just left the original start menu in as an option, and first boot defaulted to Metro, and used a well thought out first boot tutorial, and advertising to get people to switch to Metro.
 
GORANKAR said:
LOL, it was an error to remove the original start menu in the first place. They should have just left the original start menu in as an option, and first boot defaulted to Metro, and used a well thought out first boot tutorial, and advertising to get people to switch to Metro.
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An obvious solution to everyone. Evidently not...

But I have W7 so I don't give a fuk. Just here for the fishin' :p
 
Most of my family is making the move to Linux currently. Mostly because I urged them to because all most of them do is surf or chat or whatever.
Everything they need is on linux as most don't play games. Some do but the selection from steam has been adequate so far.

I moved them to Mint not Ubuntu. Most all of them have told me they prefer linux because it is in a layout they are familiar with. Classic start menu style of kde. Just my 2c.
 
I still have not heard one legitimate reason as to why having the option to use the original start menu or Metro is a bad thing.
 
Terminus said:
Speaking of which - if Jony Ive turns MacOS into a black/white/silver version of Metro then I'm jumping ship, sorry Windows :(
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This has already begun. You can see it in pictures of the Finder. I don't get it.
 
this really worked, I said in so many different forums. it works calling ms the devil. now I am not going to buy a mac mini anymore. thanks ms. (crack in the moon).
 
Metrocall said:
I still have not heard one legitimate reason as to why having the option to use the original start menu or Metro is a bad thing.
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Although I'm okay with Windows 8 as-is, I never really got that either.

I suppose it was an attempt by Microsoft to push people into using Metro where they otherwise probably would've never touched the thing (let alone given it a chance), and the reason Microsoft wanted to do that was/is to push people into buying Metro apps from the Windows Store.

Personally, and I know I'm probably saying this as a minority (at least here), I liked Metro in Windows Phone and was looking forward to how Microsoft was going to incorporate at least some of its design elements into Windows 8. I was expecting Windows 8 to be an improved Windows 7 with a Metro theme and better (but adjustable) touch elements for touchscreen/hybrid devices, not the franken-OS we ended up with that is admittedly quite good on touchscreen devices but awkward and clunky on anything else.
 
It's clear why Microsoft did it, but it's unclear why MS thought it would actually work. I avoid Metro apps like the plague; THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME.
 
Desktop boot-up is asinine. There is a great big rectangle IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORER that sends you to desktop.

Now what I would like is a power button I don't have to hover or CTRL-F4 to get ahold of *sigh*
 
achensherd said:
Although I'm okay with Windows 8 as-is, I never really got that either.

I suppose it was an attempt by Microsoft to push people into using Metro where they otherwise probably would've never touched the thing (let alone given it a chance), and the reason Microsoft wanted to do that was/is to push people into buying Metro apps from the Windows Store.

Personally, and I know I'm probably saying this as a minority (at least here), I liked Metro in Windows Phone and was looking forward to how Microsoft was going to incorporate at least some of its design elements into Windows 8. I was expecting Windows 8 to be an improved Windows 7 with a Metro theme and better (but adjustable) touch elements for touchscreen/hybrid devices, not the franken-OS we ended up with that is admittedly quite good on touchscreen devices but awkward and clunky on anything else.
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I think the big push for the new 'format' was predicated on 'The Apple Phenomenon', where people shell out WAY too much money for something that can be had for much less elsewhere.. and only now are realizing that, like monitors with 'display' connectors, no-one is willing to pay that much for a touch screen in a desktop build....
 
Microsoft should really start listening to customer criticism and bring back the start menu, not some full screen menu which actually takes more time to navigate.

And please bring back Aero Glass too, because Metro UI looks flat, dull and ugly.
 
John Vuong said:
Microsoft should really start listening to customer criticism and bring back the start menu, not some full screen menu which actually takes more time to navigate.

And please bring back Aero Glass too, because Metro UI looks flat, dull and ugly.
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Pretty much THIS.
 
Metrocall said:
I still have not heard one legitimate reason as to why having the option to use the original start menu or Metro is a bad thing.
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According to Microsoft and some of their investors that post here, choice is bad because then you can't constantly have your nose pushed into the appstore dog crap as a reminder to buy smartphone apps for your pc
 
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