Windows Start menu to return in Windows 8.2
In what could be one of the more startling reversals since New Coke, a report released Monday claims that Microsoft will bring back a Windows 7-style Start menu to what is being called Windows 8.2.
Windows 8.2, also known as Threshold, will include a Start menu as well as the ability of Windows 8 or “Metro” apps to run on the desktop itself.
Microsoft has yet to confirm the report, and given that Windows 8.2 “Threshold” is being bandied about as a early 2015 release, there’s certainly time for Microsoft to cancel its decision (or redesign a Start menu several times).
Will Windows 8.2 users have the option of never seeing this again?
Think about it, though. As a technical achievement, adding a Windows 7-style Start menu to Windows 8 is rather small potatoes. But it underscores Microsoft’s recurring fear: Windows 8.1 didn’t go far enough. Instead, to boost Windows 8 out of the sub-10 percent cellar it currently resides, Microsoft apparently feels that Windows 8 needs to provide a Windows 7 experience to those who want it.
And with the ability to boot to the desktop, access apps via the Start menu, and launch Metro apps via Windows on the desktop, there seems to be a good chance that users will be able to bury the Metro-styled, Windows 8 Start page where it will never be seen again.
