Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): When a Start Button is Not a Start Button

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) really raised some eyebrows with is dramatic changes in the Windows operating system from Windows 7 to Windows 8 when the latter was introduced to the world last fall. Although Microsoft updates its OS only every three or four years compared to Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) almost-annual updates and upgrades, Redmond has managed to keep some things intact from one new OS to the next, keeping a certain sense of consistency and reliability with the Windows brand and with Microsoft in general.

So after 18 years and several OS updates, the beloved Start button and Start menu – with that iconic Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the desktop or laptop home screen – was dramatically and heart-wrenchingly erased from Windows 8. Loyal Windows-ites were not very happy, and quite a few sent their feelings and thoughts to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) headquarters, hoping for a change that was a little more subtle and easier to help in the transition to a touchscreen-enabled OS.

There was much talk in the months since Windows 8 launched that in the first update, Windows 8.1 (codenamed “Blue”) Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) would relent to user feedback and would tweak the OS to include the Start button and Start menu in some form to at least help with some of the transition to this new look, with maybe future updates eventually phasing out the Start button as users get used to the new interface. It seemed that wishes were coming true when some leaks surfaced about Windows Blue that indicated that the Start button ws coming back – the Windows logo had appeared. Hallelujah!

Not so fast. Officials at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) confirmed Thursday that that beloved Windows logo on Windows Blue is not a Start button and it does not show a Start menu, but instead it is a button that allows users to toggle between the traditional desktop view and the Windows 8 “Metro” layout with touchscreen tiles. The original Windows 8 did not allow users the opportunity to go back to a traditional PC setup, so that change was difficult for many users. Now this toggle option should make the transition easier as users get used to using touchscreen capabilities on PCs like they already use on their smartphones and tablets.

What other changes might we see in this Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 8 update?

The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) who confirmed the death of the Start button also said that some other changes are less drastic and are more “tweaks” to Windows 8, such as better search features and capabilities, smoother functionality when working on multiple projects at once, and a format that will be more effective not only on PCs but also on smaller-screened tablets.

Windows 8.1 will be a free upgrade and is expected to be out sometime in June. What are your thoughts? Would you like to eulogize or write an obituary or the Start button? Leave us your feedback in the comments section below.

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