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Farewell to the Start button? Windows 8 leak points to another big change

February 6, 2012 at 10:33 am by 8 Comments

Windows 8, the next version of Microsoft’s PC operating system, will be a radical change for people who pick it up for the first time, with a primary screen based on tiles similar to the Windows Phone interface — relegating the old-fashioned yet familiar Windows desktop to a secondary status.

Go ahead and laugh, but given the degree of change, it has actually been comforting to see the Windows flag, representing the Start button, in the lower left corner when using the Windows 8 Developer Preview. First introduced with Windows 95, the Start button has gone through several changes, but it’s a nice connection to the past.

But it looks like that may be going away, as well.

A report by Tom Warren in The Verge over the weekend, citing a leaked Windows 8 build, says the upcoming Windows 8 Consumer Preview nixes the Start button entirely. He explains …

“We have confirmed with sources close to Microsoft’s Windows 8 development that a hot corner has replaced the Start button orb. A thumbnail-like user interface will appear in Metro or desktop mode, providing a consistent way to access the Windows desktop and Start Screen in Windows 8 regardless of touch or mouse input. The new interface is activated on hover from the lower-left corner of Windows 8 and includes a thumbnail preview of where you will navigate to after clicking on the new visual element.”

The Start Screen he’s referring to is the tile-based default screen that I mentioned earlier, pictured below. In the Developer Preview, the Start button and menu appear in the lower left of this screen when hovering over that area with a mouse. A square Start button is fixed to the lower left of the screen in the traditional desktop view in Windows 8 (pictured above).

It’s important to note that the report of the Start button’s demise hasn’t been confirmed yet by Microsoft, and it’s tough to judge something until you actually get to use it — but this is a surprise, to say the least.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview, a.k.a. the first Windows 8 beta, is due out later this month, and a final version of the new operating system is widely expected later this year. Microsoft is banking on Windows 8 to give Windows PC tablets new traction against the iPad and Android devices, but the new interface will also be the standard for traditional PCs with keyboards and mice.

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  • Zonker

    I like PCs, not phones. I hate seeing my desktop turn into this. 

    • FSman

      This is going to be an unmitigated disaster of an OS.

  • Guest

    Kudos to Microsoft for (1) being bold enough to try a UI change like this and (2) being respectful enough to let customers turn it off without a hack.

    • Guest

      LOL, Paul. The UI change isn’t bold, it’s desperate. That’s what happens when you underestimate your competitors and get disrupted by the same tablet and mobile market MS helped pioneer. Predictably, MS is now rushing to be just like the now more than two year old iPad. Meanwhile Apple is no doubt working on the next big thing. Even in tablets, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them release a iPad Pro that runs OS X instead of iOS, and do so in advance of W8 tablets hitting the market very late this year or early next. It would be so like them to preempt MS yet again. Of course by not innovating, telegraphing every strategy move, and consistently taking years to do what others achieve in months, MS makes that pretty easy.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Adas-Weber/622729281 Adas Weber

        Why don’t you try the BETA version when it’s out and reserve judgement until then.

        I don’t think this is a rushed attempt at all. Windows Phone 7 was not rushed and resulted in an excellent and innovative system that is very slick and simple to use, so much so that it is actually a better user experience than iOS or Android.

  • Guest

    Windows 8 is going to make Vista look good.

  • Yetter

    I am seriously stoked for win8.  A real operating system on a tablet.  About time

    • Guest

      Only on the x86 version. The ARM variant appears to be crippled to such an extent that you wonder why they even put the name Windows on it at all.