Talk of the Start menu has been rife in recent days and it something that people have been begging for since the release of Windows 8 saw it wrenched from the operating system. Now it seems as though we could see the return of the Start menu sooner than expected.
There has been speculation that Threshold — the codename for the next big Windows release — could be the release that sees Microsoft adding the Start menu back. But if Mary Jo Foley is to be believed we may not have to wait that long. Writing for ZDNet, Foley cites unnamed sources who claim that the Start menu is due to make a reappearance.
Internally it is being referred to as “mini-Start” there are no hints as to just what form the menu may take, but the fact that it is not just being called the Start menu should probably be taken as indicative that it is going to be different to the menu found in Windows 7. The obvious conclusion to jump to would be that it is a smaller menu.
May it will be a miniature version of the Start screen — not quite the Start menu we all came to know and love, but getting close to it. There is no official word on quite what form mini-Start will take but the question that is going to be on everyone’s lips is “when will we see it?”.
The obvious suggestion would be that it will show its face when Threshold is released, but Foley suggests that it could see the light of day before then. She refers to a rumored “Update 1” for Windows 8.1. Could this service pack style be the vehicle that is used? If so, we the Start menu could be back with us as early as spring next year!
What form do you want the Start menu to take? Would you be happy with a straight lift from Windows 7 or would you prefer something slightly different?
