One of the biggest criticisms levelled against Windows 8 has been the absence of the traditional Start menu, a staple of Microsoft’s OS since Windows 95. A pair of leaked pictures from a new build of Windows codenamed ‘Threshold’, shows that the Start menu may be on the way back to the world’s most recognisable desktop operating system.
The new Start menu shown in the picture above (via Myce) is an amalgamation of old and new, featuring bits of the Start menu prior to Windows 8 and the new one from version 8 and 8.1 that features constantly-updating Live Tiles. On the left hand side is what looks like a traditional Windows 7 Start menu with the right hand side having space for the three different sizes of Live Tiles. The new Start menu is reminiscent of the Windows 8 Start Menu by Pokki, just with deeper integration of Live Tiles instead of icons for each of the apps.
The other picture (shown below) is what apps downloaded form the Windows Store will look like when run on the desktop instead of in the full screen mode that the apps currently require. The feature is once again similar to a third party piece of software, developed this time by Stardock called ModernMix.
The “Threshold” update is expected to come out for all Microsoft OSes sometime during 2015. It will not only revise Microsoft’s desktop operating system, but will also include updates to the Xbox One OS and roll Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT into a single operating system in much the same way that Android and iOS have the same OS running on tablets and smartphones.
