Windows Brings Back 'Start' Button, Sort of

Microsoft today unveiled a slew of impending upgrades to Windows 8, among them the return of a Start button, reports Reuters. It comes with one important catch, writes Brad Chacos at PC World—the button will be back in the lower-left corner, but the old Start menu will not. "While the new feature is notable for adding a helpful visual cue to an operating system rife with hidden menus, it isn’t exactly what people begging for the return of the Start button were looking for."

That's just one of a host of changes designed to make the system easier to navigate and to make apps, documents, etc., easier to find and use. Also, those who hate the tiled UI of Windows 8 will be able to boot directly to their desktop. All in all, the tweaks add up to a "fundamental" update, writes Tom Warren at the Verge. Microsoft itself lays them out in a blog. They will be available free to Windows 8 users later this year, and the company will have more details at a developer conference next month. (More Microsoft stories.)