Windows 8.1 May Include a 'Boot to Desktop' Option

Pete Pachal2013-04-15 15:02:55 UTC

The most recent numbers show PC sales dropping like a rock, with many blaming the radical changes in Windows 8 for scaring away customers. A new rumor suggests the drop has prompted Microsoft to consider reversing course on at least one aspect of the new user interface.

Microsoft may introduce a "Boot to Desktop" mode in the next major update to Windows, called either Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue, according to a post on WinBeta. A version of the update leaked out last month, and someone who examined the code discovered that it includes a line of code for suppressing the Start screen.

Even before Windows 8 launched last October, many felt that throwing users into the new Windows UI at startup might not be the best solution for all customers, particularly those focused on productivity (i.e. office workers). Also, since the number of apps created for the new environment was relatively few (even the new Microsoft Office runs as a Desktop app), the benefits of always starting in the new UI were questionable.

Microsoft told Mashable it wouldn't comment on the rumor, but its position has generally been that the new UI and the traditional desktop work in conjunction with each other; they're not walled-off environments. The Charms menu, for example, is still accessible from the Desktop, and the two versions of Internet Explorer in fact share a lot of functionality on the back end, even thouhg they appear to be completely different apps.

Nonetheless, surveys suggest an option to suppress the Start screen could alleviate some users' fears of upgrading. However, the less time those users spend in the "proper" Windows 8 environment, the less developers will be interested in creating apps for that environment — the most likely reason Microsoft has been reluctant to include the Boot to Desktop option.

But if users are rejecting Windows 8 outright (as the PC sales numbers suggest), then Microsoft obviously needs to re-examine its approach. Will that include Boot to Desktop in Windows 8.1? We should find out for sure at the Microsoft BUILD developer conference in June.

Photo by Nina Frazier, Mashable

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