14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 Update comes with plenty of improvements for the desktop and tweaks some of the features that Microsoft implemented in the previous OS update, so many believe that Redmond has actually changed its mind and is now going in reverse to fix some of the mistakes it made with Windows 8.
Microsoft Executive Vice President of operating systems Terry Myerson explained in an interview with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley that the software giant is actually trying to appeal to a broader customer range and, although some believe that it’s stepping back, the company is really keen on going forward with its touch environment.
“We're trying to get to one program and platform that spans all kinds of devices, from the Internet of things to phones to tablets to game consoles to servers to whiteboards. We're trying to get that whole spectrum, and you get a whole bunch of different input modalities there,” Myerson explained.
“Now you get Kinect, you get mice, keyboard, touch, speech. What we've added in the update (Windows 8.1 Update) is more support for mouse and keyboard in some new ways, but we didn't take away anything on touch.”
Microsoft brought back the Start button in Windows 8.1, after being heavily criticized for removing it in Windows 8. Additionally, the company is now working to restore the Start menu as well, in another attempt to make the operating system better for the desktop.
Many however believe that, by bringing back the Start menu in Windows, the company is actually admitting that it made the wrong decision in October 2012 when it shipped Windows 8 without such a feature. That’s not true, Myerson explained, adding that touch continues to be a priority for the company, but optimizing the operating system for the traditional desktop is also a key focus these days.
“We're not stepping back. We totally believe in touch. Touch is just fantastic. But there are hundreds of millions of new PCs shipping every year without touch. We want to support those. We want our customers to love our products. If they come to us and say I'd love it more if it supported this, we want to be a company that listens and responds and responds quickly,” he added.
The Start menu is expected to return to Windows sometime this year, but the company hasn’t provided any specifics on this. As far as consumers are concerned, this is quite the best news in months, as the Start menu was the only element missing from the operating system that could turn the platform into a much friendlier working environment.