Stardock has launched a new version of its Start menu app

Apr 24, 2014 07:39 GMT  ·  By

Start menu apps are still experiencing a surprisingly big success these days, even though Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s bringing back this feature in a future Windows update.

Start8 is one of the apps that are already installed on thousands of PCs out there, mostly thanks to its rich feature lineup and excellent reliability that makes modern Windows a much more familiar working environment.

The application today received a new update that comes to fix some of the bugs found in the previous builds, so make sure you deploy it as soon as possible, especially if you came across some issues.

Start8 is also one of the third-party Start menu apps working on Windows 8.1 Update, which means that if you’ve made the move to Microsoft’s new OS version, you can still install this program.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has already announced that it plans to bring back the Start menu in a future Windows update, with some people close to the matter explaining that August is very likely to witness the debut of this new feature.

Windows 8.1 is expected to receive a new set of improvements sometime this year and many believe that the company is planning to release it in August, before focusing entirely on Windows 9. The next full version of Windows is expected to launch in early 2015, according to the same rumors.

Terry Myerson, head of the OS unit at Microsoft, said during his keynote that the Start menu would indeed be brought back in the near future, but this isn’t quite a sign that the company is backtracking. Instead, he said, Microsoft is working to make modern Windows more appropriate for a wider array of devices, including the traditional PC, which has more or less been neglected since the debut of Windows 8.

“We set out to do this is a thoughtful way – one where we could enable more productivity for customers working in desktop mode, while building smart bridges to the new modern user experience and ensuring customers can get access to all your great apps in the Windows Store no matter where they are in the experience, or which device type they’re on,” Myerson said.

The new Start menu will mix the desktop and the Modern UI and will feature live tiles, so it remains to be seen whether third-party Start menu apps would still experience such an impressive success.