14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 was officially launched earlier this month with several new features and customization options supposed to give users more power to personalize their device.
In addition to the built-in Start button and the new option to boot directly to desktop, Microsoft has also implemented several Start screen customization settings that are meant to make the transition from the desktop to the Metro UI a bit easier and faster.
The company, of course, talks big about all these options, explaining that they have been designed in such a way that the “experience of the Start screen feels more unified with the classic desktop.”
“Now whenever I bring up my Start screen, it’s as if my tiles are floating gracefully in over my desktop background. Not only do I appreciate being able to customize my Start screen with my favorite images, but this experience also feels smoother and more cohesive to me,” Microsoft’s Jennifer Sheperd said in a blog post rolled out today.
“The consistent frame of reference of the background image seems to reduce the amount of mental adjustment I do when switching between the desktop and Start screen.”
One of the options implemented in Windows 8, and indeed created to make users’ transition from the Modern UI to the desktop a bit easier, is the possibility to use the same wallpaper on both working environments.
A dedicated option to enable the desktop wallpaper on the Start screen now resides under the taskbar properties menu, but similar settings are also available via the Start screen personalization gallery.
