Windows 8.1 Start button demonstrated fully in new video
Microsoft demonstrated a number of new features in Windows 8.1 earlier this week, but the company briefly showed the return of the Start button and avoided any details on how it visually works. During Computex this week the company took …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had signaled in April that Windows 8.1 would restore the Start button and add a boot-to-desktop option, a reversal from the original Windows 8 interface direction. Its April Start-button plan framed the update as a usability correction rather than a wholly new platform.
A June 5 feature walkthrough had outlined the broader Windows 8.1 package without explaining the button's visual behavior. The fuller demonstration gives Microsoft a concrete way to communicate that interface change as it prepares the update for existing Windows 8 and Windows RT users.
First-order effects
- Microsoft can show existing Windows 8 users how the restored Start button fits into Windows 8.1, reducing uncertainty around one of the update's most visible navigation changes.
- The demonstration strengthens Microsoft's public case for the Windows 8.1 upgrade alongside its stated upgrade policies for Windows 8 and Windows RT customers.
Second-order effects
- For tablet makers receiving expanded Windows software discounts, the more familiar desktop navigation message becomes part of Microsoft's broader effort to make Windows devices easier to position to hesitant buyers.
- Microsoft's Windows RT push gains a clearer usability narrative as Windows 8.1 also brings Outlook 2013 RT through the free update.
Third-order effects
- Windows 8.1 points to Microsoft using updates to reconcile a touch-oriented Windows design with established desktop navigation habits, rather than asking existing PC users to fully abandon them.
The trend: Microsoft is repositioning Windows 8.1 as an incremental interface reset that pairs tablet-oriented features with familiar PC controls.