Windows 8.1 update sweeps ‘Metro’ under the rug, boots to desktop by default

Dislike the blocky look of Windows 8? It may be pushed into the background by default with March Update 1 of Windows 8.1 says The Verge. It began with the brilliant Windows 8.1 update which gave users the option of bypassing Microsoft’s vision of the future, the Start screen or “Metro”, and possibly ends with this upcoming update. The reason? To “improve the OS for keyboard and mouse users”. This is Microsoft’s smartest move with Windows 8 yet, if it pans out.

Which it should, according to Russian Windows site Wzor who got their hands on the latest build of Windows 8.1 which includes the update. But then again, the site also says it had a “telepathic communication séance with Steve Ballmer” which is either a poor Google translation, or a sign of the end times. Regardless, Update 1 is still heavily in development as it tweaks and tunes Windows 8.1 in the favour of desktop users.

The look and feel of Windows 8 is Microsoft’s attempt to harmonise its OS across all platforms: tablet, mobile, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and computer. To some degree its accomplished this but on PC the failings of the all-app Start screen are pretty clear. Start is meant for a touch environment, as any sane user can attest to. It even looks excellent on mobile devices, with big clear blocks replacing eye-squinting icons. But the users have spoken, and desktop is the preferred default boot, according to telemetry data (think heat maps). The same data assisted Microsoft’s effort in bringing back the Start button it so wrongly removed with the initial launch of Windows 8.

Microsoft has made many mistakes in the past (we’re looking at you, Windows ME), but it’s not above course-correction. The future of Windows could now become just another odd relic that we see by default when we accidentally press the Start key. Also, we’re hedging our bets that Windows 8.1 Update 2 will remove the Start menu altogether, but that’s just blissful musings for now.