Even if you don’t use Windows often, you probably know to head for the Start button to get things rolling. Not any more, though, because Microsoft might be planning to dump the button in the next Windows release.
The Start button’s been in existence since Windows 95, making it about 17 years old. But the “Consumer Preview” of Windows 8 doesn’t have one, reports The Verge. That’s according to new leaked images like the one below, of course. In other versions that have been seen, the Start button has been flattened to blend in with the new Metro styling, so it’s not definite that the — quite literally — iconic button will disappear.
What if the Start button does go? The Verge says that a contact close to the Microsoft development team suggests it wouldn’t really be the end of the Start button: instead, the operating system would feature a hot corner to do a similar job. Sound familiar, Mac users? [The Verge; Images: freestockimages, PCBeta]