Microsoft is reportedly planning to bring back the start menu in the next version of Windows, TechCrunch reported.
According to Microsoft watchers Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrott, the next major versions of the operating system, something Foley is hearing called "Threshold" could reintroduce the Start menu - user interface element used in Microsoft Windows since Windows 95.
Bringing back the start button will reverse the changes made by Microsoft in Windows 8.1.
It's not clear if the start menu will be made available for all versions of Windows Threshold; Thurrott speculates it may appear as an option for those that only support desktop apps.
Foley, who has covered the tech industry for about 30 years and speaks on all things Microsoft-related, said the threshold Windows wave is slated to begin arriving around spring 2015.
The Threshold continues the trend of "unification inside the Windows aegis," TechCrunch reported.
According to The Verge, additional changes appear to include an option to run Windows 8-style ("Metro") apps on the desktop. The next version of Windows is said to expand this greatly by allowing Metro apps to float as separate windows on the desktop. Currently, the new Windows 8-style apps can run alongside the desktop.
The platform becomes more tightly locked, with a common core sporting several faces, or SKUs [stock-keeping units]. One is "modern and akin to Windows RT, and would focus on Windows Store apps.
Another, would be a "more traditional consumer SKU [stock-keeping unit]," which would include "some semblance of productivity and familiarity with Windows," may also be included in the next Windows wave, as well as an enterprise facing SKU that would suit organizations of scale and their needs.
"This should all make sense, as the builds that Foley is describing mirror closely Windows 8.1 RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7," TechCrunch reported.
Microsoft will add it natively to provide more flexibility for its new style apps. Thurrot said when the Start Menu is reinstated, it would probably "appear only on those product versions that support the desktop."
