Good news, Windows users--the iconic Start Menu is returning in the latest update scheduled to roll out on next week.
Announced Wednesday morning at the BUILD Developers Conference in California, the Windows 8.1 update slated for April 8 will include changes that simplify operations for anyone using a mouse and keyboard, Yahoo Tech reported.
Users seemed disoriented by the original Windows 8 update, which traded the old format for a tile screen.
With the latest version, "Our goal is to bring back the familiar," Chaitanya Sareen, who heads the Windows program at Microsoft, told The Wall Street Journal's tech blog.
The new Start Menu will show two columns, the familiar one of applications and folders along with the new column of Live Tiles, a feature that holds touchable applications for smartphones and tablets.
The goal of Windows 8 was to optimize the program for touchscreen devices, but it seemed to backfire when users complained about the way the screen splits between the familiar desktop view and the Start menu with Live Tiles.
"Though hypothetically helpful for those with touchscreen devices, this proved confusing and unintuitive to many who had upgraded from Windows 7," Yahoo Tech noted.
The WSJ tech blog listed a few changes that users will likely welcome in the Windows 8.1 update.
The most popular change will probably be the shift back to seeing a traditional desktop instead of the Live Tiles when the computer first turns on. Hitting the Start button will still take users to a Start screen, but Microsoft has promised to bring back the classic Start menu in the near future, WSJ's Joanna Stern reported.
The new Windows taskbar will also be easier to use since users will be able to pin apps and shortcuts as well as navigate between different apps. And besides the Start Menu, Microsoft fans can welcome back the close and minimize icons for all apps.
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