Windows 8.1 will bring back a Start Button, not the Start Menu

Microsoft might be willing to make one major UX concession in Windows 8.1 — bringing back the Start Button — but it’s not going to take a full step back. The Start Menu won’t be a part of the first major update to Windows 8. The Windows 8.1 Start Button will instead take you to the Start Screen, which makes sense. Microsoft isn’t going to back down from its position that the Start Screen is a better way for 99% of
Windows users to quickly access their top apps. But why not bring back the Start Menu if you’re going to revive the Start button? Because it had already been pushed to the edge of relevance by the Windows 7 task bar. It offered users a faster, more convenient way to find favorite games and programs. Pinning them to the task bar makes more sense than scrolling through a menu in an era when everyone has become accustomed to organizing app icons on smartphone and tablet home screens.

One-click convenience is the name of the game, and task bar pinning provides that. And really, the Start Screen is a lot like a gigantic task bar — with added benefits like the option to expand and shrink tiles to give them more or less prominence and HUD-style Live Tile updates. read more here