Skip to main content

Windows 10 could get a new Start menu as Microsoft kills off one of its most useless features

Windows 10 looks set to get a redesigned Start menu in a future update, with Microsoft finally killing off Live Tiles for good.

Live Tiles were introduced with the Windows Phone 7 operating system, and made their way to Microsoft’s desktop operating systems starting with Windows 8, back when the company wanted to make Windows an OS that was suited to both traditional PCs and touch-screen devices (and ended up failing at both).

Even after Microsoft ditched Windows 8’s unloved ‘Metro’ interface for the more traditional Start menu with Windows 10, Live Tiles managed to stick around.

However, it now seems like Microsoft is planning to ditch Live Tiles. Microsoft has been neglecting Live Tiles recently, with the feature not getting an update for a while, and now Windows Latest is reporting that people familiar with Windows 10’s development have indicated that Microsoft is planning to replacing Live Tiles with static icons in a future update after the Windows 10 20H2 update – which is due to land in the second half of 2020 (hence the name).

If these rumors are true, then we could see the end of Live Tiles by 2021.

Live and let Live Tiles

The idea with Live Tiles was that they were large icons for programs that would update with new information. For example, the Live Tile for the weather app would also show you the current forecast, as well as acting as a shortcut for the app.

While these worked fine on a mobile device, on a traditional PC or laptop, they just took up space – and not many people used them.

Once Microsoft stopped updating Live Tiles, and third-party app makers abandoned them as well, Live Tiles became even more useless, so few people will mourn their passing.

Taking cues from Windows 10X

There is speculation that Windows 10’s new-look Start menu will ditch Live Tiles for static icons, and will look similar to the Start menu in Windows 10X, the upcoming version of Windows that Microsoft is designing for dual-screen devices.

We’ve already seen Microsoft introduce new icons to Windows 10 for people testing early versions of the software, so it’s clear that the company is planning to change the look of Windows 10 in the near future. 

Giving the Start menu, a part of Windows 10 that most people use daily, a new look and feel is well overdue, in our view.



from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/37WIvYj
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The future of Magic Leap's promising AR efforts dim after layoffs

The Magic Leap Two is now further away than ever, unfortunately. Today in a blog post the augmented reality pioneer announced major layoffs and has decided to cut up to half of its workforce, according to some reports. The original Magic Leap One was supposed to be one of the first mainstream augmented reality headsets when it launched in 2018, but a high price point and lack of interest from developers left the headset high and dry after launch. According to the blog post, Magic Leap says it will be focusing its efforts on enterprise solutions (a statement HTC has made recently as well) and shift its focus away from consumer technology… at least for the time being.  The company has been open about creating a second headset that would offer improved specs for some time, but how that work will now have to go forward without half of the team , according to some estimates, remains to be seen. Is the window closing on augmented reality?  Although it’s just one company, Magic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Airship acquires SMS commerce company ReplyBuy

Airship is announcing that it has acquired mobile commerce startup ReplyBuy . The startup (which was a finalist at TechCrunch’s 1st and Future competition in 2016) works with customers like entertainment venues and professional and college sports teams to send messages and sell tickets to fans via SMS. It raised $4 million in funding from Sand Hill Angels, Kosinski Ventures, SEAG Ventures, Enspire Capital, MRTNZ Ventures and others, according to Crunchbase . Airship, meanwhile, has been expanding its platform beyond push notifications to cover customer communication across SMS, email, mobile wallets and more. But CEO Brett Caine said this is the first time the company is moving into commerce. While sports and concerts tickets might not be a booming market right now, Caine suggested that the company is actually seeing increased purchasing activity “in and around the Airship platform” as businesses try to drive more in-app purchases. He also suggested that both the COVID-19 pandem...
Post a Comment
Read more