Leaked "Windows 9" Screenshots, Reveal More Detail about Reborn 'Start' Menu

It's No Secret that an upcoming Windows Update Codenamed, 'Threshold', will Herald the Return of the 'Start' Menu and Allow Metro Apps to Operate in Windowed Mode. Heck, the Image below Came Straight from Microsoft itself. But, Whenever Fresh Screenshots of the Interface Show Up, it's Always Worth Taking a Look. Myce.com Recently Nabbed 2 Screenshots from a Purported Recent Build of 'Threshold', which is Expected to be Called "Windows 9" When it Debuts in 2015. Right Now, however, these Internal Builds are Labeled Windows 8.1 Pro — a Fact that Neowin Noted Earlier in July When it also Nabbed a Screenshot of the 'Start' Menu. The Myce and Neowin Shots are Very Similar and Aren't All that Different from What we Saw in April, When Microsoft Officially Announced the 'Start' Menu was Coming Back.

On the Left-Hand Side of the New 'Start' Menu you'll Have a List of Recently Used Apps, as well as, an Option to View a List of "All Apps". (The Terminology Seems to be a Catch-All for Both Desktop Programs and Metro Apps.) Presumably, as with the Original Versions of the 'Start' Menu, you'll be Able to Pin Apps to this List. To the Right of the Apps List is an Area with Pinned Metro Apps for Easy Access and At-a-Glance Live Tiles for Apps like Weather, Mail, News and Calendar. The New 'Start' Menu Seems to be Customizable, with it Tile Sizes Appearing Adjustable, just as they are Now on the 'Start' Screen. One Difference from the April Sneak Peek is that, Regular Desktop Features are also Pinned to the Metro Side. Both the Myce and Neowin Screenshots, for Example, Show Icons for the Pictures and Documents Folders, as well as, What Looks like a "My PC / This PC" Tile. Most Desktop Users are Excited about the Notion that, the 'Start' Menu will Return. Even Better it May Actually Put Metro Apps to Good Use for those of us Who Boot to the Desktop. But, Microsoft May Have Different Plans. The Verge Reported Late Monday that, Microsoft is Testing Versions of the 'Start' Menu that Take Over the Entire Screen and Act More Like the Current 'Start' Screen in Windows 8.1 (while also Confirming Myce's Screenshots as Legit, according to its sources).

What The Verge Doesn't Mention, however, is Whether this will Happen on All Devices Running, 'Threshold'. A Report from Windows Watcher, Paul Thurrott, Earlier in July Said, the Expanded 'Start' Menu would be the Default Option for Tablets and Other Touch-Based Devices that Lack a Keyboard. This Interface, Thurrott Said, would be "a full-screen Start menu that looks and works a lot like the Start screen does now". Regular PCs, however, would Get the More Traditional 'Start' Menu as Seen in the Myce and Neowin Leaked Screenshots. In Addition to Another Look at the 'Start' Menu, Myce also Published a Screenshot Showing the Windows Store Operating in Windowed Mode. 'Threshold' Isn't Expected to Roll Out until April 2015 but, if you Can't Wait that Long, you Can Put Together a Similar Set-Up Using 3rd-Party Tools for Windows 8.1.