Microsoft claims it took the controversial decision to remove the Start button from the traditional Windows desktop because people had stopped using it.
The lack of a Start button on the Windows 8 desktop has been one of the most divisive elements of the new user interface. It had been widely assumed that Microsoft removed the Start button to force people to familiarise themselves with the new Metro Start screen, which is the centrepiece of the Windows 8 overhaul. However, speaking to PC Pro at TechEd in Amsterdam, a senior Microsoft executive told us that the old Start menu had already fallen out of favour with users of Windows 7.
