Say goodbye to the Start Orb in Windows 8

Some fresh screenshots shared online of one of the latest builds of Windows 8 (8220) give one significant point of interest and difference in relation to past builds; that being in the way of our beloved Start Menu that has only had subtle changes over many years of Windows releases. It looks as though (at least by default) that Microsoft is planning to do away with the Start orb altogether, as you can see from the screenshot below :-

We've known for a long time that Windows 8 will bring some bold, highly distinctive changes and additions with it mostly in the way of its touchscreen friendly Metro UI, but saying goodbye to our beloved Orb altogether is something many of us wouldn't have been expecting. Supposedly it is Microsoft's intent to make the taskbar (or what is now being more commonly referred to as the “Dock Bar”) more or less a launchpad for all your commonly accessed apps in Desktop mode, saving you the need to switch to Metro.

And how to switch to Metro with the Orb gone? Well, apparently it's going to be a matter of just placing your mouse in that far left bottom corner where the Orb will then come into view in order to initiate the charm bar. It's hard to say how fluent and streamlined this will all be when Microsoft polishes things off and hands it to consumers that are so used to a different means of interaction, but either way it would be nice if we have the ability to revert to the old functionality that everyone's become so accustomed to over the years if this start button-less task bar arrangement can't be gotten used to.

KitGuru says: A case of  too many drastic changes too soon? – Can you live without the Start Menu? Comment below.

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