Rumor: Microsoft will disable Live Tiles home screen in future PC version

Microsoft plans to disable the Start screen of its Modern UI, the Live Tiles environment in Windows 8, by default on PCs in the future. The Windows version for devices such as tablets and hybrids would still show the environment.

That writes Neowin Monday based on anonymous sources. They claim on the basis of early builds of a new Windows version, which is currently known under the code name Threshold, that Microsoft no longer shows the start screen for mouse and keyboard users by default. Tablet and hybrid users would still be presented with Modern UI, although this would not be fixed yet.

The move appears to be in line with Microsoft’s current course. The American company already said goodbye to Modern UI on PCs with Windows 8.1 Update 1 after users complained about the ambiguity of the new environment. Since that update, Windows can be started directly in the desktop environment, the taskbar is now visible in the Start menu and there is a title bar visible in apps that offers the possibility to close the program by means of the old-fashioned cross.

Finally, the tech giant wants to reintroduce an extensive start menu. That Start menu is a combination of the classic menu of previous Windows versions and a Live Tiles menu of the Windows 8 Start screen. According to the latest rumors, Microsoft will not release the start menu until early next year. The Windows developers would in fact want to wait until the introduction of Threshold, which would be more extensive and is on the agenda for April 2015. Threshold may be available as Windows 9.