One of the changes brought by Windows 8.1, available now for developers and launching to the public on October 17, is the return of the Start Button. The initial version of Windows 8, released last October, controversially omitted the Start Button and Start Menu, staples of Microsoft’s operating system since Windows 95. While many users want Microsoft to bring back the full Start Menu, the return of the Start Button in Windows 8.1 is a compromise that the company hopes will increase adoption of its new operating system.
Unfortunately for the Redmond software giant, it turns out that it’s impossible to please everyone. Some users prefer the Windows 8 desktop experience without the Start Button, and embrace the design philosophy that caused Microsoft to abandon the button and menu in the first place.
One of these users is WinAero’s Sergey Tkachenko, who took to the Neowin forums Wednesday to announce the release of “StartIsGone,” a utility that removes the Start Button from Windows 8.1.
StartIsGone is a small native utility that sits in a user’s Taskbar Notification Area and allows a user to disable the Start Button. Once enabled, the Start Button disappears and the user’s remaining pinned Taskbar items shift left to fill in the gap, just as they look in the initial version of Windows 8. Users can still hover their mouse cursor over the bottom left corner of the screen to access the button’s functions, but it won’t take up a potentially valuable slot on the desktop Taskbar.
The Start Button must be disabled every time the computer restarts, but a preference to have StartIsGone run automatically during startup can handle the process for you, ensuring that the Sinofsky-loving purists never see that dastardly Start Button again.
StartIsGone is available now for free from WinAero in both 32- and 64-bit versions. If you find the utility useful, you can always choose to donate via PayPal to support Sergey’s efforts.