Previously, right-clicking an object on the desktop always brought up a context menu, giving you a choice of actions to take. This is where you’ll run into a fundamental change in how you interact with Windows.
Even so, Windows 8 apps consume the entire screen, whereas desktop applications can still run in a window on the desktop. That concept is easy to forget, since the Start screen occupies the entire display. The screen exists as a launchpad for applications, not as a desktop replacement. It’s important to realize that the Start screen is no more Windows 8 than the Start menu was Windows 7 or Windows XP. You can also search for an application by typing its name when you’re in the Start screen the results list autosorts as you type more characters.Īll applications show up as tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen. Instead of appearing as columns of small icons that pop up when you click the Start button, all your applications show up as tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen. The Windows 8 interface acts as the Start menu now.
PCs with the new OS installed will boot into the Windows 8 interface the OS offers no built-in way to set it to boot to the traditional Windows desktop.
Microsoft believes in this idea so strongly that it has made the Windows 8 user interface (formerly called Metro) the primary interface for Windows users. As mentioned previously, Windows 8 is designed to be part of an ecosystem, alongside Windows Phone and Windows RT.