It's back! Yes, what you're looking at above is the Start button (plus matching options) that's been rumored to return with Windows 8.1 (formerly "Blue"). Yesterday .NET developer Robert McLaws tweeted a series of screenshots of Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview (build 9431) which show the new Start button and a revised "Taskbar and Navigation properties" dialog -- among other things. Microsoft faced massive criticism last year after shipping Windows 8 without the Start button -- prompting third parties to create replacements (like Start8 and Classic Shell) -- so this is a welcome change. Stay tuned for Build 2013 (the company's developer conference) which starts Wednesday in San Francisco -- we're likely to find out more about Windows 8.1 and the Start button in short order.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/25/w...12-r2-preview/