If you have been following our past Windows 8 coverage you will be well aware that Microsoft plans to include a Metro-styled Start Screen in their next operating system. By default, the Start Screen will be the first destination upon boot of your Windows 8 system, even on traditional desktop computers.
Microsoft believes that the Start Screen will make it easier for you to access your most used applications via pinned tiles, very similar to the way Windows Phone operates. These tiles can also display handy data without actually having to go into the app, such as showing upcoming calendar events and market stock information. As we have seen in the Developer Preview and also from recent screenshots, Microsoft seems keen to remove the standard and much loved Start Menu in favour of using the Start Screen.
However, we have also seen a lot of opposition and hate towards the new Start Screen in the comments of our articles and editorials such as this one. It seems that a lot of you guys out there don’t really like being forced to use the Start Screen even on traditional set-ups, and so we put it to you.
If you had the option to completely disable the Windows 8 Start Screen and restore the original Start Menu/Desktop combination, while still retaining most of the other Windows 8 features, would you take this option? Or would you rather keep the Start Screen but have it default to the Desktop? Perhaps you like the Metro interface and will keep the default Windows 8 settings.
Let us know anonymously in the poll below, and leave your opinion in the comments section below. Personally I would like to disable the Start Screen in favour of a traditional desktop with Start Menu, but I would still want to be able to quickly go back and use the Metro interface if I ever had to.