SourceWindows 8.1 update 2 did exist, at least, internally at Microsoft. As you can see in the image above, there is a clear reference to the unreleased update that we likely now call Windows 10. This indicates that, at some point, Microsoft planned to deliver the Start menu to Windows 8 via update 2 but changed their minds and instead decided to include the menu in a brand new OS: Windows 10.
A Guy
Well majority of users hate 8 because of missing real Start, so if MS would include it in 8.2, they would have no reason to buy 10. And it is not just about Start, it is also about MS ignoring, what users want.
After I installed Media Center the watermark changed to Windows 8.1 Pro With Media CenterTechnical PreviewEvaluation Build. I've since gone back to 8.1 on that PC so I can't check the wording now. When I first saw it I had to do a double check to make sure I downloaded the correct ISO from MSDN. For a brief instant I wondered it I had some how downloaded one of the old Tech Previews. Then I remembered turning off the Start Menu and that this was Windows 10, not 8.1. It had me really confused for a bit though.
EDIT: you can see the watermark in the screen shot in this post,
Read more...Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that they would be shifting to monthly updates for Windows. While this move made sense, considering the new rapid release cycle, the company also shot down the rumors of Windows 8.1 'update 2'.
The confusion around the name of Windows Threshold was linked to the fact that those with inside sources, like Neowin, were hearing that the next major update to Windows would be called 8.1 update 2 or Windows 9. Because of this, we kept calling the next major update Windows Threshold, and not 9 or 8.1 update 2 as the signals were confusing. Now that Windows 10 is out, we have a much better understanding of the picture.
Windows 8.1 update 2 did exist, at least, internally at Microsoft. As you can see in the image above, there is a clear reference to the unreleased update that we likely now call Windows 10. This indicates that, at some point, Microsoft planned to deliver the Start menu to Windows 8 via update 2 but changed their minds and instead decided to include the menu in a brand new OS: Windows 10.
Hopefully they "deliver" Windows 10 as a free update. It will be a much longer wait than if they had given us Update 2 but I will forgive them (maybe) if Win 10 is free.
I saw that the other night when I was poking around through the registry and Group Policy to see what controls the Search and Task View buttons on the Taskbar and how one could remove them. I figured it was a reference to the August update.... But the GP Policy that this was under is for the enterprise and how deployments can use an exported .xml file that keeps the Start Screen layout intact, at least for the modern apps. I had SUCH a pickle of time with that when I was trying to get Desktop apps and File Explorer tiles to show on the Start Screen because after a DISM deployment, none of the Desktop items were pinned to Start but were kept under All Apps but in the directories for the Start Screen; they had the shortcut links there but the UI wasn't reflecting that. That was uber frustrating, apparently for some reason using a Microsoft Account is what fixed it...
