Microsoft wants to know how you feel about Windows 10’s Start menu

Image credit: Microsoft

Windows 10’s Start menu is one of the most carefully watched and polarizing parts of the operating system’s UI – historically, it has been a very sensitive subject – and apparently Microsoft wants to know how people feel about the current menu, possibly ahead of some revamping work.

As Bleeping Computer reports, in the preview builds of Windows 10, Microsoft has implemented a pop-up notification asking testers: “How satisfied are you with the Start menu?”

You can then answer giving a rating on a scale of one to five, with one being not satisfied enough, and five being very satisfied. Perhaps most importantly, under that rating, there’s a box which asks for feedback on how Microsoft can make the Start menu better.

Feedback friendly

Asking for feedback has been a big thing ever since Nadella took the reins of the company, as Microsoft wants to be seen as a firm that listens, particularly after Windows 8 (where it was perceived as a company which flew in the face of what people wanted with the new OS at the time).

Microsoft has previously solicited feedback from testers on the taskbar and other components of Windows 10.

It’s not a completely wild shot in the dark to guess that Microsoft is planning further work on the Start menu soon – possibly even a larger overhaul – which is why it wants to gather a good range of opinions from the testing public, as well as internal staff.

The recent May 2019 Update made a number of tweaks to the Start menu, with some streamlining to make it less cluttered, and the ability to get rid of more pre-installed apps. Also, some technical wizardry under the bonnet means that the menu should now run more smoothly and be more stable.

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Latest in Windows
A laptop on a desk with the Windows 11 background on its screen.
Microsoft is adding image editing and compression to its Windows Share feature - and I couldn't be happier
AOC Agon Pro AG276FK gaming monitor tilted slightly to the side, showing the Windows desktop screen
Windows 11 users get ready for more ‘recommendations’ from Microsoft – but I’m relieved to say these suggestions might actually be useful
Microsoft Store logo on a blurred background
There's finally a fix for an annoying Microsoft Store bug that's older than Windows 11
Portrait of African-American teenage boy studying at home or in college dorm and using laptop, copy space
Windows 11’s Notepad gets AI-powered ‘Rewrite’ feature, but not everyone’s going to be happy about it
Copilot on a laptop
Microsoft quietly updates Copilot to cut down on unauthorized Windows activations
Windows fail
It looks like Microsoft might have broken Windows 11 24H2 again as performance plummets with Intel's latest CPUs
Latest in News
Lego Mario Kart – Mario & Standard Kart set on a shelf.
Lego just celebrated Mario Day in the best way possible, with an incredible Mario Kart set that's up for preorder now
TCL QM7K TV on orange background
TCL’s big, bright new mid-range mini-LED TVs have built-in Bang & Olufsen sound
Homepage of Manus, a new Chinese artificial intelligence agent capable of handling complex, real-world tasks, is seen on the screen of an iPhone.
Manus AI may be the new DeepSeek, but initial users report problems
Google Maps
Nightmare Google Maps glitch is deleting timelines, and there isn't a fix yet
Twitter social media application change logo to X. Elon Musk CEO of twitter rebranded Twitter to 'X'. Social media application technology concept.
X is down again – Elon Musk confirms 'massive cyberattack' as former Twitter site hit by fourth outage today
Joe Goldberg and Kate Lockwood sitting at a table and looking at the camera in You season 5.
Netflix releases a killer new trailer for You season 5 but my favorite character is missing from Joe's final chapter