8.1 has an option to send you directly to the desktop and bypass the start screen when the computer boots. I see the Start Screen as an alternative to having shortcuts on your desktop, with the added benefit of being able to type a few letters of the name of a file/application on your computer and having it quickly found. Hit enter to open/execute it. I find it a lot faster than Start > All Programs > Scroll through folders > Click folder > Click shortcut but to each their own. This is essentially the same way I used the Start Menu in Windows 7, though, because it also had a search bar built in. Not the same computer I was on yesterday, but here's another screenshot. It's just a full screen start menu. It's got shortcuts for launching applications. Visually, it's different. Functionally it's similar, except for the All Programs area, which I don't care for in Windows 7 OR Windows 8 because it's a mess of everything installed on your computer and cumbersome to find anything... hence my preference for using the quick search features in both operating systems.