Stardock Start8 1.4 ensures compatibility with Windows 8.1 Update

Stardock Corporation has released Start 8 1.4, a minor update to its Windows 8 Start button and menu replacement tool. There are no new features in version 1.4, just a series of bug fixes and one key compatibility update.

That update is support for the forthcoming Windows 8.1 Update, due to ship on "Patch Tuesday" next week. Existing Start8 users should therefore update this before April 8th rolls around.

Four additional bugs are fixed with this latest release: the first allows users to click on section titles when using the Search tool, while another resolves an issue with documents appearing in the Most Recent Apps list.

There’s a fix that now excludes all desktop items from the Recent Apps list as well as a resolution for touch-screen devices that corrects a problem with touch to close that appeared when re-opening the menu.

The release comes after Microsoft surprised every at its Build 2014 developer conference by revealing a screenshot of a future Windows build with a resurrected Start menu, suggesting the clock is now ticking for Stardock’s app.

Stardock Start 8 1.4 available as a free 30-day trial download for PCs running Windows 8 or later. The full app costs $4.99. There are plenty of free alternatives available including ViStart 8.0 and the Classic Start Menu portion of Classic Shell.