Rumor has it Microsoft may cave in to the massive grumbling from users about Windows 8 booting into the Modern (aka Metro) UI by default.  Windows 8.1/Blue is due for release later this year. Microsoft had previous denied any option to boot-to-desktop, instead opting to cram more stuff on to the Start Screen. However, there is news that just may be users will be able to turn-off the Start Screen:

MicrosoftPortal (via WinBeta translation) reportedly dug into important operating system files stemming from one of the recent Windows 8.1 leaks and discovered references for disabling the Start screen. One such file was twinui.dll — which is responsible for switching between the Modern UI and desktop user interfaces — that contained a setting labeled “CanSuppressStartScreen”.

According to the report, disabling or modifying this code will supposedly make the system boot into desktop automatically without the need for third-party software like Start8. The current leaked builds reportedly don’t feature a toggle for booting directly into the desktop, so it’s possible that Microsoft still hasn’t decided on whether to include the desktop toggle or not.

If this turns out to be true, it is going to be a small step in the right-direction. Switching to the desktop is not that big of pain, WinKey+D will get you there and there are a couple places on the Modern UI you can click to get there as well. However, I think more people would be happy to have a built-in Start Menu without having to install a 3rd party app such as ClassicShell.net. 

via Tom’s Hardware