Microsoft has explained what happened to the Start menu in the latest version of Windows 8



From Techradar:

The Windows 8 consumer preview has just launched and one familiar feature to Windows users is nowhere to be seen. However, Director of Windows Program Management Gabriel Aul told TechRadar that the humble Start Menu was not AWOL. Zero pixelsWe didn't take the Start menu away, he points out; it's just zero pixels. In the lower left corner you have Start where you expect it to be, you click it to jump back to Start.

  Microsoft explains the 'missing' Start menu in Windows 8