Topping tech headlines on Thursday, Microsoft provided a “first look” at Windows 8.1, which includes the return of the start button.

With Windows 8.1, the first major update to Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system, the start button will appear whenever you move your mouse to the bottom right of the screen in tiled (or “Metro”) mode and will persist on the taskbar when in desktop mode.

In other PC news, Razer on Thursday unveiled its first 14-inch Razer Blade gaming laptop and refreshed its popular 17-inch Blade with more powerful hardware and longer battery life while maintaining its slim 0.88-inch profile and knocking $200 off the price tag. Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan touted the 14-inch Razer Blade as the “world’s thinnest gaming laptop,” boasting at a press event that it is “impossibly thin.”

Meanwhile, Apple unveiled a new iPod touch, which offers 16GB for $229, and has a 4-inch Retina display. What’s new? The device does not come with the standard iSight camera, a design decision that not only explains the lower price, but also indicates that this model of the iPod touch may be specifically geared toward music lovers and gamers.For more, see Should You Buy the New $229 iPod Touch?

Here’s some other news you might have missed yesterday:

• Scientists Describe Plan to Nuke Threatening Asteroids: The debate over the wisdom of nuking an asteroid on a collision course with Earth was rekindled last week when the director of Iowa State’s Asteroid Deflection Research Center proposed a delivery system for an asteroid-busting nuke.
• Double Fine Bets on Kickstarter Again With ‘Massive Chalice’ Campaign: The developer is hoping that lightning will strike twice on Kickstarter with a new campaign to raise money for a tactical strategy PC game known as Massive Chalice.
• Tesla to ‘Dramatically Expand’ Supercharger Network: Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) are a dream to drive but a lack of charging infrastructure has made these sporty cars impractical for many Americans who live far from the company’s coastal Supercharger networks.
  
• Dots Arrives on iPad, Gets Multi-Player Mode: The highly addictive and aesthetically pleasing iPhone game Dots has now arrived on the iPad.
• Feds Release Guidelines for Self-Driving Cars: U.S. transportation officials released early guidelines for the development of self-driving cars, including recommendations for lawmakers who are writing laws governing the technology.
• Fan TV Takes Over Living Room Home Theater: Tech startup Fanhattan wants to clean out your home theater clutter and replace it with one small device: the Fan TV.
• Planetary Resources Aims to Make ‘Smartphone of Space’: Peter Diamandis is one of a handful of entrepreneurs who can rightfully claim to have jump-started the young but growing private space exploration industry.
• EU Commissioner Wants to Kill Mobile Roaming Fees: The EU’s commissioner for digital policy made a push to abolish cell phone roaming charges and encouraged member countries to embrace net neutrality.
• Google Brings Nutrition Information to Search: Everyone knows that making healthy food choices and sticking to a diet isn’t always easy. But Google wants to make the process a little less intimidating.