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8/22/2014
Windows 9 inbound: Microsoft to unveil Windows 'Threshold' in September, reports say
Our first glimpse of Windows 9 may be right around the corner, as the new rapid-fire Microsoft scrambles to put the stigma of Windows 8's disastrous launch in the rear view mirror. Microsoft is set to officially unveil Windows "Threshold"—as it's
currently code-named—at a press event on September 30 or soon
thereafter, according to the Verge's Tom Warren. A week ago, ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley
reported that Microsoft was targeting a "technology preview" for
Windows Threshold in late September or early October. Both Warren and
Foley are well-connected Windows watchers with a firm track record; the
duo was the first to report on the Windows Blue update that eventually evolved into Windows 8.1, for instance.
The Start menu and the ability to run Metro apps on the desktop are definitely coming to Windows 9.
Rather than being a sweeping overhaul in the vein of Windows 8,
Windows Threshold actually appears poised to dial back the gargantuan
changes found in that operating system. Microsoft has already announced
that the Start menu is coming back
to the OS, joined by the ability to run Metro apps in discrete desktop
windows. Recent leaks (including Foley and Warren's own reports) suggest
other, mostly pro-desktop tweaks
are inbound, including virtual desktop support, the removal of the
Charms bar, and—possibly—the introduction of Windows Phone 8.1's sassy virtual assistant, Cortana, to Windows proper.
Hopefully there's more to Threshold than simple UI changes. We can think of other features we'd like to see in Windows 9—15 of them,
in fact. We'll know for sure what's making the cut before long, if the
two reports prove true. And if they do, Microsoft will reportedly make
the technical preview public, so that developers and enthusiasts alike
will be able to take Windows 9 for a whirl. Fingers crossed.
