Rumor: Windows 9 'Threshold' expected in April 2015

[Scorpus]

Microsoft is reportedly targeting an April 2015 launch for the operating system sequel to Windows 8.1, codenamed 'Threshold'. According to Paul Thurrott, Microsoft is trying to put the less-than-fantastic launch of Windows 8.1 behind it by calling the OS Windows 9, and although it hasn't entered the development phase, the company has already started planning ahead.

In April 2014, which is just a few months away, Microsoft will hold its annual BUILD conference and it's rumored that the company's long term vision will be presented at the show. This will include the first look at what Microsoft has planned for Windows 9, alongside more stuff on Windows Phone and Xbox.

Addressing the criticisms surrounding Windows 8 will be a major focus of Windows 9, and the OS is expected to bring "Metro 2.0", a major update to the design language used from Windows 8 onwards set to fix issues. As previously reported, this update may introduce a feature that allows Metro-style applications to be run on the desktop as floating windows, rather than just full-screen apps.

The Start menu may also return in Windows 9 'Threshold', or even earlier in a second 'Update 2' for Windows 8.1. 'Threshold' updates should also come to Windows Phone and Xbox, but it won't necessarily bring the eventual merge of Windows RT and Windows Phone.

Currently Microsoft is working on 'Update 1' for Windows 8.1, which is essentially a free service pack that will likely debut in April 2014 alongside Windows Phone 8.1. The development of both OSes is nearing completion, so it shouldn't be too long before we'll get our hands on updates for Microsoft's main platforms.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/55299-rumor-windows-9-threshold-expected-in-april-2015.html

 

[gamoniac]

This is good news. Start menu's come back is welcomed, and allowing Modern UI to run in Desktop mode will restore the its name sake -- Windows, while allowing apps to run and deployed in a safe and uniform manner. via the Store

Many people object to Modern UI but it does offer very tangible performance benefit. If you compare the CPU utilization when Netflix runs in Modern UI vs in desktop mode (IE), for example, the difference is 2% vs 8% on my desktop.

 

[SirGCal]

Is it me or are they going a little fast? They keep wanting more money for my 'upgrade'? XP/2k went for how many years? Now their best yet (7) is possibly obsolete how fast? (When did 8 arrive?, and now a potential move from 8 to 9...) Maybe it's just me but it seems to be speeding up. Still it better be pretty nice for me to give up 7 (read 'pay for 9')

 

[Teaco]

Is it me or are they going a little fast?

Was thinking the same thing, but after referencing the Wikipedia article, it seems every 2-3 years is the norm for release cycles with Windows.

 

[NotParker]

I use Win7. I spent a few hours with Win8 and Win8.1 restoring someones laptop and updating things.

WIndows 8 sucks. Totally unproductive compare to Win7.

I'm not a Windows basher. I used NT4 in beta. 2000 in beta ... XP at beta 2, etc etc.

I wouldn't pay one cent for 8 or 8.1.

 

[Guest]

It's not that they're going fast, but rather they're returning to normal. Windows 95, 98, and ME in '95, '98, and 2000 respectively, as well as NT in '96, with Windows 2000 taking over for ME (for good reason) and bridging the NT path.
Then XP in late 2001. That's a new OS every two or three years.
Vista was stuck in development for so long that people got used to XP being around forever, but Microsoft had not intended for that to happen. Indeed, it's made people more reluctant to upgrade, because now they had an OS that was stable and had the majority of the features they wanted. That's why there's a lot of articles sort of freaking out about April's end of support for XP, because there's still so many installs of it out there.
I would wager that a large number of people 'upgrade' only when they buy a new PC, rather than because they want Microsoft's shiny new release, because that's all they can get from major retailers unless they put forth extra effort. Certainly all the bargains only seem to apply to systems with the latest OS installed.
Starting with XP (decent), then Vista (awful), then Win7 (decent), then Win8 (awful)... I want to believe the best of 9, but with their lowest-common-denominator approach of wanting every device to look the same, even though smartphones are always going to be less capable than desktop PCs... I think I'll be disappointed.

 

[fimbles]

Got to admit, battlefield 4 was a stuttery mess for me on windows 7.

Much smoother performance on windows 8.1

 

[Gaara]

I use Win7. I spent a few hours with Win8 and Win8.1 restoring someones laptop and updating things.

WIndows 8 sucks. Totally unproductive compare to Win7.

I'm not a Windows basher. I used NT4 in beta. 2000 in beta ... XP at beta 2, etc etc.

I wouldn't pay one cent for 8 or 8.1.

I agree with you !! windows 8 is suck, and windows 7 is perfect!! of course is base in windows xp that why. .. by the way im impress that you say windows 8 is suck and they have't remove your comment. I guess this is not lie neowin propaganda.

 

[9Nails]

I'm not a fan of Windows 8.1 on the desktop. Its because of the full screen Metro windows and getting stuck in them. (Can't find the 'X' to close, 'Escape' key doesn't escape, or 'Backspace' key doesn't back up a panel.) I use it at work, and after a few days of frustration I installed Start is Back. That fixed 99% of my problems. I had to install Adobe Reader because the default MS Reader was taking up the whole screen. Now, I just need to find an audio player to replace Windows Media Player / Xbox Player. And to find a picture viewing application to replace the built-in photo viewer.

I can't really put my finger on what I like about it on the desktop. Possibly its that it feels faster and the task bar makes better use of multiple monitors. But that's not a whole lot of compliments.

My Windows 8 experience leaves me feeling apprehensive about Windows 9.

 

[tipstir]

So they can't make Windows 9 128-bit as there isn't enough software around to take advantage so it's the same old 32/64-bit CPU mix support. So Windows 9 should allow you to have the power of 9 OS without Metro GUI if you don't have touch screen monitor or touch screen laptop.

I don't see the thinking there at Microsoft I know I gave them a hand full with my complaint over them on Windows 8 phone. Never got it and to get a refund from them directly just go processed last night after waiting over a week and no one from MS ever contacted me. I got 3 emails telling me what I already know late last night. If I didn't get the phone by mail then issue me a full refund. They told me I could reorder I don't think so. I'll take my business somewhere else.

My Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Tablet will stay with 7 for now. I am in no rush to put 8.1 on it. All my 5 quad core desktops run 7 64-bit, dual core 2x laptops run 7 64-bit, single core 2x netbooks run 7 -32-bit. I use to have more systems but they're RIP they work but too old to really use.

My TCP/IP for 7 runs as fast as 8 and 8.1. System is runs smooth and clean both 7 and 8 suffer from poor system clogging. I keep all 7 systems clean every day them that way. Still MS limits the TCP.sys to 10 MSC, I have one set to 250 since my enterprise wired VPN router can do 350 on NAT side. Again to me 8 was a test out in the wild. But I want them to offer systems with a choice at boot. Load Windows 7 or Load Windows 8. Give us a dual boot option . Leave Media Center alone comes in handy if you ditch CATV or SATV or OTA HD-DTV.

 

[Nobina]

These are good news. They are planning to bring start menu back and apps won't be fullscreen. Everything I wanted from Windows 8/8.1.

 

[Railman]

Another excuse not to buy a PC for another year?

 

[Jad Chaar]

These are good news. They are planning to bring start menu back and apps won't be fullscreen. Everything I wanted from Windows 8/8.1.

That would be pretty awesome if it was a free upgrade from any OS, not just Windows 8. Look at OS X Mavericks, people with OS X 10.6 could upgrade to it. If MS makes us pay for needed upgrades, I, and many others, will be very bitter and mad.

 

[je29836]

SteamOS will **** on windows 9

 

[Joshw]

I couldn't be mad if they decided to listen to their customers again.The reactions to the Xbox One and Win 8 prob made them snap back to reality.

 

[ET3D]

SteamOS will **** on windows 9

Babies often do that to their parents. Hopefully it will grow up soon enough.

 

[fimbles]

I'm not a fan of Windows 8.1 on the desktop. Its because of the full screen Metro windows and getting stuck in them. (Can't find the 'X' to close, 'Escape' key doesn't escape, or 'Backspace' key doesn't back up a panel.) I use it at work, and after a few days of frustration I installed Start is Back. That fixed 99% of my problems. I had to install Adobe Reader because the default MS Reader was taking up the whole screen. Now, I just need to find an audio player to replace Windows Media Player / Xbox Player. And to find a picture viewing application to replace the built-in photo viewer.

I can't really put my finger on what I like about it on the desktop. Possibly its that it feels faster and the task bar makes better use of multiple monitors. But that's not a whole lot of compliments.

My Windows 8 experience leaves me feeling apprehensive about Windows 9.

Drag apps to the bottom of the screen to close

 

[m4a4]

These are good news. They are planning to bring start menu back and apps won't be fullscreen. Everything I wanted from Windows 8/8.1.

That would be pretty awesome if it was a free upgrade from any OS, not just Windows 8. Look at OS X Mavericks, people with OS X 10.6 could upgrade to it. If MS makes us pay for needed upgrades, I, and many others, will be very bitter and mad.

That's sure is a lot of entitlement. They don't need to make anything free, and there's no reason to be annoyed by that fact.
They will most likely do something similar to what that they did when Windows 8 first released (the 15$ upgrade price), rewarding the early adopters with a low price...

 

[Jad Chaar]

That's sure is a lot of entitlement. They don't need to make anything free, and there's no reason to be annoyed by that fact.
They will most likely do something similar to what that they did when Windows 8 first released (the 15$ upgrade price), rewarding the early adopters with a low price...

True, but I feel like if MS really wanted to drive people off of XP and Windows 7 then they would make it free so that many people, especially businesses, would want to upgrade, and not see it as an expense. MS doesnt want to push updates to XP after April 2014, so they would want as many people off of it as possible. Also, the PC sector is dying and a free OS might breed some new life into it. Especially with Steam OS and OS X going free from now on, it would be a competitive choice to make it free.

 

[Guest]

Windows 8.1 + Start butom = Windows 9

 

[m4a4]

True, but I feel like if MS really wanted to drive people off of XP and Windows 7 then they would make it free so that many people, especially businesses, would want to upgrade, and not see it as an expense. MS doesnt want to push updates to XP after April 2014, so they would want as many people off of it as possible. Also, the PC sector is dying and a free OS might breed some new life into it. Especially with Steam OS and OS X going free from now on, it would be a competitive choice to make it free.

We'll have to see what happens since we can't see the full picture like MS should be able to

 

[hahahanoobs]

Microsoft is a software company and their flagship is Windows. What do you expect them to release? You only complain about "fast" releases when you fear change or just never planned to upgrade anyway.

Next...

 

[Darth Shiv]

SteamOS will **** on windows 9

SteamOS has an enormous mountain to climb to be successful. It doesn't have the advantage of 90+% of AAA releases available. Just ask yourself "Why has Linux been such a dismal failure on the desktop?".

 

[Cycloid Torus]

XP? RIP. Win7 current keeper. Win8 tried one, nuff said. Win9, path from 7 - but watch out for the 'rental' gag. SteamOS might keep Redmond 'honest' - hope there will be a Win emulator.

 

[Raoul Duke]

One thing no one has mentioned is the way Microsoft does everything possible to get you to sign up for a Microsoft e-mail, cloud etc account in Win 8 & 8.1. Can't even download from the store without this account which links your computer with MS. I want to be able to use my computer with a local account. MS is in trouble. many useable OS's in their past with few turds, but already they have had to bury Vista, and now this article implies Win8/8.1 will be buried by calling the update Win 9. Innovation is great, but who are their testers? Surely not representative of most of their users. I have a MacBook Pro circa 2009 and the latest Maverick OS runs on it faster with less problems than the previous OS's. Enjoying Win7 again, but since the IE update to 11, IE crashes. Makes me wonder what the heck they are doing at MS that they cannot deliver what the majority of their users want that runs smoothly.