Paul Thurrotts Windows Supersite is reporting that Windows 9 has a April 2015 release date.
Why does announcing a Windows release as far out as a Star Wars movie mean something?
Per Winsupersite.com
(http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/windows-by-three.png)
"Threshold" to be Called Windows 9, Ship in April 2015, Microsoft tries to put Windows 8 in the rear-view mirror
At the BUILD developer conference in April 2014, Microsoft will discuss its vision for the future of Windows, including a year-off release codenamed "Threshold" that will most likely be called Windows 9. Here's what I know about the next major release of Windows.
As a kind of recap, we know that Microsoft will update Windows 8.1 in 2014, first with a service pack/feature pack-type update called Update 1 (or GDR1 internally). I wrote a bit about this update recently in Windows 8.1 Update 1 (Very Early) Preview but the expectation is that it will ship in April 2014 alongside Windows Phone 8.1, the development of which Microsoft will soon complete.
Also in April, of course, is BUILD 2014. That show will hit just weeks after Microsoft completes its corporate reorganization and will surprisingly be very much focused on Windows Phone and Xbox, according to my sources. But I think Windows watchers will agree that the biggest news from the show will be an announcement about Microsoft's plans for the next major Windows version, codenamed "Threshold."
I previously wrote about Threshold in Microsoft to Take Windows to the "Threshold", Further Changes Coming in Windows "Threshold" and Big Changes Are Coming to Windows. This is the release my sources previously pegged as being the one that will see the return of the Start menu and the ability to run Metro-style apps on the desktop alongside desktop applications.
But Threshold is more important than any specific updates. Windows 8 is tanking harder than Microsoft is comfortable discussing in public, and the latest release, Windows 8.1, which is a substantial and free upgrade with major improvements over the original release, is in use on less than 25 million PCs at the moment. That's a disaster, and Threshold needs to strike a better balance between meeting the needs of over a billion traditional PC users while enticing users to adopt this new Windows on new types of personal computing devices. In short, it needs to be everything that Windows 8 is not.
Here's what I've learned about Threshold.
Windows 9. To distance itself from the Windows 8 debacle, Microsoft is currently planning to drop the Windows 8 name and brand this next release as Windows 9. That could change, but that's the current thinking.
BUILD vision announcement. In case it's not obvious that the Sinofsky era is over, Microsoft will use BUILD to provide its first major "vision" announcement for Windows since, yes, Longhorn in 2003. Don't expect anything that grandiose, but the Windows team believes it needs to hit a happy middle ground between the KGB-style secrecy of the Sinofsky camp and the freewheeling "we can do it all" days that preceded that. As important, the firm understands that customers need something to be excited about.
No bits at BUILD. Microsoft will not be providing developers with an early alpha release of "Threshold" at BUILD, and for a good reason: The product won't even begin development until later that month. Right now, Microsoft is firming up which features it intends to deliver in this release.
Metro 2.0. Maturing and fixing the "Metro" design language used by Windows will be a major focus area of Threshold. It's not clear what changes are coming, but it's safe to assume that a windowed mode that works on the desktop is part of that.
Three milestones. Microsoft expects to deliver three milestone releases of "Threshold" before its final release. It's unclear what these releases will be called (Beta, Release Candidate, etc.) or which if any will be provided to the public.
April 2015 release. Microsoft is currently targeting April 2015 for the release of Windows 9 "Threshold."
In some ways, the most interesting thing about Threshold is how it recasts Windows 8 as the next Vista. It's an acknowledgment that what came before didn't work, and didn't resonate with customers. And though Microsoft will always be able to claim that Windows 9 wouldn't have been possible without the important foundational work they had done first with Windows 8—just as was the case with Windows 7 and Windows Vista—there's no way to sugarcoat this. Windows 8 has set back Microsoft, and Windows, by years, and possibly for good.
These things don't happen in isolation—the big and slow Vista arrived inauspiciously just as netbooks were taking off and Windows 8 arrived just as media tablets changed everything—and it's fair to say that the technology world of today barely resembles that of 2006, creating new challenges for Windows. Threshold will target this new world. It could very well be a make or break release.
Good news. Windows 8 totally abandoned basic PC & laptop functions, thinking that everyone favors functions for tablets and surfaces. Youtube is lit up with complaints concerning Windows 8, with many wanting an OS downgrade back to Windows 7. I rather stick with my current Vista before I buy a Windows 8 computer. Hopefully Windows 9 will be good as advertised so I can finally get a new computer.
The metro interface is one of the most visually unappealing designs I've seen. The big ugly square boxes seem more like what someone from the 80's thought computing might look like in the 201X's. It doesn't even look good on their phones and the xbox one is even worse (but the crappy interface is the least of its problems). There are some decent upgrades under the metro garbage and if the new update restores functionality, I might even consider it for a new build I'm working on but at this point, I am more than happy to keep using windows 7 until we find out what 9 does.
I love Windows 8.1. I know it's fashionable to hate Windows 8, but it has performed very well for me. My start screen looks rather nice. And I love how I've customized and organized for my needs. Most people are cry babies about change anyway so that's why I think people don't like it.
I use Windows 8.1 and it is reliable and fast. I don't use the metro interface much because it's not that useful on a desktop, but it also doesn't get in the way of anything. Also, Windows 8 seems to run faster on older hardware than Windows 7.
Quote from: Lunican on January 14, 2014, 09:25:48 AM
I use Windows 8.1 and it is reliable and fast. I don't use the metro interface much because it's not that useful on a desktop, but it also doesn't get in the way of anything. Also, Windows 8 seems to run faster on older hardware than Windows 7.
I guess I would need to understand what you mean by "old". W8 needs 3 CPU registers to be available or it won't install. Some of those registers didn't appear in mainstream CPU's until as late as 2011.
A laptop from 2006 with a Pentium 4 cpu. MS has a tool to verify compatibility before installing W8.
Windows 8 (8.1) is great on a tablet, but I don't really care for it on a desktop or regular laptop. When I put it (original Windows 8) on a laptop I ended up getting Start8 to get my start button back and force it to boot to the desktop. Had MS given users that option instead of forcing them into the "Metro" UI I think it would have been more successful.
We've had WIN8 phones (mine is a Lumia 920 and my wife has the 820) for 4 months and love them. There's a learning curve, of course, but you will find that WIN8 tiles provide more heads-up information to the user than icons do. The final verdict is in the reliability, performance and ease-of-use; and all those are outstanding. All they need are more apps in the store.
I don't really understand all of the complaints about booting to the metro screen. Windows 8 standby mode works great and it doesn't force you to the metro screen after resuming. How often is everyone rebooting that one extra click for the desktop is such a burden? Does everyone reboot their ipads as well?
Quote from: Lunican on January 14, 2014, 11:37:14 AM
A laptop from 2006 with a Pentium 4 cpu. MS has a tool to verify compatibility before installing W8.
Interesting. I had some old stuff I attempted to verify on and many failed.
Some of them were AMD. It might have been AMD being late to add the needed registers. I will check again.
Even Lubuntu is starting to drop certain CPU support on the new builds. I had to go back to Lubuntu 10 to keep Pentium M support.
Quote from: avonjax on January 14, 2014, 07:25:08 AM
Most people are cry babies about change anyway so that's why I think people don't like it.
Either that, or they hate it because it was an absolute mess.
Microsoft spent 20 years refining the traditional Windows user interface, and then -- to drum up sales for their failing smartphones and tablets -- they pulled a complete 180, replacing the start button and desktop environment with a toy chest of noisy, dancing tiles that look like something a drunken birthday clown vomited on the screen.
They even removed the CLOCK.
The freakin CLOCK.
I understand the urge to marry your UI across multiple platforms, but it's just completely impractical in this case. It would be like Apple forcing Launchpad onto their iMacs and MacBooks as the primary environment. Tablets and smartphones are devices primarily used for
consumption. Media. Games. Books. Facebook. Whatever. Desktop PCs and Laptops are devices tailored for
production. Managing workflow. Driving your day to day job or business. To that end, Windows 8 is an epic failure, putting an unnecessary burden on the end user with all the Metro crap. Nonsense like the boot to Metro, redundant application, full screen Metro apps, etc. do nothing but get in the way of production.
It was a betrayal of trust of Windows users and a cheap, obvious play to get them onto Windows mobile devices.
Really hoping to see Microsoft do better with 9.
^^^+100
Quote from: thekillingwax on January 14, 2014, 06:38:44 AM
The metro interface is one of the most visually unappealing designs I've seen. what someone from the 80's thought computing might look like in the 201X's.
Perfect description! It does have that retro-futuristic look.
You guys realize the traditional desktop wasn't removed, right?
Quote from: Lunican on January 14, 2014, 03:33:39 PM
You guys realize the traditional desktop wasn't removed, right?
Sorry, meant to say:
*Gimped and hidden behind an alternative UI that looks like a Windows 95 screen saver.
:D
Windows 8 reception (critical) is just like the approval and disapproval ratio on this MJ thread, mixed. Most of the time if a products' reception is mixed, bottomline it's failing. Maybe people don't give a damn about seeing the weather forecasts in Sydney and Mumbai, or knowing the current Dow Jones industrial average on what supposed to be a desktop.
Windows 8 lovers can say what they wanna, but anytime there's a freaking link on Windows 8's wiki page with an article on how to downgrade back to Windows 7 yeah, things aren't so unblemished like yall wanna believe....
This is good, I'm glad they're focusing on 9, because as we all know every other version of windows is crap:
Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
Windows 95 (1995) - Crap
Windows 98 (1998) - Good
Windows ME (2000) - Crap
Windows XP (2001) - Good
Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
Windows 7 (2009) - Good
Windows 8 (2012) - Crap
Windows 9 (2015) - ?
Note this list is for consumer versions. Windows 2k, etc used a different kernel (the NT kernel) and weren't for consumers.
Quote from: coredumped on January 14, 2014, 04:08:52 PM
Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
Damn, I currently have a crappy product! :(
Still better than Windows 8 though! ;D
LOL, on wiki I tried to categorize Windows 8 under 'operating system criticisms' which is totally fair, but Windows took it down. Surely a large percent of the tech community aren't criticizing Windows 8....
Quote from: coredumped on January 14, 2014, 04:08:52 PM
This is good, I'm glad they're focusing on 9, because as we all know every other version of windows is crap:
Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
Windows 95 (1995) - Crap
Windows 98 (1998) - Good
Windows ME (2000) - Crap
Windows XP (2001) - Good
Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
Windows 7 (2009) - Good
Windows 8 (2012) - Crap
Windows 9 (2015) - ?
Note this list is for consumer versions. Windows 2k, etc used a different kernel (the NT kernel) and weren't for consumers.
I remember when XP came out I hated it, now I'd love to have it back (well my one pc still has it but nothing runs on it anymore). I think this list brings up a good point: the successful platforms came when technology had advanced and new innovations became available. The bad ones seemed to have been introduced just to bring something new to market.
Microsoft Reports Record Revenue of $24.52 Billion in Second Quarter
http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY14/Q2/default.aspx
Windows 8.1 is the best Windows I have used yet....
I don't get the complaining...
It just doesn't make sense that it is so offensive to someone that their computer doesn't boot to the desktop.
It takes 1 click to get there....
I don't have a touch screen computer and I navigate just fine with a mouse.....
Quote from: coredumped on January 14, 2014, 04:08:52 PM
This is good, I'm glad they're focusing on 9, because as we all know every other version of windows is crap:
Windows 3.1x (1992) - Good
Windows 95 (1995) - Crap
Windows 98 (1998) - Good
Windows ME (2000) - Crap
Windows XP (2001) - Good
Windows Vista (2006) - Crap
Windows 7 (2009) - Good
Windows 8 (2012) - Crap
Windows 9 (2015) - ?
Note this list is for consumer versions. Windows 2k, etc used a different kernel (the NT kernel) and weren't for consumers.
They started using the NT Kernel with Windows XP. Technically Win 95, 98, and ME were all considered to be Windows version 4.
Windows 2000 was a great OS. I used it instead of 98/ME until XP came out.
(http://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/02/windows_share_january_2014.png)
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/02/01/windows-8-1-now-3-95-market-share-passes-vista-windows-8-falls-6-63/#!uhu4q
Here's a biz journal tech writer's take on Windows 8 and it's not good. My brother in the service has a Windows 8 (8.1) computer, and doesn't like it; He said that Windows 7 was better. I read countless complaints on youtube, and checked out Windows 8 at the store; I briefly thought about updating to Windows 8, but many takes like Mr Landa's only solidifies my decision to wait until Windows 9. Even Microsoft's XBOX ONE is currently getting badly outpaced by PS4; XBOX ONE's are everywhere on stores shelves, but getting a PS4 off the shelf is like a miracle right now. I'm not Microsoft basher, because I purchased many of it's past great product BTW (XBOX, past OS's etc) but the direction that it's currently going is very concerning.
www.bizjournal.com/bizjournals/how-to/technology/2014/03/why-you-shouldn-t-commit-to-windows-8.html
Quote from: I-10east on March 18, 2014, 12:06:00 PM
Here's a biz journal tech writer's take on Windows 8 and it's not good. My brother in the service has a Windows 8 (8.1) computer, and doesn't like it; He said that Windows 7 was better. I read countless complaints on youtube, and checked out Windows 8 at the store; I briefly thought about updating to Windows 8, but many takes like Mr Landa's only solidifies my decision to wait until Windows 9. Even Microsoft's XBOX ONE is currently getting badly outpaced by PS4; XBOX ONE's are everywhere on stores shelves, but getting a PS4 off the shelf is like a miracle right now. I'm not Microsoft basher, because I purchased many of it's past great product BTW (XBOX, past OS's etc) but the direction that it's currently going is very concerning.
www.bizjournal.com/bizjournals/how-to/technology/2014/03/why-you-shouldn-t-commit-to-windows-8.html
If you are willing to pay $5-$10 you can download a decent program that will keep you out of the "metro" interface and give you a regular start button that functions like Windows 7. At that point Windows 8.1 isn't bad, of course I would agree that you should not have to pay for that, but in my case I didn't get to hot and bothered about it since my copy of Windows 8.1 Pro was free through Dreamspark and I got another copy for $15 as it was offered as part of an upgrade for a laptop I had recently purchased.
The "Metro" interface works well on the Windows tablets like the Surface, but for a desktop it just isn't practical.
I fully agree with points one, two,and four of his article, but point three is the same no matter what OS you use. Drivers are made by the manufacturers of those products so it is up to them to make compatible drivers, and in many cases the Windows 7 drivers will work just fine on Windows 8 systems. You run into problems when you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8. I have a HP CM1017MFP that prints, scans, and copies and HP decided not to make Windows 7 drivers for it, I had to do a significant amount of research to find out how to get it fully functioning in Windows 7/8
^^^Fair take Carpnter.
Per ExtremeTech
Windows 9 coming in 2015, will try its hardest to distance itself from the Windows 8 train wreck
To distance itself from the Windows 8 snafu, Microsoft's next major update — Threshold — will reportedly skip Windows 8.2 and jump straight to Windows 9. Windows 9 is expected to arrive in April 2015, with internal sources saying that Windows 9 will make good on many of the Windows 8 features that caused such cruel and unusual distress to Desktop users. The Start menu is expected to make its illustrious return, and you should be able to run Metro apps on the Desktop in windows. Microsoft is still on schedule to release Windows Phone 8.1 and a service/feature pack for Windows 8.1 at the Build conference in April.
This latest information comes from the ineffable and surprisingly handsome Paul Thurrott, who usually has pretty accurate sources when it comes to Microsoft leaks. We had previously heard about Threshold, but at the time we thought Microsoft would stick with the Windows 8 naming scheme. By moving to Windows 9, it definitely signals that Microsoft is looking to make drastic, significant changes. Windows 8 is almost completely characterized by the maligned Metro Start Screen. We would be surprised if Windows 9 did not change the primary interface in some way, so that it's visually distinct from Windows 8 — so that users know that that it isn't ewww Windows 8. Windows 9 might even boot straight to the Desktop, by default — at least on laptop and desktop PCs, anyway.
(http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/windows-8-start8-start-menu-crop-640x353.jpg)
Windows 9 is also expected to feature Metro 2.0 — some kind of maturation of the current Metro design language that dominates the Windows 8 Start Screen and apps. It's not immediately clear what Metro 2.0 will be exactly, but part of it appears to be the ability to run Metro apps in separate windows on the Desktop. Presumably, if Metro apps are going to be on the Desktop, they will also gain the ability to be controlled with a mouse and keyboard. (Navigating current Metro apps with your keyboard is unpleasant to say the least.) Windows 9 may also feature complete cross-platform app compatibility between Windows 9, Windows Phone 8.1, and the Xbox One — but really, it's too early to tell at this point.
Sinofsky, holding a Windows 8 Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered tablet (at Build, not CES)
Thurrott's other interesting tidbits revolve around April's Build conference, which occurs a couple of weeks after the company finishes its huge internal reorganization. While the conference will be mostly focused on Windows Phone 8.1 and the Xbox One, there will apparently be a "vision announcement" for Windows 9 — something that we haven't seen since 2003, when Microsoft unveiled Longhorn (which later became Vista). During Sinofsky's rein, Microsoft's Windows division has been incredibly secretive — this Windows 9 keynote probably won't be quite as crazy and freewheeling as the olden days, but Microsoft hopes that it will enough to begin the process of healing the wounds left by Windows 8.
Of course, now that I mention Longhorn, it's impossible to ignore the parallels between Vista and Windows 8. Both were victims of Microsoft's long and slow development cycle: Slow and bloated Vista arrived just as netbooks were taking off, and Windows 8 — though its heart was almost in the right place — was a couple of years too late. Hopefully the successor to Windows 8 will be as good as good as Vista's successor. Microsoft kind of needs a miracle for Windows Phone 8.1, too — if you think that adoption of Windows 8 has been bad, it's even more anemic on the smartphone side of the equation. The next 12-18 months will be very important for Microsoft: It must either field a compelling OS and ecosystem for smartphones and tablets, or it runs the risk of fading into consumer obscurity.
For those unhappy with Windows 8, take a look at Linux Mint 17. I've been testing it out for a couple weeks and it is working great. I may not go back to Windows at all. http://www.linuxmint.com/
Quote from: Lunican on July 06, 2014, 11:35:03 AM
For those unhappy with Windows 8, take a look at Linux Mint 17. I've been testing it out for a couple weeks and it is working great. I may not go back to Windows at all. http://www.linuxmint.com/
KDE? or xfce?
I run several flavors of Linux but haven't stumbled on the one that suits me just yet.
I had an old ThinkPad Pentium M laptop that I tried to punt XP off of, but all the latest *nix kernels want mandatory access to a CPU register that doesn't exist on the M. It is a great laptop, old, but works great. I finally gave it away.
I have a lot of legacy hardware I deal with and Linux handles them very well, but its the day to day futzing that drives me nuts. It's getting better with each release, but I have yet to go more than 30 days before reverting back to 7.
The whole "I am contracted to write a driver for one OS release only" is undoing Windows from the backside while the GUI is doing it on the front end.
Quote from: spuwho on July 07, 2014, 12:06:54 AM
KDE? or xfce?
I debated which one to try out and decided on 'Cinnamon', however my hardware isn't as old as a Pentium M. I also don't dual boot and just swap out hard drives so that if things go badly I can easily go back to what I had.
It looks like Microsoft has heard the complaints about Windows 8...
Announcing Windows 10
(http://az648995.vo.msecnd.net/win/2014/09/Tech-Preview_Start-menu-500x281.png)
http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2014/09/30/announcing-windows-10/
I guess MS thinks this new OS is a TEN!!
I'm glad they're unifying Windows RT/Windows Phone & the app markets into one OS. This is kinda what I've been waiting on for a while now with mobile based OSes. Google kinda sorta does this with Android & Chrome OS, but its still pretty separate. Ubuntu is trying o do this but then..it's Linux (bleck).
Windows Phone & Windows RT (touch based Windows UI) was already so similar, so this is a logical step. You may convert me back yet, Microsoft!
I didn't really mind the changes in Windows 8 but this does look better. I wasn't using the full screen apps because they weren't well suited to a desktop computer.
I have a Nokia phone with WIN8, and I've always liked the way it runs - no issues. However, I find it clumsy on our PC at home. I have one PC with WIN8, 2 with WIN7 and haven't upgraded. Maybe I will now.
Quote from: mbwright on September 30, 2014, 04:10:16 PM
I guess MS thinks this new OS is a TEN!!
Actually the rumor is that there is so much old code out there that third party developers use, that naming it Windows 9 might cause the OS to be mistakenly recognized as Windows 95, 98 or ME.
https://searchcode.com/?q=if%28version%2Cstartswith%28%22windows+9%22%29
great coding!!
I don't think there is a law that governs software naming. Windows 3, 95, and 2000 have already been released so why not 10?
The number MSFT puts on a Windows release is for marketing purposes. There is an internal version numbering system they use that has no bearing on the marketing number.
So they can call it Mount Rushmore and drop the numbers like Apple did with MacOS.
^ Exactly. Windows 8.1 is a name and not a version. The version is NT 6.3. Windows 10 will most likely be NT 6.4.
Those of you who downloaded the Technical Preview of Windows 10, the fine print reveals all, user beware!
Per Hallels.com
Microsoft has mentioned the Technical Preview version of Windows 10will have a specific data collection system. The installation of the program will acquire information about the user in the data collection section. The Privacy Statement page from Microsoft stated that the data would include information about the user, device category, mail address, interests, browsing and search file history, SMS records, phone calls list, application usage list, preferences, device configuration and much more.
The company added that the data might take voice input filtration data entry for the files or applications user frequently edits. For example, when the user opens a file the encryption system might collect information about file, software used to open the file even the application run time duration. The program will contain web-enabled processing system.
When the system is run Microsoft will be able to extract certain standard device information. The standard information will help to compute the IP address, operating system condition, network status, used software by the device. The linkage system will allow user enjoy autocomplete and spell-check feature in typing.
From Microsoft's perspective, the new monitoring system will provide the best user experience in Windows. The Company also added that the monitoring system would include the key logging process. The Company considers this version not as a consumer's product but those who want to experience the Windows 10 features by this technical version have to agree to the company policy.
Microsoft believes that this version will help user to keep an eye to the insider of Windows 10. The sharing of experience and suggestions of the customers by Windows 10 Technical Preview version will help Microsoft to build a quality operating system.
Microsoft has not provided any concrete information about the release date of the full version of Windows 10. The technical preview version is still in the testing phase so users should not expect it completely bug free. If everything goes smoothly, the full version will come next year.
Per Network World:
Windows 10 getting put through its paces by 450,000 'highly active' testers
More people are testing the future OS than any previous version, and the bug fixes are piling up.
Microsoft is enjoying a considerable effort on the part of testers for Windows 10, who are reporting a considerable number of bugs and helping push the new operating system along quickly.
Gabe Aul, engineering general manager for the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, made his December blog update on Windows all about fixes and improvements, and there are a lot. He said that more 1.5 million registered Windows Insiders are banging away at Windows 10, about 450,000 of whom are considered "highly active." This is much higher than any previous public beta for Windows.
(http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2014/12/122314-chart-100537792-large.idge.png)
Microsoft has been receiving feedback from the Windows Insider Program in the forms of both bug reports and suggestions for changes/additions/improvements. Aul said that so far, Microsoft has fixed almost 1,300 bugs that were reported by users in the program.
The bug reports are through three builds: 9841, 9860, and 9879. Some remain unfixed but are known to Microsoft and simply aren't urgent. And changes requested by users are making their way into the OS as well.
He also talked about fixing numerous kernel-level bugs and causes of blue screen failures, which have been greatly reduced from earlier builds.
Aul ended his post by saying that users will see a few new big things and a lot of small improvements coming in future builds of Windows 10. Rumor has it there will be a new build in January and a wider public beta in February.