The next major Windows release is likely to be called Windows 9 and will be launched in April 2015 according to posts on Microsft related USENET newsgroups.
The website reports that Microsoft will shed more light on Windows 9, currently codenamed “Threshold”, at its BUILD conference in April.
Microsoft is also set to introduce the ability for Metro apps to run in a window on the desktop and a tweaked start menu, the website claims. Although, as many point out on newsgroups, Metro was the least liked feature of Windows 8.
However, before Windows 9 is out of the door, Microsoft will issue Windows 8.1 Update 1, a comparatively minor update that is set for release later this year.
Windows 8 saw a mixed reception upon its release in 2012. On the one hand, it was praised for its speed and reduced system requirements but it was also criticised for omitting the start button and introducing a new touch-enabled UI.
How Windows 9 will pan out and how easy it will be to install and use newsreaders and the like to access USENET is still be to be seen.
