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IT Blogwatch Microsoft
Windows 9 Threshold download release date ''soon''
Morrissey celebrates Microsoft ditching the Charms Bar, with gladioli.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is said to be giving up on the whole Charms schtick. Windows 9 -- the assumed name for codename Threshold -- will instead move those Metro controls into a title bar.
So here's the obvious question: Is Redmond on the threshold of greatness or irrelevance? (And other lame puns.)
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers pamper life's complexities, when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat. Not to mention: Will nature make a man of me yet?…
She would go out tonight, but Mary Jo Foley hasn't got a stitch to wear:
The next version of Windows, codenamed "Threshold," is going to include some fairly major user interface changes [say rumors]. My sources are corroborating those reports.
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First up, as reported by Brad Sams...virtual desktops [which] will allow users to run their apps in different spaces which they will be able to view one at a time. ... The other UI change coming to Threshold is the elimination of the Charms Bar, as first reported by [Zac Bowden. It] has been a controversial feature since it debuted in Windows 8. ... My sources say the Charms Bar will be going away completely for all desktop, laptop and tablet users.
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I've heard from my sources that Microsoft is hoping to deliver a public preview of Threshold some time in the fall of 2014.
Sometime-collaborator Paul Thurrott is this charming man:
Power users rejoice. ... Charms [is] one of the most reviled Windows 8 features.
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Threshold will further Microsoft's efforts to make Windows once again more natural for users with traditional, non-touch PCs. ... Folks, the Charms are dead. ... I'd guess that Microsoft is working on something consistent that will work between both Windows and Windows Phone.
Referring to Windows 8.1, Preston Gralla said it's gruesome:
The fat lady has finally sung for Windows 8. ... Microsoft has made clear it's given up on improving the struggling operating system, and instead focusing on Windows 9.
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The long-awaited Windows 8.1 Update 2 that will go live next week won't include a Start menu. The features that it will deliver are so minor, you won't even notice them. ... As for the long-awaited Start menu, that's apparently been put on hold until [Threshold, which] might eventually be called Windows 9, likely due in the Spring of 2015.
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Microsoft is doing the right thing. There's simply no way to salvage Windows 8. ... Leaked Windows 9 screenshots show an operating system that PC users can love, including a Start menu, Metro apps running in resizable windows on the desktop, and more.
Meamwhile, Mark Hachman knows so much about these things:
The updates on August 12 will simply be part of “Update Tuesday.” They will include improvements to the touchpad, the ability to use a Windows PC as a Miracast receiver, and a reduction in the number of times a user has to sign into a SharePoint site.
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The August update will be delivered directly and automatically through Windows Update...although users can also manually download it on the 12th.
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If nothing else, Microsoft has made Windows 9 even more important—and removed one of the attention-grabbing elements of Windows [8.1 update 2]. ... A series of relatively minor updates may please users, who will wait eagerly for their monthly updates.
