Today Microsoft sent out event invitations to what should be the first-look of its next-generation operating system. Windows 9, or Windows Threshold as it's codenamed, is to be the star attraction at a Microsoft event on the 30th of September held in San Francisco.
The invite teases 'Join us to hear about what's next for Windows and the enterprise'. There's no mention of a new operating system per se, but it fits in perfectly with rumours that have been circulating for weeks that an event later this month would be the unveiling of the new operating system.
We've already seen some of what to expect, thanks to a recent Windows 9 video leak. However, we expect to get a much better idea of the new operating system and its capabilities when Microsoft explains its thinking behind the design. The new operating system won't be feature complete, but the core design elements should be present.
We should see an OS that makes a better stab at supporting both the traditional desktop experience and touschscreen devices too. A new start bar contains elements of the Metro (start screen) interface, getting rid of the much maligned Charms bar on the right of the screen, and possibly even incorporating the Cortana digital assistant and virtual desktops. All of which sounds like a move in the right direction to us, as long as Windows 8's confusing system of opening files in full-screen (and often terrible) apps is also disposed of, or at least made easy to disable from the off.
We don't know whether the developer preview will be made available directly after the event, but we suspect that will be the case. With Microsoft rumoured to be launching the operating system is April of next year. For everything we know to date, head over to our Windows 9 release date, beta & features rumours.
