Monday 29 September 2014

Windows 9 Technical Preview page online.

All eyes will be on Microsoft Tuesday when the company is expected to unveil the next version of Windows complete with a revamped Start menu. But Microsoft jumped the gun and teased the next version of Windows a little early to IT pros.
Over the weekend, a landing page for "Windows TH" appeared on TechNet, Microsoft's information portal for IT pros, with the headline "Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise." On the page, Microsoft called Windows TH the "next version of the Windows client operating system."
The leak was first reported by The Verge and Neowin on Saturday. Microsoft has since removed the Windows TH page. As usual, however, you can still catch a glimpse of Microsoft's early preview by perusing Google's cache.
Why it matters: There's a lot of interest surrounding the next version of Windows, which is largely seen as a course correction following mixed reaction to Windows 8. Many traditional desktop users and large organizations balked at Windows 8 and its focus on the new touch-centric Start screen and modern UI apps, which was seen as relegating the traditional desktop to second class status. Microsoft tried to improve the experience for desktop users with Windows 8.1, but the release of Windows 9 is where Microsoft's OS is truly expected to return the desktop to its former glory.
There's little else to glean from Microsoft's Windows TH page, but it does say that the upcoming Windows refresh will offer users "a familiar experience across multiple devices."
That's a nod to the expectation that while desktop users will see the modern UI de-emphasized, it will still be there as an option. The revamped Start menu will also have touches of the modern UI thanks to the presence of live tiles that sit to the right of the more traditional Start menu options.