No Fooling: Microsoft to Talk Windows 9 at This Week's Build Conference?

Despite the fact that today is April 1, to the best of my knowledge, this is not a joke. A post on ZDNet today reports that at this week’s Build conference in San Francisco, Microsoft may give us some details regarding the next iteration of its flagship OS. That’s right, it sounds like we might get a glimpse at Windows 9.

The post says that Microsoft’s “Threshold” project is, in fact, the codename for Windows 9. Threshold, you may recall, is Microsoft’s efforts to unify the Windows experience across all platforms, be it a phone, a tablet, or a desktop PC. That they’d make such a goal paramount for Windows 9 isn’t too surprising, really.

The post cites sources who say that Windows 9 (or Threshold, or whatever you want to call it) is targeted for Spring 2015, and that Microsoft executives will probably “discuss at a high level the company’s goal to create a new Windows 9 SKU that would run on Windows Phones, ARM-based Windows tablets/PCs, phablets and other kinds of devices.” Additionally, that OS “might not include a Desktop for running legacy Win32 apps,” meaning that Microsoft would really be making a push to the future. Like its upcoming Windows XP expiration date, Microsoft is going to leave users who are stuck in the past, well, in the dust.

The post also mentions that Microsoft is expected to discuss more about Windows 8.1 Update 1, which is said to include more desktop-friendly changes. Hopefully that’ll include the start menu, and the ability to run Metro apps in Desktop mode. That’d be nice. We also may hear more about Windows Phone 8.1, especially considering Nokia’s plans to make a big announcement on the same day that the Build conference kicks off. Chances seem good that we’ll see what they have in store for the mobile space…though I’m a bit skeptical that it’ll be anything really interesting.

No, I have a feeling that Windows Phone won’t be slightly relevant until this Windows 9 Threshold business kicks off in a year. As it is, Windows Phone is an also-ran, a curious companion to the most prevalent operating system on desktop computers. If Microsoft can find a way to truly unify the mobile and desktop experience in Windows 9, bringing us a way to extend our desktop computing while we’re out and about smoothly and seamlessly, then I’ll care.

Until then? Meh. Hopefully Microsoft’s announcements at Build this week will make me un-meh, but I’m not holding my breath.

[Source: ZDNet]