Microsoft is holding a Windows-related event at the end of the month, but attendees will most likely not be able to get a glimpse of the Windows Technical Preview they were expecting to get of Windows 9.
This is according to Windows blogger Paul Thurrott, who said he was not expecting a public preview until October. Nonetheless, Thurrott said Windows users eager to take a look at Windows 9 don't have to wait for the preview to know what to expect as he detailed a list of new (and old) features that the latest iteration of Microsoft's operating system will have.
Notable among these is the new Windows Insider Preview Program, which will provide users more frequent access to preview builds of the OS and send their feedback to Microsoft. Thurrott says the program includes a Windows Feedback app that lets users provide text and screenshots feedback and add on to the feedback left by other users on all Windows features, ranging from hardware and devices to specific apps found on the Windows Store.
Also worth mentioning is the return of the Start Menu, a move that shows Microsoft is rapidly moving to control the damage it had done when it took out the much-loved feature in Windows 8. But Thurrott says the new Start Menu will not incorporate changes. On Windows 9, the Start Menu will combine the old Start Menu with newer Metro-style tiles that users can arrange and resize as they wish.
"This isn't the old Windows 7 Start Menu," he says. "It's a new and enhanced version that combines functionality from the Windows 7 Start Menu with some features we saw in the Windows 8.x Start Menu."
Modern mobile apps, such as apps for email, photos, music and movies will also be available on Windows 9, and users can group these apps together to create custom desktops, such as desktops for work and play.
Another change users can expect is an improved Windows Explorer, which, as Thurrott says, will feature a Home button from which users can access their files on their PC or on Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service. Windows Explorer will also have a prominent Share button to let users share their files with anyone using Modern mobile apps.
The Sept. 30 event is targeted towards enterprise users, with a separate event said to be in the works for personal Windows users. Windows 9, which is codenamed Threshold within the ranks of Microsoft, will take over from the much-maligned Windows 8 but will still include many elements of the short-lived desktop platform, although hopefully without the abruptness that alienated many a loyal Windows user from Windows 8.
