Microsoft is hard at work readying Windows 9 for mainstream use, and we recently saw some screenshots demonstrating a few of the features we can expect from the update. Now we have access to some leaked videos which show some of the features headed to Microsoft's desktop OS.
After reenabling the Start button for Windows desktops with the Windows 8.1 Update, Microsoft is looking to enable the Start Menu for desktop users. The updated Start Menu which will (optionally) replace the Start Screen on desktops allows users with a keyboard and mouse to better interact with their computers.
The Modern apps and Live tiles will now live within the desktop environment allowing desktop users to interact with them like regular Windows programs that float on your desktop. Even the Live Tile information can be displayed on your Start Menu.
Another new feature coming to Windows 9 is virtual desktops. This multi-desktop mode has been available to Linux users including Mac OS X users for quite some time, and will debut on Windows for the first time with Windows 9. The multi-desktop mode works just as it would on OS X, allowing users to create more than one desktop and quickly switch between them.
Next we get a look at the new notification center in Windows 9. Microsoft has borrowed their Windows Phone implementation in this case, offering a new icon on the taskbar which shows the notification shade. Once clicked, it will invoke a notification center that lists all of the notifications that applications have pushed out as well as a variety of system level alerts that users may be interested in. Alerts are grouped by the application that triggered them, as shown by the Skype message notifications in the following video. Each notification contains a short summary of what it contains, and all notifications can be cleared at once should a user wish to start afresh. Individual notifications can be removed by clicking a little ‘X’ icon by their side.
Windows 9, which is known within Microsoft as ‘Threshold,’ is believed to be on course for a public preview release – or the technical preview as it’s being referred to in various reports – towards the end of this month. Once it has been announced, potential testers will get to try out the much requested return of the Start menu amongst other new features. While Microsoft has rectified several of their mistakes on Windows 8 through a few rounds of updates, it never quite lived up to the promise of Windows 7. With Windows 9 Microsoft seems to want to get it in the hands of the users as quickly as possible and work with the public to shape the platform to its fullest potential.
source - WinFuture
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