The 2014 Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) BUILD conference is behind us, and news about the company’s plan for Windows is dominating the rumor cloud that surrounds Redmond. It appears that Windows 9 is on the way in the next twelve months, and Microsoft may go further than that in its attempts to reassert operating system dominance.
Windows 8 has not been quite as successful as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) had hoped, and it seems that the company is going to attempt to force a quicker than usual upgrade cycle. Microsoft seems set to upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.2 in the third or fourth quarter of 2014. Windows 9 is, according to rumor, going to land in April 2015.
Microsoft attempts Windows resurgence
Windows 9 is slated to include several features that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fans wished had appeared in Windows 8. The start menu, which is missing from early versions of Windows 8 but included in the most recent updates, is expected to be a focus of interaction in Windows 9 after the protests over its omission from Windows 8.
One of the most interesting rumors about Windows 9 is the idea that it might be released as a free operating system. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is suddenly competing with two free operating systems from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and the company may try to compete on price. A “Freemium” operating system is a possibility. Microsoft may release a free version that can be upgraded in order to add features.
The Modern, or Metro, interface that Windows 8 based its interaction on may not have been popular with Desktop users, but Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) isn’t giving up on the idea just yet. An updated version, likely including windowed versions of the modern applications, will form the center of Windows 9.
Windows 9 rumors continue to flow
Most of the rumors about Windows 9, and the further plans that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has for its Windows ecosystem, come from a single Russian source. WZOR has been a good source of rumors about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) offerings in the past, and it can be hoped that the most recent speculations about the future of the operating system are true.
Rumors about Windows 9 will continue to build until Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) sets out its vision for the future of the world’s most popular operating system. The company’s future may rely on its next release being a real success. The problems with Windows 8 are likely to lower growth, and rumors of an incoming upgrade may do even more to slow the sales of Windows 8 licenses.
If Windows 9 is indeed due in April of 2015, it is likely that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will officially reveal some information about its next desktop OS in the coming months. The buzz suggests that hardware makers and developers might get their hands on the system as soon as next October. If that’s true the system’s secrets won’t stay hidden for very long.
