Microsoft is reportedly hard at work planning a project called "Threshold" — thought to be a code name for its next big operating system, Windows 9.
Tech blogger Paul Thurrott cites inside sources who say Microsoft is planning an announcement for its Build conference in April, with development to start the same month.
Details are still slim, but it's thought Microsoft will overhaul its touch-based interface to Metro 2.0. This might bring features like running individual apps in their own desktop windows rather than full-screen.
ZDNet reports the planned update will reach all corners of Microsoft's consumer division: PCs, phones and Xbox One consoles.
Microsoft is reportedly planning three development milestones for Threshold, but we don't know which, if any of them, will involve publicly released test versions of the software. (Via The Verge)
In any case, Thurrott suggests calling it Windows 9 could be as much a feature as any other part of the software — intended to distance it from any stigma attached to the Windows 8 name.
Windows 8 has been a rough ride for Microsoft. In a piece last year, for example, Digital Trends called it a "failure" thanks in part to its attempts to combine the touch ability of a tablet interface and the functionality of a full desktop.
And the problem isn't just one of software. In the face of weak demand for PCs last summer, Microsoft had to take a $900 million write-down on its surface tablets that led to the company's worst decline in four years. (Via Bloomberg, Microsoft)
Now, more than a year after its release to the general public, the latest version of Windows only holds 10 percent of the worldwide OS market share. (Via The Next Web)
Whether Threshold will turn Microsoft's fortunes around probably won't be clear until next year. The Windows 9 release is reportedly set for April 2015.
