Microsoft intends to deliver a technical preview of their next operating system, codenamed Threshold, sometime in late September or early October. Those who sign up for the preview must also agree to have automatic updates turned on for the operating system. This may signal a change in overall procedures for maintenance in the upcoming system, and large service packs that we've seen for earlier operating systems may be a relic of the past.
Most who have been following the development of this new system expect Microsoft to release it to the public in the spring of 2015. And it will probably be named Windows 9, but this is not a certainty yet.
Improvements to Threshold will include windowed Metro/Modern apps on the desktop, a new blended Start menu, probable deletion of the Charms bar and the addition of virtual desktop capability. Microsoft's answer to Siri, called Cortana, may also be included. But Microsoft has refused to make any official proclamations of exactly what will be included in this next operating system, or even if it will be named Windows 9.
The technical preview has been confirmed to be a public distribution, available for anyone interested in downloading and trying it out.
You can read more on the story at Mary Jo Foley's article at ZDNet.
