Windows Blue is in the works, has a more customizable version of Metro

Crank up the old rumor mill. A user on a Taiwanese forum has posted information about the next version of Windows — “Windows 9″ or “Windows Blue.” While the info is still sparse, this forum user noted that the current alpha version is build 9622 while Windows 8 is back at 9200.

While the data is far from confirmed, the post states that Metro UI will apparently remain the operating system’s default, but it is supposedly more customizable and will feature highly resizable tiling. The traditional Windows Desktop remains, but it has been visually updated to conform more to the Metro style. Lastly, the updated Windows kernel has reached version 6.3.

Image credit : extremetech

Windows 8 has been a controversial step for Microsoft, but the company doesn’t seem to want to drop the Metro UI for the Blue. Sales of Windows 8 have been somewhat disappointing, and many people believe that led to the departure of Steven Sinofsky as president of the Windows division of Microsoft. Undoubtedly, we can expect the next version of Windows to play the role that Windows 7 did after Windows Vista failed to set the world on fire. With “Blue” set to come out so soon, Microsoft can ride the good reviews of their UI update while distancing itself from any perceived shortcomings with Windows 8.

Earlier this year, we learned that Microsoft is supposed to shift to a yearly release schedule thanks to the Windows Blue project. Just as Apple did with Mac OS X, Microsoft is now going to iterate on Windows in a less dramatic fashion while ramping up the release schedule.

Simultaneously, the price of OS upgrades are dropping as well. Apple’s 10.7 release dropped to $30 while 10.8 went as low as $20. In turn, the Windows 8 upgrade is available for only $40 until the end of next month. While Microsoft is still massively dominant on traditional computers, they seem to be taking pages out of Apple’s playbook. When the next version of Windows ships, don’t be surprised if the upgrade price drops even lower.

Most importantly, the quicker release cycle will prevent the Windows XP situation from recurring. Despite shipping over a decade ago, XP remains hard for Microsoft to shake. Until April of 2014, Microsoft is still stuck supporting the ancient OS. By rapidly shipping new versions, no single version of the OS will be able to get the same massive market share and mind share that XP has, so they won’t be bogged down with supporting Windows 8 for the next decade and a half. While information is still minimal, Windows Blue so far seems like a very smart and prudent step for Microsoft to take in response to Windows 8.


Source : extremetech
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