Seriously, Microsoft? You want to get Windows 9 -- Windows freakin' 9 -- out in 2015?

I get that you want to distance yourself from the Windows 8.x train wreck. Who wouldn't? But by upgrading Windows on a consumer pace, aren't you taking a big chance that your enterprise customers will turn their backs on you? I mean, companies want desktop operating systems they can rely on for three to five years, not three to five seasons.

Let's start with some fundamentals. As Paul Thurrott, senior technical analyst for Windows IT Pro and the boss of Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows, put it, "Windows 8 is tanking harder than Microsoft is comfortable discussing in public." According to Thurrott, the free upgrade Windows 8.1, which offers major improvements over Windows 8, is installed on fewer than 25 million PCs. "That's a disaster," he wrote. Windows 9 (as it's expected to be designated; Threshold is the code name for now) "will need to strike a better balance between meeting the needs of over a billion traditional PC users" and enticing users to a Windows experience on new types of personal computing devices. "In short, it needs to be everything that Windows 8 is not."

That's not me, Mr. Linux, talking. That's a dyed-in-the-wool Windows expert and supporter speaking.

What Thurrott doesn't mention in that essay is how Microsoft is also facing serious competition on the desktop for the first time in decades. People love Chromebooks. Adding insult to injury, the two biggest PC OEMs, in the world, Lenovo and HP, are shipping Android-powered PCs, and AMD and Intel are supporting architectures that will let OEMs build dual Android/Windows systems.

That's four of what once were Microsoft's staunchest allies. The Intel move is especially significant. If you hadn't realized it before, you should know by now: Wintel is pushing up daisies; it's pining for the fjords; it's an ex-alliance.

And bringing out a new operating system will somehow change this? I understand that radical change is needed to get Microsoft back on track after the Windows 8 derailment, but I'm afraid the company is only going to further alienate its once locked-in customer base.

The company will be asking home users and CIOs to make yet another jump to yet another desktop experience in rapid succession. I don't think they're going to follow Microsoft again.

As it is, an alarming number are still hanging on to Windows XP or Windows 7 tooth and nail. When those folks do move, they seem more likely to move to smartphones, tablets or Chromebooks.

So what should Microsoft do? I think it should pull a page from its past. In 2008, Linux netbooks started carving into Windows' market share. Back then, Vista was the dead whale on the beach that no one wanted stinking up their offices. So the boys from Redmond brought XP back from the grave and gave it away to OEMs.

They can't do that now. XP is more than 12 years old at this point, and it's creaking too much for one more curtain call.

What Microsoft could do, though, is overhaul Windows 7. Users don't want Windows 8's "Metro" interface, but they do still want Windows 7, with its Aero interface.

So why not give it to them? Maybe Microsoft can't bring itself to abandon Metro just yet. Fine. Just make it an option, not a requirement. I'll bet users will flock back to a Windows that feels like "real" Windows to them.

Yes, it will be embarrassing, but which would you rather be, Microsoft? Red-faced, or fading to irrelevance in a world where Windows is no longer the dominant end-user operating system?

MS clearly under-estimated how much people hate change and how incapable of assimulation the average Joe is. This, coupled with MS' desire to become more touch screen friendly turned out to be the downfall of Windows 8.

Does anyone know if companies are deploying 2012 or sticking with 2008?

Microsoft set to unveil Windows 9 on September 30th

Microsoft is planning to unveil its Windows 8 successor next month at a special press event. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the software maker is tentatively planning its press event for September 30th to detail upcoming changes to Windows as part of a release codenamed "Threshold." This date may change, but the Threshold version of Windows is currently in development and Microsoft plans to release a preview version of what will likely be named Windows 9 to developers on September 30th or shortly afterwards. The date follows recent reports from ZDNet that suggested Microsoft is planning to release a preview version of Windows 9 in late September or early October.

The early technology preview will give developers a first look at the new mini Start Menu in Windows 9, alongside the removal of the Charms bar feature and several UI changes. Microsoft is currently compiling builds of Threshold ready for the preview that include an early version of Cortana, but it’s not clear if this particular feature will be made available as part of the technology preview.

While Threshold is likely to be named Windows 9, it’s unlikely that Microsoft will name its upcoming Windows release at its press event. Instead, Microsoft is said to be planning an overview of key new features of the upcoming operating system, with a technical preview ready for developers and enthusiasts. Microsoft is also building a separate combined version of Windows RT and Windows Phone, and the company may take the time to detail this work during its press event. Either way, Microsoft’s next version of Windows is nearing completion and the company will be ready to talk more about it next month.

Microsoft is still busy readying its upcoming technology preview of Windows 9, but details continue to emerge about the company's plans for the future of Windows. WinBeta reports that Windows 9 will include interactive Live Tiles and a notification center. Microsoft has previously experimented with interactive Live Tiles as part of a research effort earlier this year, and The Verge understands it's planning to include this work in Windows 9, currently codenamed Threshold. The Live Tile work, which is surfaced on the new mini Start Menu, coincides with additional changes to the desktop UI that Microsoft is currently testing. A notification center will also be present, similar to the implementation in Windows Phone 8.1 recently.

TECHNOLOGY PREVIEW WILL NOT INCLUDE INTERACTIVE LIVE TILES INITIALLY

Both of these features are expected to ship in the final version of Windows Threshold, expected to be named Windows 9, but they will not be included in the Technology Preview that's due to be distributed late next month. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company will be updating the Technology Preview once or twice a month to add new features for testers, and the notification center and interactive Live Tiles will come later in testing.



An example of interactive Live Tiles from earlier this year

Microsoft is currently aiming to hold a press event to introduce Windows 9 on September 30th. This date may change, but a Technology Preview of the operating system will be distributed to developers and enterprise users in late September or early October. The early Technology Preview will provide a first look at the new mini Start Menu, the removal of the Charms bar feature, and several UI changes to the way the desktop operates with Windows 8-style applications. Future versions are expected to include a version of Cortana, alongside other new features that Microsoft is working to complete ready for release in spring next year.