According to new reports, Microsoft is preparing to abandon Windows 8 and put all its marketing muscle behind Windows 9 – which is currently codenamed Threshold.
World-famous Microsoft insider Mary Jo Foley has reported that the company is planning a number of important changes with Windows 9, including the removal of Windows 8 Charms as well as the addition of virtual desktops and the return of the Start bar.
Here are the most important rumors about Windows 9 that we’ve heard so far:
-Windows 9 will remove the Charms Bar that was present in Windows 8. The Charms Bar was designed to make it easy to access your settings and search tools, but most users didn’t really like it.
-The Start menu and Start button will return

-Users will be able to window their “Modern” (aka Metro) apps
-Virtual desktops will be added, which should make it easier for Windows to handle multiple apps and groups of apps (Mac OS X and other operating systems currently use virtual desktops)

-Windows 9 will focus more on traditional desktop users as opposed to Windows 8, which appeared to focus solely on touchscreen users
You can read a full report on Windows Threshold from Mary Jo Foley here.
Windows 9 “Threshold” is expected to be released in Spring 2015. It’s unknown whether or not this will be Windows 9 or a brand new subscription-based OS.
However, my money is on Microsoft releasing Windows 9 sometime in Spring 2015. Additionally, an early release of Windows 9 is expected for the fall of 2014 – which is just a few weeks away.