Top 10 features of Windows 9
Windows 9, also known as “Threshold”, is expected to arrive sometime in 2015 and hopes and wishes from users definitely aren’t in short supply ahead of its unveiling.
Windows 8 has had plenty of detractors since it arrived back in 2012, with the unpopular disappearance of the start button and Metro menu view confusing users at best and alienating them at worst.
Any real details on Windows 9 are scarce, but we do know Microsoft wants to distance itself from the previous OS, which is widely considered to have been a disaster.
Tickets to the Build Developer conference 2014 in San Francisco sold out in 24 hours when rumours of Windows 9 hit the internet, highlighting - perhaps - just how much appetite there is out there for a Windows 8 successor.
It was rumoured that Windows 9 would see a release date as soon as April 2015, but a third update to Windows 8 in the same month means that we will likely have to wait until later in the year.
Ahead of this date, we list the 10 feature we hope Microsoft includes.
1. Lower price
Microsoft needs a carrot to dangle in front of consumers and businesses to convince them to invest in Windows 9 machines. The firm might even have to go so far as to offer users the chance to upgrade to the next-iteration of Windows for free.
Reducing the cost of upgrading will help people finally part with Windows XP - its aged operating system, which entered end of life in April 2014.
Microsoft’s updates have long been priced higher than Apple’s, and this is yet another factor deterring consumers from upgrading. Something similar to the limited-time lower price for Windows 8 might work, but it’s possible that Windows 9 might even be available for free ala Mac OS X 10.9.
2. Better Battery Life
Intel’s 2013 Haswell chips provided a big jump in battery life, which can be seen in the latest crop of Ultrabooks. Windows machines have long been known to burn through battery power quicker than their Mac OS X counterparts.
Ars Technica gave a detailed breakdown of how OS X Mavericks saves power. The system schedules tasks to run in clumps to maximise processor idle time and minimise power consumption. The latest version of Apple’s OS was so efficient, it even added an extra 60 minutes of battery life to older hardware which upgraded to this operating system.
Microsoft needs to better implement power saving features into Windows 9 or risk being left further behind next-gen Mac products.
3. Desktop-Only Mode
The Metro UI has alienated many loyal Windows users and the firm is going to have to work hard to appease them. Windows 8.1 went some way towards making things better with the option to boot straight to desktop.
But we want Windows 9 to take this a step further. We want the option to switch Metro off. So when you turn on desktop-only mode, this means images should open in Windows Gallery, not the Metro Preview app.
With Windows 9 for mobile devices, Microsoft is reportedly planning to ditch the desktop entirely, and rumours suggest that PCs running the OS may be sold with the Metro view disabled as a default.
Desktop-only mode would let users work in peace and placate some of Microsoft’s critics, while allowing the company to keep experimenting with Metro for consumers.
The Charms bar - another unpopular element of Windows 8's redesign - is also rumoured to have been dropped, with the search, share, devices and settings options previously housed there moving to the new title bars on modern Windows 9 apps.
4. Virtual desktops for improved productivity
OS X and Linux have had virtual desktops for years. They allow you to keep multiple sets of windows open on one computer, improving productivity when juggling multiple projects.
Microsoft have announced that virtual desktops will indeed be part of Windows 9, allowing users to enjoy multiple desktop displays with individual settings, making it easier to seperate work and home activities on the same device.
5. Bring back the real Start button
It’s amazing how so many people can miss such a small feature. Microsoft gave into popular demand when it put a Start button in Windows 8.1, but this just brings you back to the Start screen.
It was rumoured for some time that the Start Button would return with Windows 8.1 Update 2, but sources claim that it has been delayed until June 2015 when it is thought Windows 9 will also arrive.
When it does finally see the light of day, the new-look Start Menu will reportedly include both the classic layout of previous iterations and a new Metro panel with live tiles for Windows Store apps. A mock-up of the menu was shown at April’s Build conference.
6. Over-the-air system recovery
Microsoft could also make it easier to restore Windows in the event of a malfunction. Mac devices can reinstall OS X by simply downloading files from the internet.
A similar system would make it easier to recover Windows computers, as it is much simpler than digging through BIOS boot settings and trying to find your recovery USB.
Keeping so many system-specific files would be difficult, but it’s possible. Microsoft could convince hardware manufacturers to contribute the necessary files so users could recover their systems over-the-air.
7. Better display scaling
Windows has not been able to cope with the high-resolution devices manufacturers have started pumping out. As screen resolutions climb north of 1920 x 1080, programs such as Adobe Premiere and Vegas Pro can be rendered unusable in some cases as icons can appear tiny and pixellated.
Howtogeek put up a useful guide explaining how to change the compatibility settings for your troublesome Windows apps in order to make the text readable again, but this shouldn’t even be necessary.
Microsoft needs to add better support for Retina-quality displays to make sure the new version of its OS still looks good on devices like the Surface Pro 2.
8. Improved anti-virus
Windows is a primary target for viruses, if only by virtue of its dominant market share. Redmond’s OS attracts the lion’s share of malware, while OS X and Linux aren’t as vulnerable.
Microsoft releases regular security patches and has built Microsoft Security Essentials into Windows 8 - but this has been critically panned. In the Dennis publishing tests, it missed 39 per cent of malware thrown at it.
We might see things improve with Windows 9 as Intel has rebranded the McAfee software suite and could provide comprehensive protection. But Microsoft has to up its game too.
9. Fix Windows Update
Updating Windows software has driven many people to the brink of insanity. If ignored for too long, Windows may reboot your PC at the worst moment possible and then you can be trapped in what seems like a never-ending cycle of updating and rebooting.
Refreshing drivers is the same. PC users shouldn't have to dig through a manufacturer’s website in 2014, looking for the latest version of a driver for their laptop’s graphics card.
Surely Microsoft could leverage its Windows Store to deliver updates more efficiently and simultaneously, instead of forcing users to endlessly download more and more patches.
10. Native DVD playback
One more feature we’d like to see in Windows is native DVD playback. Microsoft decided to remove this feature for Windows 8, to the annoyance of users. If you want your PC to play DVDs, you have to shell out $10 for a Windows Media Centre add-on.
We know that digital media is prevalent in 2014 but physical media isn't dead yet.
This article was first pubilshed on 29/01/14 and has been updated multiple times (most recently on 11/08/14) to reflect new information that has become available since its original publication.
Source: ITPRO UK
