News - Windows 9 Threshold unveiling expected on 30th September

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Insiders say that a Microsoft press event is being organised for that day.

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Read more.

Looks like 8 with lipstick so should be as sucessful as the vista with lipstick was.

I won't bother with previews but will keep an eye out for the cheap license deals which usually appear near release, if not I will stay with 8.

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Please let us know your thoughts on Windows 9 and if you will be installing the developer preview.

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If 9/Threshold is a version of 8 with the annoying flaws* fixed, then sure, mark me down for a pre-order and yes, I'll be installing the dev preview if I can find a suitable "mule" system.

(*primarily the separation between MUI and "classic" desktop).

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We should also learn more about the future of the Windows ecosystem which could include a "combined version of Windows RT and Windows Phone."

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About time - RT always struck me as a bit unecessary - sort of of "we'd like to use Windows Phone but can't figure out how to get it working on tablets" kind of deal. Although if they decide to do the smart thing and replace RT with "Windows Phone for Tablets" then please Microsoft, make sure that current RT devices can get the upgrade.

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Originally Posted by crossy

About time - RT always struck me as a bit unecessary - sort of of "we'd like to use Windows Phone but can't figure out how to get it working on tablets" kind of deal. Although if they decide to do the smart thing and replace RT with "Windows Phone for Tablets" then please Microsoft, make sure that current RT devices can get the upgrade.

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More a case of we can't figure out how to get windows 8 running on phones.

With WinPhone8.1 that's changed, now you can write a "Universal App" that runs on Windows RT/8.1 and on Windows Phone 8.1

Personally I don't want a desktop on my phone (unless I'm able to dock my phone, which would be awesome) I definitely want the more 'fuller' experiance you get on RT than on a phone.

This is what has always pissed me off with the iPad, it's so expensive, yet so limited. iOS can't do anything. Want to view my pictures on my digital camera, move them straight to HDD? I'm out of luck. Want to print something? It reminds me of trying to get linux to use a modem in the early 00s. Oh you want to use that modem, oh no.

What MS really need to do, is get the whole universal app development improved. We need to be able to make window'd versions like you can with certain 3rd party apps.

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Originally Posted by TheAnimus

More a case of we can't figure out how to get windows 8 running on phones.
Personally I don't want a desktop on my phone (unless I'm able to dock my phone, which would be awesome) I definitely want the more 'fuller' experiance you get on RT than on a phone.

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Sorry I didn't really explain myself there* - from what I've seen RT is essentially the full screen UI of Windows8 "proper" bolted onto something that might be WP8 internals. Unnecessary because I think the WP8 UI could probably scale up to use the extra space on a tablet. And besides wasn't the whole idea behind MUI on the desktop that it was a seamless move from phone to tablet to desktop?

Not that the Windows Phone store is going to bother Play or iTMS anytime soon but surely not having to do a separate "RT" version would mean better support for Windows8 mobile (phone and tablet). My missus has got both phone and tablet and that's her biggest complaint - that even some of the major apps just aren't available. Last one mentioned was iPlayer.

(* in a hurry to get a comment in before the flood of "oh no, we don't need 9/Threshold because 8 is perfect" complaints).

Does Win 9 come with DX12 ?

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Originally Posted by abychristy

Does Win 9 come with DX12 ?

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You're asking this before it's even been unveiled? :p

I see even in the pictures of W9 MS keeps using the day glo colour scheme.

There is only 3 logical reasons for that

1. Everyone involved in developing w9 thinks they are "cool dudes" and wear shades all the time.

2. The lighting is the MS offices where W9 is developed is really bad

3. MS outsourced the colour scheme to Fisher Price.

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Originally Posted by crossy

Sorry I didn't really explain myself there* - from what I've seen RT is essentially the full screen UI of Windows8 "proper" bolted onto something that might be WP8 internals. Unnecessary because I think the WP8 UI could probably scale up to use the extra space on a tablet. And besides wasn't the whole idea behind MUI on the desktop that it was a seamless move from phone to tablet to desktop?

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Not really.

RT is Windows 8 normal, compiled for ARM. It has got services running, hell MMC works, just like a desktop version has. It isn't a bolted on anything. It's a slightly cut down (some things they didn't port) desktop version. I mean powershell runs on it! It's really powerful, I think they made a mistake limiting it so 3rd party apps couldn't work on the desktop, people like me who've hacked that option off have had all sorts running. It is really full windows, on a different instruction set.

Now windows phone shares a lot, the kernel is incredibly similar now (Rather than been an old version forked from NT back in the 90s). But it doesn't have desktop mode, it doesn't even have the same user session stuff, the services, etc.

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Originally Posted by crossy

Not that the Windows Phone store is going to bother Play or iTMS anytime soon but surely not having to do a separate "RT" version would mean better support for Windows8 mobile (phone and tablet). My missus has got both phone and tablet and that's her biggest complaint - that even some of the major apps just aren't available. Last one mentioned was iPlayer.

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Yes, this is where the universal app thing comes in, write for Windows Phone, Tablets (RT/x86) and soon desktop in a window, in one go. Much the same way people make 'responsive' websites by using resolution selectors, this is what people do for UI in these universal apps. But with nicer flow layout logic, but then, anything is nicer than HTML.

As for iPlayer check the official app here http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/st...3-731b67b69b80

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Originally Posted by TheAnimus

[snipped]

As for iPlayer check the official app here http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/st...3-731b67b69b80

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Thanks for the bit of info I snipped - useful and interesting (as always?). Write-once, run-many is something I'm a big fan of, now if they could extend that to Linux systems .... ;)

Double thanks for the iPlayer link - I'll pass it on to SWMBO. :iloveyou:

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Originally Posted by abychristy

Does Win 9 come with DX12 ?

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At some point it will.

Looks like I've timewarped back to 1992 looking at Windows 3.1 in 256 colour mode. Ugh - they still have the blocky square thing going on too.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

You're asking this before it's even been unveiled? :p

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As they did with DX10 with Vista & DX11 with Windows 7, I expect DX12 will be Windows 9 only, even if it doesn't ship with it to begin with. Well, they've gotta get people to buy it somehow, right?! ;)

That Menu button in the bottom left is a good idea

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Originally Posted by McEwin

That Menu button in the bottom left is a good idea

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It's so obvious isn't it. Why would you ever think of moving it anywhere else, or worse get rid of it altogether? Way to ruin uptake....

MS need to do the pre-order discounts like they did with Win7. That would generate the early uptake figures they so desperately need.

That colour scheme sucks, and the icons still don't get back to the nice looking win7 versions. They look like the flat crappy win95 icons of old. Such a backwards step IMO

I hope there's an option for "I'm using a decent powered machine, with proper screen size, please give me win7 version of the desktop and start menu", and the all important "disable metro UI" tick box in the user options. I haven't liked anything they've changed since win7, apart from some of the power saving options, though you need the really modern MOBO to support it anyway... so most folk don't benefit.

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Originally Posted by crossy

Thanks for the bit of info I snipped - useful and interesting (as always?). Write-once, run-many is something I'm a big fan of, now if they could extend that to Linux systems .... ;)

Double thanks for the iPlayer link - I'll pass it on to SWMBO. :iloveyou:

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Well they sort of are, they are giving Unity a fair bit of support, and xamarin too, frankly I think they should buy the latter:

http://xamarin.com/platform

However, all platforms still have these oddities, unlike websites, people expect apps to at least make some attempts to use their platforms features.

Given the new direction of the whole vNext stuff, MS are definitely making it easier to share stuff with a linux platform, which is good. One of the problems however is simply many don't understand that I'd choose to pay a software license to MS because it saves us money on hardware. I remember some NodeJS guys, saying how I'm wasting money running our companies production SaaS stack on windows. I just laughed, because I've only got two physical boxes, dealing with about 15 times the load of his 8 better specced servers. Whilst I've also got lower maintenance costs, because JS,CS,TS whatever, all costs more per line than F# and C# I find.

The point is, it appears after his time at Azure, that they now understand this, you can compete quite fully, and be better.

Sadly, of late google are just playing a more evil 90s microsoft. I'm slowly ditching everything they've got from our workflow, because frankly, I can't trust them anymore, and I fear they are now too dominant.