If you’re wary of Windows 8, Microsoft has a new pitch for you, starting this week. But what it will be called is still a mystery.
The company is holding an event in San Francisco on Tuesday morning where it’s expected to provide a glimpse of the next Windows, focusing initially on features for enterprise customers — particularly those who may have been turned off by the dual-use interface for tablets and desktop computers.
This is a tough balancing act for Microsoft. Under its previous leadership, the Windows team was trying to push the operating system further into the world of tablets and touch-screen notebooks, but many of the changes were not popular among traditional desktop users. Windows is part of a new operating systems group at Microsoft, led by former Windows Phone chief Terry Myerson.
At the Tuesday event, Microsoft is expected to reveal a Windows Technical Preview that includes the return of the Start menu, restoring elements of the traditional pop-up Windows Start menu that was taken away with the launch of Windows 8. Microsoft first showed this new Start menu in April.
As reported by Paul Thurrott on the Windows SuperSite, the new Start menu will also incorporate elements of the Windows 8 Start screen.
Microsoft is expected to ultimately bring its Cortana virtual assistant to this new version of Windows, but it’s not expected to be present in this early preview.
So what will this new Windows version be named? The internal code name is “Threshold,” but the actual name has yet to be revealed. It could be Windows 9, or just Windows. Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet is hearing possibilities including Windows One, Windows X and Windows 365.
Foley and Tom Warren of The Verge tweeted a picture with their guess at the name, and got a funny response from Myerson.
Ssssh #windowsx pic.twitter.com/MJGFik47X7
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) September 26, 2014
Windows? @maryjofoley @tmyerson pic.twitter.com/wGa44GpyjE — Tom Warren (@tomwarren) September 27, 2014
Whatever it’s called, we’ll be there. Check back with GeekWire starting Tuesday morning for our live coverage of the event from San Francisco.