The Windows 9 Dilemma

With rumors of Windows debuting Windows 9 at the end of September, pundits everywhere are asking how Microsoft could possibly dig themselves out of the hole they dug with the troubled 'feature set' of Windows 8. According to Ed Bott of ZDNet, it can be done.

We already know a little about what will be in what will probably end up being called Windows 9. Microsoft has officially announced the return of the Start menu, with a new, modern design, as well as the ability of mobile (Metro-style) apps to run in windows on the Windows desktop. More recent rumors suggest that virtual desktops will be added and Windows 8's signature charms menu will vanish. Cortana might even make an appearance.

[A] metaphor for this release might be the crack of a starter's pistol, marking the beginning of a new stage in a very long race. What gets delivered this fall as a preview will be updated in a few months as a final release, which will then be revised and expanded again and again over the next few years as Microsoft's new, faster update cadence continues.

Hey, if this version's good enough maybe I'll stop using Windows 95.