Microsoft China "Accidentally" Mentions Windows 9 Name

Whether companies like it or not, teasers and leaks are a fact of life. But sometimes, they accidentally give out information themselves, sometimes to the point that you wonder whether it was really an innocent clerical error or a cunning marketing ploy. That might just be the case here when Microsoft's Weibo account managed to mention "Windows 9" in a short-lived teaser post.

OK, so maybe the name isn't such a big deal, but this is the closest Microsoft ever came to acknowledging the name of the next Windows release, currently still condenamed "Windows Threshold". Based on previous number-based releases on both Windows and Windows Phone platforms, it doesn't take too much imagination to conclude that "Windows 9" could be that name.

Aside from the name, however, the post also makes a hint at what many Windows users have been clamoring for since the dawn of Windows 8: the return of the Start Menu. Then again, Microsoft itself has already revealed that much. The Start Menu, however, won't be returning to its former glory but will, instead, be a hybrid of both worlds. A mini Start Screen, to be precise. The theory is that it will give desktop users the Start Menu they've been demanding, while still providing the new Windows 8 style, at least for those who love pinning tiles.

Of course, Microsoft could also very well try to distance itself from association with "Windows 8", which has become a loaded word just as "Windows Vista" has been. But then again, "Threshold" is hardly a name that tells you anything, much less sell an operating system. Microsoft is expected to announce the name, as well as the OS, of course, at its press event on September 30.

VIA: The Verge