Redmond is getting ready for one of the busiest months of the year

Apr 1, 2014 05:29 GMT  ·  By

It’s April and Microsoft is now getting ready to kick off the BUILD 2014 developer conference, the event that’s expected to host several key moments for Redmond’s future, including the unveiling of Windows 8.1 Update and some new details on Windows 9.

Although BUILD has always been used by Microsoft as a way to get closer to developers and collect feedback in a more direct method, over the years the show became much more important and is now witnessing very important product unveilings that are essential for the new direction of the company.

This year, Microsoft is expected to present the brand new Windows 8.1 Update, a revamped version of Windows 8.1 that comes with several improvements for desktop computers, in an effort clearly aimed to give Microsoft’s modern operating system another chance to succeed.

Basically, the biggest change in Windows 8.1 Update is the possibility to pin Metro apps to the taskbar and thus launch them without the need for first accessing the Start screen, which is clearly a significant improvements for those still using a mouse and a keyboard and not migrating to touch.

At the same time, Metro apps are launched in their own windows, with close and minimize buttons, with the option said to be just the beginning of another major feature that could be released in Windows 9. Microsoft plans to mix the Metro UI and the desktop and allow Modern apps to run outside their native environment, which means that consumers could use them just like traditional software.

What’s more, Windows 8.1 Update could also bring some tweaks to the boot-to-desktop option that could now be turned off by default on desktop computers where skipping the Start screen makes much more sense.

Windows 9 is also said to be on Microsoft’s agenda this year at BUILD, as the software giant is very likely to share more details on the next major release of its flagship operating system.

Sources close to the matter said that Microsoft will first talk about Windows 9 this year at BUILD, while work on the project would then start later this month. It turns out that Microsoft is very confident that it can complete work on Windows 9 in just one year, so the product could launch in April 2015.

BUILD 2014 will kick off tomorrow in San Francisco, so we promise to keep you up to date with everything new on the Windows front.