14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has prepared quite a lot of improvements for Windows 9, and the recent leaks pretty much confirm that something big is coming for Windows users, but it appears that the company is planning even more big updates for the next operating system.
In a new job ad posted on its Careers website, Microsoft says that it’s looking for software engineers that could help “create a new system that will fundamentally change the way Windows is shipping to put the ecosystem at the center of Windows.”
While this doesn’t say too much about what Microsoft is actually planning for Windows 9 users, previous speculation indicated that the company was working on a new updating system which could help the company update OS builds without asking users for clean installations.
Nothing is confirmed so far, but Microsoft is holding a press event on September 30 to discuss the changes it makes to Windows, so more information will be provided by the end of the month.
“Modify the Start menu in less than a week”
Microsoft doesn’t provide too many details on its Windows strategy, but the job posting indeed hints at new OS updates that could be delivered via the integrated update system independent of the current Windows Update tool.
“Online services are shipping every week, why not client software? What would it take to modify the windows start menu on every Windows user machine in less than a week? To issue a video driver fix and to offer all the people who have run into issues it in less than 2 days?” the job description reads.
Sources previously revealed that Microsoft could implement the new update system in Windows 9 preview in order to automatically ship new testing builds to users without the need for a clean installation, as was the case with old Windows versions.
At the same time, Microsoft is believed to be working on a new solution that would divide users in subsets in order to deliver specific features only to those who need it, and thus get more accurate feedback on the features that it brings in Windows 9.
Windows 9 could be the last standalone Windows version
While the information that Microsoft published in the job ad is pretty vague, we’ve already heard that this update mechanism could make Windows 9 the last standalone Windows version.
The trick is that instead of releasing new Windows versions every once in a while, Microsoft would switch to large updates delivered on a regular basis and bringing significant improvements.
All these updates would be shipped to computers via the built-in update system, although we expect the company to also make them available separately.
At the same time, Microsoft is also considering dropping its numbering naming scheme for the operating system, so Windows 9 could be simply called “Windows” when it hits the market in April 2015.