14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is expected to share details on Windows 9 sometime next month, but users have already picked their favorite features that need to be improved in the next major OS release.
Designers, on the other hand, are using this feedback to create concepts improving the key features of the operating system, be it the desktop, the Modern UI, or the Start button.
This concept, which was created and sent to us by Ondrej Zastera, is based exactly on these ideas, but also brings forward some new options that clearly improve the way you work on your computer, no matter if it has a touch-capable monitor or not.
First of all, this Windows 9 concept comes with what the designer calls a Modern taskbar and removes the traditional one. The taskbar is now placed on the left side of the screen and allows you to control both Modern and desktop apps.
As you know, Windows 9 is expected to merge the Modern UI and the desktop and allow users to launch Metro apps without accessing the Start screen, so this kind of taskbar would clearly come in handy to many.
The Start screen has also received plenty of improvements and probably the most notable one is support for more gesture controls to quickly perform a number of tasks, such as shutting down the device. Users would also be allowed to launch more than a single Metro app at the same time and run them in Snap View mode.
There’s no doubt that this concept looks really great and Microsoft would clearly do itself a favor to have a look at it, but the company would clearly adopt a more conservative approach and stick to its existing plan to improve both Metro and the desktop with only a few features that wouldn’t bring so many changes to the modern operating system.
On the other hand, Microsoft is also said to be preparing the return of the Start menu, which would be brought back in Windows 9 as a way to access your installed applications faster and easier. People familiar with the matter indicated that Microsoft would stick to a very simple design, with only a few features, for the new Start menu.
In addition, Redmond is also preparing a bunch of other improvements for Windows 9, but be sure that the next full Windows release would come with more options aimed at desktop users, as the software giant needs to regain its lost trust in the traditional PC market.
