Windows 9 Technical Preview leak reveals massive UI changes. In just a few more weeks, Microsoft is expected to officially pull back the curtains on Windows 9. You don’t have to wait that long to get a glimpse at what’s coming, however. Two German blogs have already gotten their hands on a slew of screenshots from a leaked Windows 9 Technical Preview. You can see the Start Menu resurrection above, and it’s changed slightly since Microsoft shared a sneak peek. It’s a bit more like the start screen now: the background color is the same on both sides instead of being white behind the all programs list. The shutdown and restart button has also been moved up to the top next to the logged in user’s name, similar to how it is on the Windows 8.1 Start Screen. The screenshots from the leaked Windows 9 Technical Preview also reveal what’s happening to the Metro UI elements that are wired to hot corners. The Charms Bar may not be completely removed like we thought it was going to be, but you’ll definitely be able to turn it off in the taskbar properties screen. On this particular leaked build, the option to boot to the desktop is grayed out. Presumably that’s because Microsoft really is going to make that the default behavior on non-touch devices, so you may never see the Start Screen again once you upgrade to Windows 9 if you only own a traditional desktop or laptop. You will, however, still be able to install and run Metro apps from the Windows Store. A few screenshots were shared, including the Store itself launching and the Metro PC Settings app. Clicking the app icon in the title bar pulls up different options than on a desktop app (close, minimize, maximize, restore). On Metro apps, the menu is similar to the Charms Bar. And yes, power users, there does appear to be support for multiple virtual desktops in Windows 9. A handful of leaked images show a wide, gray bar that appears just above the taskbar that allows you to add and manage your desktops. Getting antsy? You don’t have much longer to wait. The Windows 9 Technical Preview release has been pegged for September 30, so start dusting off your test rigs and prepping your virtual machines!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:14:49 +0000
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