Windows Spring 2015 Update Codenamed "Threshold"
Threshold is expected to be Blue's sequel.
ZDNet reports that the Spring 2015 wave of Windows-based releases is codenamed "Threshold," which is derived from the planet of the same name in the original Halo released back in 2001. Unnamed sources reportedly said that Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson actually mentioned the Threshold codename in a recent internal company email about his plans for a unified operating system engineering group.
So far the unofficial Windows roadmap reveals that Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 will receive an update in Spring 2014 (v8.1.1?). This will also be the time when Microsoft releases the "Blue" update for Windows Phone, catching it up to v8.1. After that, Windows 8.1 will reportedly receive another big update in Fall 2014, v8.1.2 perhaps, around one year after Windows 8.1 originally went live.
Based on information provided by unnamed sources, Microsoft is planning to shift its major releases to the Spring. The "Threshold" update is likely similar to the "Blue" wave of updates, and is scheduled to take place in the Spring 2015 timeframe as previously mentioned. Included in this update is reportedly Windows 8.2, Windows Phone 8.2 and Xbox One. This numbering scheme is merely speculation given that Microsoft will likely want to keep Windows variants on the same level.
Right now Windows 8.x, Windows Phone and the Xbox One OS share a common Windows NT core. But by Spring 2015, Microsoft is expected to have already merged Windows RT and Windows Phone into one platform. We saw this coming with the introduction of larger screens in the latest Windows Phone update. The company is also expected to release a unified developer portal in Spring 2014, followed by the unified storefront in Spring 2015.
In addition to the common developer toolset and storefront, Threshold will reportedly add another level of commonality across all Windows platforms by supporting the same set of "high value activities." These include "serious fun," meetings, tasks, research, information assurance and IT/Dev workloads. Steve Ballmer mentioned the concept of high-value activities back in July when he announced the company's re-organization.
"We are going to focus on completely reinventing experiences like creating or viewing a creative document and what it means to communicate socially at home or in meetings at work," Ballmer said. "We are going to immerse people in deep entertainment experiences that let them have serious fun in ways so intense and delightful that they will blur the line between reality and fantasy. And as we develop these new experiences, we will also support our developers with the simplest ways to develop apps or cloud services and integrate with our products."
The company is also reportedly working on a Siri competitor called Cortana, which is a fictional AI in the Halo series.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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joz If I have seven or more cards in my graveyard, does it do something extra?Reply
*MTG reference folks, move along* -
red77star It is just matter of time before Microsoft admits that Windows 8 is failure and they do something different with Windows 9. By looking at November stats, Windows XP stayed flat, Windows 7 gain. Windows 8 lost lot of market share in favor of Windows 8.1 but all together with RT < 10%, bottom line failure. Nokia is doing fine with Windows 8 Phone but compared to overall market...rather a joke. ~5%Reply -
red77star Unified experience won't work because it is impossible to bridge gap between PC running i7 Crossfire Setup and 32GB of RAM on it and shitty phone with ARM processor. Those two devices have nothing in common.Reply -
JD88 Convergence is the right way to go, but my guess is Microsoft does it the wrong way.Reply
This will probably lead to an even more closed ecosystem in which all applications are controlled via Microsoft's Windows store. They are already "hiding" the desktop on RT.
The idea of a Windows Phone that turns into a full blown desktop OS when docked would be appealing though. Perhaps even the limitations of the ARM processor could be avoided by using x86 Intel chips. That would be a big way to set Windows Phone apart from the competition. -
vmem Reply12097401 said:It is just matter of time before Microsoft admits that Windows 8 is failure and they do something different with Windows 9. By looking at November stats, Windows XP stayed flat, Windows 7 gain. Windows 8 lost lot of market share in favor of Windows 8.1 but all together with RT < 10%, bottom line failure. Nokia is doing fine with Windows 8 Phone but compared to overall market...rather a joke. ~5%
8 has it's problems but it's not a complete failure. what they did to streamline and lighten up the overall OS package is all much needed work. it's also good that some things, such as 'device manager' and 'disc manager' are now more accessible than ever. they even fixed the color problem with windows 7 when playing older games such as starcraft.
what they screwed up on is expecting a desktop user to use a tablet UI. they need to either stop pushing for a unified experience, or at least allow desktop users to use a UI better suited to keyboard & mouse.
as for what you're talking about with marketshare, it's more complicated than you make it sound. I suspect the windows 7 gain is from Apple users coming back to Windows, as well as a number of power-users 'downgrading' their newly purchased win8 machines to win7 (yes you can do that). as for the XP problem... Microsoft needs something more drastic without pissing off existing users. the truth is, if win7 didn't convince those people to upgrade, nothing will, at least not at the price of $100 per license. then only way forward is to hand out win7 licenses at $10 or for free, and gobble up their own marketshare before another OS does so. -
phatboe I don't mind having a single Kernel or een a single OS. But this One UI across all devices thing is stupid.Reply -
therogerwilco And all of these comments of "oh no, win8 is a failure and unified devices are lame!" are probably coming from Apple users.Reply
Personally, I love the integration between my Surface Pro and my gaming desktop. It would be nice if they took it to a greater degree. -
catfishtx Reply12097534 said:The idea of a Windows Phone that turns into a full blown desktop OS when docked would be appealing though. Perhaps even the limitations of the ARM processor could be avoided by using x86 Intel chips. That would be a big way to set Windows Phone apart from the competition.
Sign me up. I do find it odd though that we are wanting a new "Wintel" solution.