Microsoft is set to take the wraps off Windows 9 (codename Threshold) tomorrow, September 30th, but details continue to trickle in. According to Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet, Microsoft will be building, testing, and updating Windows 9 in a very different way compared to previous operating systems.
In fact, Microsoft is re-imagining Windows engineering by treating Windows as a service. This allows Microsoft to gather as much information needed to ensure the user experience is exactly how Microsoft intended. This also means Microsoft can ensure updates, features, and more are working properly. If not, Microsoft is able to obtain high-quality data to figure out the issue.
“I’ve heard Microsoft built a new real-time telemetry system codenamed “Asimov” (yes, another Halo-influenced codename) that lets the OS team see in near real-time what’s happening on users’ machines. This is how Microsoft may be able to measure how successful the features it “flights” with different user groups are. One of my contacts said Asimov is a system that the Xbox team originally built and used during its development process,” Mary Jo Foley stated.
Microsoft’s new telemetry system implements a new mechanism for user feedback, allow for the testing of new features to gauge user acceptance, track bugs, and easily roll out new functionality and fixes. No word on how often Microsoft plans to push out updates and fixes to Windows 9 after it is completed. However, the goal is to have updates every month, with Threshold being the last major Windows release, at least for a little while.
Hopefully during tomorrow’s event, Microsoft talks more about these back-end changes. I am quite curious to see how Microsoft plans to deliver future operating system updates. Stay tuned, we’ll have complete coverage of tomorrow’s event right here on WinBeta.
