The BUILD 2014 developer conference will open its doors later today, so Microsoft is getting ready for several important announcements, including the unveiling of the new Windows 8.1 Update pack of improvements.



As we’ve already told you, Microsoft is going to live stream the event, so if you can’t attend the show in San Francisco, you can watch it online using this link. We’re also going to embed the live streaming into this article later today when it becomes available.



This year’s BUILD show is particularly important for Microsoft not only because the software giant is planning to introduce the new Windows 8.1 Update, but also because the company is set to share more details on Windows 9, the next big project coming out of the Redmond campus.



Windows 9, which according to sources familiar with the matter is expected to arrive on the market in early 2015, will bring quite a lot of major changes to the company’s modern operating system, so everybody is curious to find out what the new features that will make it to the new product are.



If we are to trust the existing speculation, Windows 9 will reintroduce a Start menu, in an attempt to make the operating system look and feel more familiar for those who are upgrading from older OS versions such as Windows XP or Windows 7. The removal of the Start menu in Windows 8 was one of the most controversial features of the operating system, so the software giant is trying to avoid doing the same mistake twice.



Windows 9, on the other hand, could come with a completely new SKU specifically designed for ARM-based devices, including smartphones, PCs, and tablets. Such a build might abandon the tablet completely and focus on the Modern UI, as this new environment would make more sense on a touch-capable device.



Of course, expect the software giant to implement a wide series of changes to the operating system in order to make such dramatic update possible, so the Modern UI could also receive a series of improvements.



Surprisingly, source close to the matter hinted that Microsoft is yet to start work on Windows 9, but once the project is officially announced at the BUILD show this week, the company could begin coding the features of the upcoming product.



More details will be provided from the BUILD show in just a few hours, so stay tuned.

 

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