Latest build of Microsoft Windows 10 Technical Preview is now made available for users to download, notable changes (also shared in the video posted at the end of this blog post) and new features from previous build includes Cortana! for Desktop, New Settings App, New Store (BETA), New Windows Menu, New Start Menu, New XBox App, New Photos and Maps apps!, Native MKV and FLAC support, Connect Hub for technologies like Bluetooth and Miracast.

A new kernel version signify new changes at the very core level of the operating-system, and the build 9888 of Microsoft Windows 10 which just surfaced via some private channel suggests a kernel version jump from 6.4 to version 10.0 as shown in images below. This large jump in kernel version number hints at massive overhaul of the underlying components and seems to be targeted on company's effort to consolidate all of its platforms into OneCore, a name given by Microsoft to it's single kernel for all of the company's operating systems (Desktop and Mobile).

As expected Microsoft announced the next major upgrade to their flagship operating system at a press conference in San Francisco, however the new version is called Windows 10, and not Windows 9 as everyone anticipated. With this new incarnation of the Windows OS platform, Microsoft will be unifying the application Eco-system for all devices: desktops, laptops, consoles, tablets, and phones - Microsoft's executive VP of operating systems, Terry Myerson said "There will be one way to write a universal application, one store, one way for apps to be discovered purchased and updated across all of these devices". The new hybrid Start Menu is one such addition which acts as an bridge for unifying Metro-style apps which can now operate inside their own windows in Desktop/Laptop mode. There's a new, multiple-desktop feature and also a feature that lets users easily grab objects from one desktop and transfer it to another. The Microsoft Windows 10 Technical Preview builds for desktops and laptops are now officially available for download with integrated activation keys from the links shared ahead, the final Windows 10 version is scheduled to be launched in late 2015.

Microsoft has already officially confirmed the event on September 30 to show off an enterprise technology preview of its next version of Windows, codenamed Threshold. We have already seen leaked images and videos of the all new Windows 9 Start Menu, here are two new videos showing the new Notification center and the virtual-desktop functionality.

While everybody is eagerly waiting for official release of Microsoft Windows 9 Technical Preview, a newly leaked video is now gaining views as it demonstrates the "all-new" marriage between "Start Button" and "Metro UI". This seems a perfect solution for users who hated the extreme move by Microsoft to prioritize Metro UI over Start Button but at the same time keep the Metro UI alive and useful. The video gives Windows’ users a first look at the new Start menu in action, it clearly shows three brand new features in Windows 9 - the notification center, Windowed Metro apps and Virtual desktops.

After some convincing internal builds leaks of Windows 9, we are now hearing rumors that Microsoft is working feverishly towards a release of "Windows Threshold Technical Preview" next month following the earlier announced rapid-release cycle schedule for Windows OS. The newest feature to make it's way into current builds of "Windows 9" would be the ability to upgrade "Windows builds" with a single-click without requiring a complete re-installation of the OS as needed with older Windows OS's.

Microsoft Windows 9 was already being rumored and now a new leaked build seems to confirm the whispers. While the leaked screenshots show a Windows 8.1 Pro watermark, from past experiences we can safely assume that to be the case with very early alpha builds. The new "Hybrid Start Menu" appears to be a mix of the legacy start menu with Metro portion integrated into-it as tiles. Also, it is to be noted that this build 9788 having Windows NT kernel version 6.4 (which is the next kernel version hence Windows 9 not Windows 8.2), which was compiled on July 4 has got no ISO's available/leaked on file-sharing and torrent websites for download so the origin of the leak should be inside Microsoft.

Whispers of an upcoming major update to Microsoft Windows operating-system have already started, according to industry watcher's Microsoft will be discussing the next version of Windows at coming April,2014 BUILD conference. Codenamed 'Threshold', the next version of Windows is expected to be called Microsoft Windows 9 and should be targeted with an speculated release date of April, 2015. While not much is public now, it is expected that a more mature and fixed "Metro 2" design language will be used taking the failure of Windows 8 into consideration.