Windows 9 Release Date, Beta Download & Preview: New Leak Shows Centralized Notification Center

In our previous report, Microsoft was speculated to be working on a unified operating system that would cover its supported array of devices. Now, the company is allegedly developing another unification scheme--this time, the company is seemingly concentrating on the notifications of the OS.

Capital OTC reported on the latest Windows 9 leak, a video uploaded by German site WinFuture. The source commented that such "centralized notification system" does not differ much from Android, iOS and OS X counterparts.

The video is also said to be one of the many leaks that went viral. Recall in our previous report that Microsoft China has "accidentally" leaked on the start menu located at the OS' bottom left.

How does a central notification system work?

According to PC World, it is something the public wanted for a while. Situated at the bottom right, the notification center pops out when a taskbar button is clicked. The source shared that the notification center seems to operate in conjunction with Windows' existing "toast" notifications.

As seen in the video, it also allows viewing of recent notifications from apps. A "Close All" button dismisses all notifications at once, although dismissing can be done one at a time.

The Epoch Times reported that the release date for the OS could be Sept. 30. In another report, the outlet exposed the details of WinFuture's other video leak concerning another Windows OS. The information is believed to have come from the Technical Preview of Build 9834 for Windows Threshold (or Windows 9).

Allegedly, apps will be organized in two sections of the Start menu. A left panel will hold traditional apps, whereas the right panel will hold "Live Tiles." These "Live Tiles" are created by pinning applications on the said panel. These tiles are rescalable and reversible - unpinning removes one from the panel.

The Verge also noted that accumulating apps in the Start menu lead to space expansion. It appears that the Start menu is not designed for tablets, and a choice to "use the Start menu instead of the Start screen" seems possible for desktop.

Microsoft has not officially released a preview download. Currently the site's latest offer is fixed at Windows 8.1.

See the video leak below.

The Left and Right (Live Tools) Panels of the Start Menu: