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Microsoft puts up, then takes down Windows 9 sites

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It looks like somebody at Microsoft made an oopsie, because a couple of pages dedicated to the next version of Windows recently went live, but have since been taken down.

Related: Windows 9 rumors, news, leaks, images, more

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One of these is a download page for Windows 9. The page refers to it as the Windows Technical Preview, but that’s the same terminology seen in leaked images of Windows 9 that were posted in recent weeks. On the Windows Technical Preview download page is an image of a laptop, with a revamped version of the Start menu pasted on the notebook’s display.

Microsoft teased a refreshed Start menu back at Build 2014, and recent leaks that show the new Start menu in action look very much like what’s in the photo below.

Windows Tech Preview Screenshot
Image source: http://www.informationweek.com Image used with permission by copyright holder

The other page that went up prematurely provided an information hub for Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise. The page makes a reference to something called Windows TH. TH could very well be a shortening for Threshold, which has been the codename for Windows 9 for quite some time now.

Windows Tech Preview Site Shot
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first image provides instructions on how to download and install the Windows 9 tech preview, and it looks like the setup process is similar to what’s offered today if you were to download Windows 7 or Windows 8 directly from Microsoft. This runs contrary to something Andreas Diantoro, the President of Microsoft Indonesia, recently said.

“Easy, when the OS (Windows 9) was launched later, users who have been using Windows 8 just need to do the update via his device. It will be installed automatically,” according to a translated quote.

Diantoro is saying that Windows 9 will be available via software update, possibly through Windows Update itself. If so, that would match up with a Microsoft job posting which recently said that the company is looking to “fundamentally change the way Windows is shipping.”

We should get the answers to at least some Windows 9 questions tomorrow. Microsoft will be holding an event in San Francisco, and they’re widely expected to give us our first official peak at Windows 9.

Konrad Krawczyk
Konrad Krawczyk
Former Computing Editor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
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