In Windows 9, the Charms panel will disappear and virtual desktops will appear

Microsoft is backing away even more from the ideas of Windows 8 in the next version of Windows, writes The Verge. Along with the return of the old Start menu and its own program windows, Microsoft plans to remove the Charms panel, which is used to access the search, start screen, devices and settings. While Charms was useful on touch devices, the implementation of the mouse and keyboard panels was awkward and required users to move the cursor over the corners of the screen to open it carefully.

The latest Windows Threshold builds, which are expected to be called Windows 9, no longer have the Charms panel. Metro-style Windows 8 applications will receive a title bar in which some Charms elements will be placed. The change is most likely due to the fact that Microsoft makes Windows 8 applications more flexible, allowing them to work in separate windows on the desktop in the same way as traditional applications. This should greatly improve the mouse and keyboard controls for these applications - which Microsoft has consistently tried to fix in Windows 8 with various updates.

Microsoft is also adding virtual desktops to Windows 9. Ubuntu and OS X have long supported this feature, and Windows users have had to use third-party alternatives. Virtual desktops will allow Windows 9 users to create separate active desktops and switch between them using the taskbar button. This is another indication that Microsoft has decided to return its attention to desktop users.

A pre-release version of Windows 9 is likely to be available later this year, which will allow companies and experienced users to test new features before the release, which is expected in spring 2015. Microsoft is also preparing a combined version of Windows Phone and Windows RT, which is internally called “Windows mobile” and which will remove the desktop, and the emphasis will be on touch-optimized applications.