Take a look at the Windows 9 Notification Center in action

By David Nield September 14, 2014

take look windows 9 notification center action — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you live for Windows 9 leaks, then it’s been a great week for you. We saw a pile of screenshots appear on Thursday and now the same source has revealed a video of the new-look Notification Center in action, which you can view below. As we’ve said before, there’s no guarantee these leaked features are genuine or will make it to the final build, but they’re fun to check out anyway.

The video, shown off on the WinFuture YouTube channel, shows a user clicking through the Notification Center that pops up in the lower right hand corner of the desktop. The alerts cover system events (like the removal of a USB drive) and program notifications (such as incoming Skype messages). The notification pane can be displayed or hidden through an icon on the taskbar.

Related: Windows 9 ‘Threshold’ is coming — here are the latest rumors

We’ve heard all kinds of rumors about the next version of Microsoft’s operating system, including a potential release date of April 2015, but as yet there’s nothing official coming out of Redmond. The tech giant will be aiming to further refine the rather awkward combination of Start screen and desktop mode that exists in Windows 8.1. You can also expect to see increasingly closer integration with Windows Phone.

What else can you expect to see besides the Notification Center? Cortana is tipped to be appearing in Windows 9, and we’ve also heard that multiple desktops will be supported as a native feature. The Start menu looks like it’s going to make a comeback, which will please traditionalists, while the ‘Metro’ apps will be accessible from the desktop too. We’ve collected together all the rumors that have been aired so far into one handy guide for you.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributor

Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…

Computing

How to factory reset Windows 10 or Windows 11

Windows 10 Home vs. Pro

Returning Windows 10 or 11 to their defaults with a factory reset can be a great way to improve performance, clear our old unnecessary software, and make your PC feel like-new again. While you can always use our Windows speed up tricks to give your system a boost, sometimes there's no substitute for starting from scratch.

Here's how to factory reset Windows 10 and Windows 11 to get your PC feeling right again.

Computing

Hurry! Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5 have hefty price cuts today

The Surface Pro 9 in laptop mode on a table.

Microsoft's Surface devices are high-performance machines that are designed to maximize the capabilities of Windows 11. If you're on the lookout for Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals, don't miss this chance to get a discount from Best Buy on the latest consumer models, as the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are only available for commercial users for now. The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is on sale for only $800, for $300 in savings on its original price of $1,100, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is also down to $800, for $500 in savings on its sticker price of $1,300. You better hurry with your purchase though, as we're not sure when these offers will expire.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 -- $800, was $1,100

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 -- $800, was $1,300

Computing

Windows 11 may bring Live Tiles back from the dead — sort of

windows 8 1 everything you need to know live tiles

The latest Windows 11 Canary build 26212 has quietly introduced support for what is being called "Start Menu Companions." These are small widget-like apps designed to appear alongside your pinned apps or the "All apps" list in the Start Menu.

By the looks of it, these companions would offer at-a-glance information such as weather updates, stock prices, and more. And yes, they share a lot in common with the now-defunct Live Tiles feature from previous versions of Windows. They lack the bright colors and blocky shapes, but they would function in a very similar way.