Maybe I’m just speculating too much but there has been a recent article pointing to Microsoft extending Windows 7 support out to 2020 ( link ) which leads me to speculate that maybe Microsoft is gearing Windows 8 up to be a consumer and tablet/phone release with the completion of WinRT subsystem beyond Metro something targeted for the enterprise and traditional desktop users occurring in the launch of Windows 9. Maybe it is just ‘hope springs eternal’. Oh well, speculation is fun but I guess there is only one way to find out – playing the waiting game