A new report from ZDNet is indicating that Microsoft is planning to show off Windows 9 at a special event Sept. 30, according to CNet. The product will then go into a beta version available for the public to try out.

It's not certain whether the new Windows will be called Windows 9. As of right now, the project is called Windows Threshold, but it's more than likely just a temporary name. The name won't be released during the special press event.

Start Menu Will Return

When Windows 8 debuted, users scorned the removal of the start button. It was something they were so used to. Now, in Windows 9, the start button will return in its normal spot in the lower left hand corner of the screen. This is likely to please those who have used Windows for the long-term and have always been accustomed to the start menu.

No Cortana, yet

Microsoft introduced Cortana, a personal assistant for Windows Phones earlier this year. This was their way of catching up to Apple's Siri and Google's Google Now. It's likely that Cortana will make it onto Windows 9, but it won't make it onto the beta version and the version that will be introduced at the special press event.

Getting Rid of the Charms Bar

The charms bar was supposed to be an easily accessible way to do the things that Microsoft said users do most: searching, sharing, pressing the start button, connecting devices and altering settings.

It ended up being an unpopular feature. It seemed to work for tablets, and it was thought that tablets would keep the Charms Bar, but it will leave for all platforms.

Timeline for the Final Version?

When Windows 8 was previewed, developers got first crack at it with their own developer preview in September 2011. A consumer preview version of Windows 8 came out on Feb. 29, 2012, and then finally the full version of Windows 8 became available Aug. 1, 2012.

Microsoft is much faster these days and it's unlikely that we'll have to wait that long for the full release of Windows 9. 

ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley says that she heard from her sources that a public preview version should be available for anyone who wants to try the new Windows near the end of the 2014 calendar year.