Microsoft is readying for an invitation-only event on Tuesday where it’s expected to reveal a new monicker for the latest version of its Windows operating system.

The event, which will only be attended by around 50 journalists and analysts, is the first of several focused on its new OS, codenamed “Threshold”. This week’s reveal should be an important one though, as Microsoft will show off the first public test build of its Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports this preview is expected to be released in early October, though it won’t be a developer preview, and it won’t include all of the new features set to ship with the final version. Nevertheless, Microsoft is hoping it’ll be enough to reassure business users that Threshold is something they should want, rather than try to resist.

No doubt though, the headline news will be whatever new brand name Microsoft comes up with for its revamped OS. Under previous CEO Steve Ballmer we’ve seen Windows 7 and Windows 8, followed by the “Windows 8.1 Update” version – but Reuters says we shouldn’t expect to see Windows 9 anytime soon. As to what the new name will be, that’s still anyone’s guess – perhaps it’ll be something like ‘Windows Cloud’ to play along with new CEO Satya Nadella’s “mobile first, cloud first” mantra, or then again, maybe we’ll see an Aldous Huxley-esque “Windows of Perception” complete with some trippy graphical effects :-)

As far as the actual software goes, there’s been all sorts of rumors flying around about what we can expect to see. What does seem clear is this: Microsoft is determined to make Threshold more palatable to business types – the same people who’re most likely going to continue using mice and keyboards and non-touch displays. The enterprise needs reassurance that Threshold will be a productive platform that’s easy to get to grips with, which is why the old Start Button is likely to return, as well as the ability to run Metro-Style apps on the desktop. However, Microsoft could also get a little more adventurous with the inclusion of its Siri-like personal assistant Cortana.

A few other rumors flying around this weekend – Threshold is likely to incorporate bigger icons on the Metro-style interface, and could also feature ‘elements’ intended to support 4K (and possibly even 8K) resolution displays. This comes from the Neowin blog, which apparently obtained leaked images of the new File Explorer that show a checkbox for apps that have a higher resolution support of up to 240 DPI – which is plenty enough to support 8K.

Finally, the really good news – all of these updates will apparently be free! Or at least, free if you’re already running Windows 8 anyhow. That’s according to Microsoft Indonesia’s Andreas Diantoro, who was quoted by the website Detik.com as saying Windows 8 will “update automatically” to the new version once it’s released.

photo credit: Håkan Dahlström via photopin cc