Microsoft will not webcast the Tuesday press conference where it will unveil at least some parts of the next Windows, the company said today.
Instead, the San Francisco event, which will focus on enterprise customers, will be limited to a small number of reporters, analysts and others who were invited two weeks ago.
Computerworld anticipated that Microsoft would live webcast the news conference based on the fact that the company broadcast its last two major product announcements, one in March where CEO Satya Nadella introducedOffice for iPad and another in May when the company unveiled the newSurface Pro 3.
Also supporting a webcast for all comers, including Microsoft's enterprise customers, was the venue: The Village at 969 Market. On its website, the facility makes a point to stress its webcasting equipment. "The Village offers the latest technology for live broadcasting to meet the needs of our interconnected planet," the venue's site states.
The lack of a live broadcast didn't surprise Wes Miller, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft.
"They're inviting the press who have strong relationships with the company," said Miller, who pointed out that Apple traditionally does the same. "That's not a bad idea. By inviting people who are trusted by Microsoft, it wants the news to resonate through the usual channels."
Analysts have argued that the next edition of Windows -- code named "Threshold" but preemptively labeled "Windows 9" by some -- is a critical moment for Microsoft, perhaps the most important in Windows' history.
"It's going to sound overly dramatic, but Microsoft must prove that they can continue to be relevant," said Michael Silver, an analyst at Gartner. "They have to show a vision for the future [of Windows], how it will integrate with all devices, and how the company can be an alternative to Apple."
The press conference will start at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET). The IDG News Service, the news agency that, like Computerworld, is owned by IDG, will have a reporter on scene.
When asked about the event, a company spokeswoman said that information would be posted to the Blogging Windows site once the news conference concludes.
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