http://www.techradar.com/news/softwa...umours-1029245

What the collective has heard exactly is that a prototype version is in the
works in which a barebones version of Windows 9 will be available for free.
For additional functionality, users would have to pay up through a
subscription.

According to the leaker group, the core of Windows 9 will live in the given
system's BIOS, while the rest of the OS will reside in the cloud, ready for
picking via various apps and services. (Exactly how much of the standard
Windows functions would be left out is what's worrying about this rumor.)