IF Windows 9 comes out soon it wont be till next year.
MS just said at the last show they where at that the start menu itself is coming to Windows 8 in a big update that they havent announced a release date for yet.
So it is hard to tell what they plan. Never plan for a future OS. MS has a long history of never meeting time lines and new OS's always and I mean always have bugs that need worked out.
You can still get Windows 7 and it is a great OS. If you dont want 8 then stick with 7.
After all think of the people who might of skipped 7 and was waiting for 8. I would image they where not happy lol
Shane