'Windows 7' No Longer a Code Name
- By Jeffrey Schwartz
- 10/16/08
In a break with tradition,
Microsoft has decided to use the code name for the next version of Windows
as the official moniker.
Windows 7 will be the official name of
Microsoft's next operating system, announced Mike Nash, corporate vice
president of the company's Windows product management group in a blog posting late Monday
As
anticipated, Nash reiterated Microsoft's plans to release what he calls a
"pre-beta developer only release" to those attending the company's Professional Developers Conference
and WinHEC, which
will both take place in Los Angeles during the last week of October and
first week of November, respectively.
In the past, prior versions of
Windows had code-names such as Longhorn, for Vista, Whistler for XP and for
those with long memories, Chicago for Windows 95. Nash said the decision to
stick with the code-name was to simplify its message. "This is the seventh
release of Windows, so therefore "Windows 7" just makes sense," he wrote.
"Coming up with an all-new aspirational name does not do justice to what we
are trying to achieve."
Until recently, Microsoft has been relatively
tight-lipped on its plans for Windows. But at PDC, Microsoft is now planning
22 sessions focused on Windows 7 that cover topics ranging from APIs for
building context-aware applications and a new shell user experience, to
information on how to build touch-based apps and designing "efficient"
background processes, among others.
While Microsoft has not said
when it will ship Windows 7, it is believed the company is hoping to release
it late next year or sometime in 2010. Microsoft appears to pushing hard on
the next release of Windows as it becomes increasingly clear businesses are
passing on the most recent version, Vista, opting instead to downgrade to
the older Windows XP.
Indeed the number of enterprises foregoing
Vista is significant, according to this month's Redmond magazine cover
story . According to Forrester Research Inc., enterprise market share
for client PCs showed that 87 percent use Windows XP, while 10 percent use
Vista, which began shipping nearly two years ago, the report noted.
About the Author
Jeffrey Schwartz is executive editor, features, for Redmond Developer News. You can contact him at [email protected].