Microsoft had been dropping hints the past few days that their next Windows OS will arrive early as next year. With Windows Vista shunned by both the corporate and individual consumers with a choice, Microsoft seems to be cutting their losses and move on to the next version. Better start making space on your part of the table, Windows ME, Windows Vista will be joining you shortly as one of the least beloved versions of Microsoft’s OS.
For gamers, does this mean DirectX 10 will be jumped to DirectX 11 or will Microsoft be releasing a slimmer and more optimized version of Vista? Possible improvements as mentioned in various announcements/articles are:
- Microsoft has 200 engineers developing a slimmed-down kernel called MinWin that uses 100 files and 25MB, compared to Vista’s 5,000 files and 4GB core and is so small it lacks a graphical subsystem.
- Microsoft has also confirmed that the operating system will come in consumer and business versions and in 32-bit and 64-bit editions.
Here are some screenshots of Windows version 7 courtesy of Paul Thurrott
Microsoft has dropped two strong hints in the past two days that the next version of its Windows operating system will arrive in 2009, shaving up to a year off previous expectations.
It could also be a signal that Microsoft intends to cut its losses with Windows Vista, which has been poorly received or shunned by customers, especially large companies.
Microsoft has long said it wants to release Windows 7 about three years after Vista, which was released to manufacturing in November 2006 but not officially launched until January 2007. Given Microsoft’s recent track record – Vista arrived more than five years after XP – most outsiders had pegged some time in 2010 as a safe bet for Windows 7’s arrival.
But News.com reported Friday that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates answered a question at a business meeting in Miami about Windows Vista by saying “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version.”
And during its announcement Thursday that it would extend the availability of Windows XP Home for low-cost laptops, Microsoft said it would retire the operating system only after June 30, 2010, or one year after the release of Windows 7, whichever comes later.
200 engineers. dang.
Hehe, yep. Rumours were already going around a few months ago about the release of the “real” Windows OS next year 2009.
Vista has been dubbed as the “Windows ME 2”. The real OS that will replace Windows XP is “the” Windows OS.
Glad I didn’t buy Vista :))