Microsoft to release Vista successor sooner than planned?
By Arnold Zafra
It looks like Microsoft may release the successor to Windows Vista earlier than it planned. No less than Microsoft’s CEO Bill Gates gave a hint that Vista’s successor, Windows 7, may soon be hitting the development stage as early as next year.
During a speaking engagement at the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami, Mr. Gates made a remark hinting that the public should expect Windows 7 sometime “in the next year or so”. When Gates refused to elaborate on the details of the Vista successor, a Microsoft spokesman explained that Mr. Gates maybe alluding to the test version of the Windows 7 and not really so much about the full-commercial version.
If you would remember, Microsoft was projecting a follow up to Vista not until around 2010. But this projection might be referring to a full scale version of Windows 7. So, if we are to take Mr. Gates’ remark and taking the previous announcement into consideration, Mr. Gates may actually be referring to the beta version after all.
Knowing how long it takes Microsoft to develop software, a 2010 target for the commercial version of Windows 7 is probably achievable . Should Microsoft announce the beta version of Windows 7 as early as next year, beta testers would have two full years of testing before the new operating system is released in 2010.
So, I guess we will have to live a couple of years more with Vista running on our desktop. The good news for those who are still using low-end machines is that Windows XP won’t be going to the dead pool until two more years.
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