Windows 7 Could Come as Early as Next Year

Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:32AM EST

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Good news, Vista haters: Vista's successor, currently known only as Windows 7, could arrive in the second half of 2009, instead of 2010 as has long been rumored.

The news comes courtesy of a recently released (leaked?) roadmap for the Windows platform, which indicates three milestone builds of the OS slated for 2008. Milestone 1, aka M1, has already shipped. M2 is slated for the second quarter, and M3 in the third quarter. There's no additional information on beta releases until the "release to manufacturing" date in the second half of '09.

What's in Windows 7? Everything is largely conjecture so far, but speculation holds that "virtual machines" will be a big part of the platform, with "OS within the OS" frames being used to run apps not specifically written for Windows 7. The kernel, as previously reported here, should be stripped down and considerably faster than the Windows you're used to today. Hopes are also high that Microsoft will get its long-delayed file system, called WinFS, together in time for Windows 7: WinFS would work more as a database than a standard storage subsystem, which would likely mean much faster data access, searching, and indexing. (Then again, all of this could eventually get stripped out and the OS delayed for years, just as it happened with Vista.)

Naturally, a new interface will come with Windows 7. How radical it is remains to be seen, but one rumored version has been floating around (see above). It's probably a fake, but hey, maybe it will be enough to keep you on XP for one more year. 

LINK: Vista successor, Windows 7 to be released next year? 

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  • 1 Posted by magpagbst on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    once bitten . . . twice shy . . . i got excited about vista . . . that won't happen again . . . i will not adopt this new OS for at least a year . . . i'll let others be my "real world" beta testers . . .

  • 2 Posted by jon655 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    Still having no real problems with XP. Works fine and has never crashed. Vista does nothing for me.

  • 3 Posted by alan_r_cam on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    A 64-bit OS with built-in support for old 32-bit apps? Less versions, to avoid confusion? Those are good, but the kicker is- it must be CHEAPER. Because We the Users will have to put up with umpteen Bugs and Patches...

  • 4 Posted by crash_davis6 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    That's half the stuff that really irritates me. I run Beta products all the the time, so I assume many people can handle some bugs and quirks if I can get by. But to charge so much money for a product that isn't selling very well makes zero sense. Vista should be at least 50% cheaper, get more sold, and then begin to asess how good the procuct is. We hear computer nerds tell us how bad it is, but I also heard that now, the average person would not notice half the problems Vista has. (I Know the redundant questions "Are you sure?" about installing software is just aweful and that creator should be castrated) But now we are at a point where Vista has little fanfare, so the average Joe will not be buying this product, especially at this price. At this point, just run off more copies since it doesn't cost anymore to print and package Vista. The people that may not even notice the blips, will possibly buy Vista at a cheaper price, then actually show support for it. Heck, Apple did it with iPhone.

  • 5 Posted by alexgannis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    What your problem with vista you are so up with window xp always knocking down any new os that microsoft come up with so why don't you go back on your mac computer and just keep your mouth shut I bet you never use window xp.

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