While most of the world has yet to upgrade to Windows 7, Microsoft is gearing up to launch the next version of its PC operating system. Analysts predict Microsoft will release Windows 8 to the public sometime between this summer and the first quarter of 2012, with a tablet-compatible version likely to come in the summer of 2012. Dell, for instance, is rumored to be working on a Windows 8 tablet, codenamed Peju, which won't be ready until the middle of next year. "Windows 8 could be available as soon as this holiday season, but Microsoft won't be able to get its ARM version out that quickly," said Trip Chowdry, analyst at Global Equities Research.
Though the tablet play is most crucial, analysts note that Microsoft is also desperately trying to get its customers off outdated versions of Windows. About 54% of PCs currently run the 10-year-old Windows XP, and 11% are on the five-year-old Vista, according to Net Applications. Many businesses skip one cycle between their Windows updates. For those that took the Vista bait but sat Windows 7 out, Windows 8 could entice them to upgrade off the widely panned Vista. Releasing another version of Windows could also help convince many of those XP laggards to finally update their systems -- not a bad idea, considering they'd be three releases behind after Windows 8's debut.
Still, Microsoft is being unusually secretive about Windows 8. The company is typically unafraid to discuss or even release beta versions to the public, but this time it's working quietly. Some experts suspect that that the company doesn't want to impede the success of Windows 7 in any way. Microsoft hasn't even confirmed that the name of its next Windows iteration will be "Windows 8." Internally, Microsoft refers to it as Windows. Next, but many Microsoft employees on LinkedIn refer to the new OS as Windows 8. One amusing twist: Windows 8 is likely to actually be Windows 6.2.
Microsoft discontinued naming its operating systems after version numbers following Windows 3.1. But officially, Windows 95 was version 4, Windows 98 was version 4.1, Windows 2000 was version 5, Windows XP was version 5.1, Windows Vista was version 6, and Windows 7 was version 6.1. Or, as many view it, version "mopping up the Vista mess." That could end up being the best feature of Windows 8: It will move Microsoft one version further away from its Windows nadir.
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