A conspiracy! Perhaps. Recently a loose-lipped Microsoft employee blogged up on MSDN some scattered thoughts on what he's informally calling Windows.next (as opposed to the
Windows 8 us know-nothings might assume it might be dubbed). He called the new version "completly [sic] different from what folks usually expect of Windows," and that it draws on user feedback to create something that will "change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them." In interesting contrast to
recent words by Dick Brass, the anonymous blogger seems particularly stoked about Steven Sinofsky, the president of the Windows and Windows Live devisions, and his ability to "actually bring together dozens and dozens of teams across Microsoft to come up with a vision for Windows.next." Meanwhile, John Mangelaars, a regional VP at the company, went on record saying "Windows 8 will be mind-blowing." But while John's comment will live on in public record, the MSDN blogger's post is gone without a trace from Microsoft's site. Of course, it's lived on in Google cache for the rest of the internet to enjoy. We're not unfamiliar to Microsoft beating its own drum, but even if it's completely expected to hear these sort of ravings leak out from the Windows crew, we're still happy to hear it.
posted February 10th 2010 6:07PM
2012? Not a coincidence.
@Steven Ships with a standard John Cusack theme?
@Steven
Perfect timing I say....
@Plazmic Flame
Im thinking this is the end of microsofts pattern of
bad-good-bad
when it comes to there operating systems :-) if windows 8 has the stability of 7 plus some new innovative new features... they definetley have my money :-)
@wtgig to bad the world will end before that happens
@wtgig I'm gonna reserve excitement until I see some early betas or something similarly concrete. Reason? Post-XP, Windows was expected to get all kinds of amazing new stuff that didn't even make it to 7. Maybe we'll get some of that in 8, but MS's track record of getting their more revolutionary ideas to market isn't amazing.
Does anyone find it odd that there once was such a thing called System 7. I find it hilarious to see System 8, I mean Windows 8 on Microsoft's road map...
They're releasing the NT Kernel as open source.
Everyone goes bat shit, and drops all other operating systems for Windows. Microsoft rules the world.
@Prevacator
Please explain why this is good for us in layman terms?
@Don G
It's a joke.
@Prevacator
MSFT ruling the world would cause it to collapse.
@Prevacator
Well, I hope openness is prioritized as a whole. Or else they have again gone into macland, where macs already rule :(
the blog post is gone in Micro-seconds.
had to say it...
For some reasons (or from experience) the final product is going to be somewhat underwhelming.
@darkmax
I only bother with every other Windows release, so I'll wait for Windows 9.
@NeoJew +1. I completely agree with that strategy.
@darkmax
They have too many people on too many teams trying to cram too many "features" in. It's like most software products that get too big. Nobody talks to each other, or looks at what they're doing to say, "Is this really something I'm missing from my current computing experience?" Wheels are reinvented, compatabilities are broken, and things are made pretty, instead of good.
"Recently a loose-lipped *former* Microsoft employee blogged up on MSDN..."
With Windows 7 being released only a few months ago, I can't believe they'd have anything close to a new OS even partially completed. They're likely still in the planning stages right now.
@nachotech
Are you kidding? They were already developing Vista by the time XP was released. And before Windows 7 was even put into a release candidate/beta, they were already busy developing Windows 8.
Never to early to start the marketing machine!
@nachotech
It is sort of like how the new trend in film making is to film a movie AND its sequel simultaneously.
@guroth I'm not sure that's a fair comparison. With sequels, they're sharing resources to keep costs down and have the sequel prepared to be released to maximize profits. Regarding software, starting early can help to be able to fully implement new ideas and have time to iron out details.
@guroth
Nope, actually it's sort of what software developing companies always do.
Look at Half-Life: They thought of all features that would be nice/cool to have, and programmed at least a raw version of it. Then, at a certain point in time, they decide it's time to start cleaning up and making something shippable (Half-Life 1).
At that point they decided for each particular feature if it was at all going to run on the current hardware, and secondly how important it was to have it in the final product. The features that made the cut went into the sourcecode-trunk 'Gold-Src', and the others didn't, staying in the 'Src'-trunk.
Once Half-Life was shipped, they just continued what they were doing by fixing and finishing everything that was in 'Src', and started adding new things to that. Then they came to the point of starting to think of what could and should definitely be in Half-Life 2, and they worked those things out, leaving the rest for later. And so on, and so on.
Same goes for Windows development. Except for with Longhorn/Vista they didn't manage it properly and they had to start over. That's why Vista took so long to come out while every other version of Windows came 2-3 years after the previous.
@nachotech
Planning on major tech projects start way before you know it.
Like they said on Vista by the time XP launched. Nintendo does the same thing. They're already planning the console AFTER the SUCCESSOR to the Wii
That's two consoles down.
Ideas and concepts are thrown in and they develop those concepts over time.
But will it blend?
@jr0ckett If object's size < Blender, then yes, it will always blend.
@Velorium I bet pure uhh.. titanium wouldn't blend
Now this, this is exciting.
I'm just looking forward to the day I'll look back on this post and think, "remember that rumour?"
@Kirtay Yes, the day when Engadget scooped the world - Microsoft is releasing a new OS some day and they say it will be AWESOME.
@fylraen:
Hey, I looked back on the skeptical iPad/iPhone posts, and they seemed vague too.
Just saying, good or bad, looking back on rumour posts is always an interesting experience.
"...Windows and Windows Live devisions... [sic]"
@Mr Blurrycam
I upranked you based purely on your pic and name...
I think Microsoft will License Mac OS X next year and call it Windows 8.
@Tony Y That would be...Interesting.
@Nitesh lol; it certainly would :-)
@Tony Y
Why would MS choose to delete features and diminish capabilities already well implemented into Windows 7?
After all that's Apple's 'game plan (see: Apple iPad w/o integrated USB, webcam, video out, FLASH support, et al), and an iDiotic one at that!
@DaHarder Well, considering Windows diminishing returns, and decreasing market share, I would say that people tend to prefer Apple's approach. Simplistic, effective, and headache free. Sure, there may be things in Windows that may seem more practical, but almost everything useful is already in Mac OS X and can be further tweaked via 3rd party utilities. As for the iPad, I tend to agree with you if I was thinking of myself (I'm a techie). For a techie (or advanced user), the iPad as presented doesn't really mean much. But I'm willing to bet that when it actually does ship, what we saw presented will not be the final product. My guess would be that at the very least, would be a model that runs some form of Mac OS X in order to allow for people like me (and presumably you) to actually use real apps.
Windows had it's time; and now it's over. Anyhow, that's just my personal opinion, but the way I see it, when true competition arose, MS true abilities came into the light, and they are rather pitiful (starting with a complete fool for CEO). You can do anything when you have money and no laws to govern your actions. Today is a different world fortunately. We are more a generation of skill and the people are a lot more educated and well informed - tech wise.
@Tony Y
Now that can't be true, I don't know many people who can even afford a macintosh. I repeatedly keep having to tell my college not to buy them as the computers used for CAD are underpowered as hell and you can buy one beast of a computer for the price of an iMac.
"Well, considering Windows diminishing returns, and decreasing market share, I would say that people tend to prefer Apple's approach"
LOL! Since you obviously didn't get the memo:
Windows 7 is the single fastest selling operating system in the entire history of operating systems.
Apparently you're yet another fan iDiot suffering from 'Reality Separation' due to far too much chewing on whatever rotten fruit old Stevie J. has tossed your way.
Have A Nice Day
@Tony Y "advanced techie" using OS X? lol
Cant wait to get it for free on MSDNAA.
Sucka's!
@Nitesh
I feel ya..i feel ya..
Personally I hope for something like the Courier interface, something incredibly different and appealing, but still intuitive and efficient.
Hell, I just want the Courier. I would take the Courier over the iPad any day.
@Chatboy 91
"Hell, I just want the Courier. I would take the Courier over the iPad any day."
so would the rest of humanity my friend.
@Chatboy 91 the courier will never happen. but let's dream, it's free, isn't it? :)
codename windows 8? what happened to creativity?
@joshky
Why would a code name need to be creative? It's not the production name.
@thefreehunter
Yeah, it's not like they just slapped a "7" on their last production title....oh wait.
@joshky are you saying "Snow Leopard" is a good name? or rather OS X 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4...? At least Microsoft gives us major releases rather than incremental updates
@thefreehunter
please. codename? Its gonna be called windows 8.