In the days of cool and catchy names (Feisty Fawn, Jaunty Jackalope and Snow Leopard) Microsoft is going back to the basics and has decided to call its next Operating System – Windows 7. Yes, its official now. The successor to Windows Vista will be called Windows 7.
That’s how Windows started out. In the pre Windows 95 era each Windows build was known by a version number like most other softwares – ugly but sensible. Then Microsoft decided to get cool and used years in place of version number. This continued till Windows ME. Then they changed their mind again and came out with Windows 2000 only to ditch the year based naming system for their next two releases – Windows Xp and Windows Vista.
When Sinofsky took over the reigns from Jim Allchin after the Vista debacle he decided to get rid of the old naming conventions. First he ditched fancy codenames and now he has decided to go back to the version number based naming system for the final release too.
From the official announcement :
And, as you probably know, since we began development of the next version of the Windows client operating system we have been referring to it by a codename, “Windows 7.” But now is a good time to announce that we’ve decided to officially call the next version of Windows, “Windows 7.”
While I know there have been a few cases at Microsoft when the codename of a product was used for the final release, I am pretty sure that this is a first for Windows. You might wonder about the decision.
The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows. We’ve used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or “aspirational” monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista. And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense. Likewise, coming up with an all-new “aspirational” name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows.
Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore “Windows 7″ just makes sense.
Although, not everyone is pleased with the decision to bring back the old school naming convention, I don’t think that going back to the basics is such a wrong idea. It certainly sends the right signals as far as I am concerned. What are your views regarding WIndows 7?
P.S. For more information on Windows 7 check out my article Everything You Wanted To Know About Windows 7
This is because of Sinofsky and the new team heading the development of Win 7. i read it somewhere that Mr. Sinofsky isn’t too fond of “code names” and therefore simply have the kernel number as the OS name.
Yep. As I mentioned in the article, he didn’t like the fancy names that Jim Allchin had been using.