Windows 7: To Be Released in Q4

InformationWeek is reporting that Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 will be released some time in the 4th quarter. And, according to some insiders I spoke with recently, it will, in fact, be called "Windows 7".

So...to recap, Windows was numbered for versions 1.0-4.0, then was named by the year of (planned) release with 98 and 2000, went to 2-letter names for ME, CE and XP, expanded to a full word for Vista and Mobile...and now has come full circle to "7"...without the ".0". I can't imagine the marketing brainpower that must have gone into that cycle.

Anyway, here are some other key points from the InformationWeek article:

• "It's unclear whether Microsoft will release the operating system just in time for the holiday season, or earlier in the quarter, perhaps during October."
• "According to a recent report, an executive with computer manufacturer Acer has said the company plans to begin selling laptops running Windows 7 by Oct. 23."
• "Early test versions of Windows 7 have been getting generally positive reviews, and a number of organizations testing Windows 7 have told InformationWeek that the operating system also does not suffer the application and hardware compatibility problems that Windows Vista did at this point."
• Microsoft has said that "the Windows 7 Release Candidate code was closer to what would be shipped than any previous version's Release Candidate."
• Windows Server 2008 R2 will be available at the same time as Windows 7, and the RC is available now.