Microsoft says next version of Windows is two years away

DorsetBoy · Oct 25, 2010, 15:37:04

QuoteTAKING A BREAK from patching its buggy software products, Microsoft has let slip that it expects the next version of its Windows operating system to tip up in two years.

The revelation came as part of a birthday celebration for Windows 7, with the firm saying that "it will take about two years before Windows 8 [is] on the market." Most of its operating systems typically appear around three years after the previous version, though the Vole, like many software companies, is very cautious about making predictions about upcoming products.

The problem for Microsoft is that now that its customers, especially its bread and butter enterprise ones, have a whiff of when the next Windows, or Windows 8, will be released, that might put them off from purchasing the current version. Perhaps knowing this, the firm announced a rather vague "first half of next year" release date for its Windows 7 service pack 1 (SP1).
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I haven't worn out Win 7 yet

Rik · Oct 25, 2010, 15:42:23

I haven't even put it on, Dorset.

Technical Ben · Oct 25, 2010, 16:13:04

When they were practically giving it away (think it was as low as £50 retail, £30 educational) then it was worth it if you had Vista. As it fixed and refined a lot of the problems. compared to XP, not much difference. But for new builds it's great.
Now? If you have not upgraded already, you probably won't need it anyhow.

Rik · Oct 25, 2010, 16:15:55

That's me then, Ben.

pctech · Oct 25, 2010, 16:17:02

XP Pro is still serving me well but aiming to get an i7 next year so will get it with that.

Rik · Oct 25, 2010, 16:20:30

That tends to me my approach, Mitch, I rarely upgrade an OS on a box, but buy a new box instead.

pctech · Oct 25, 2010, 16:22:01

It does tend to be the cheapest way.

vitriol · Oct 25, 2010, 17:57:25

I cant for the life of me work out why The Register refers to Microsoft as the "vole"

Anyone care to enlighten me?

Glenn · Oct 25, 2010, 17:58:55

Keeps it's customers in the dark and.........

vitriol · Oct 25, 2010, 18:01:38

Gotcha........thnx its been bothering me for ages.

Glenn · Oct 25, 2010, 20:24:51

I didn't originate the term, so I'm not an authoritative resource. The term is mentioned in "The INQUIRER guide to INQUIRER jargon" in article http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=8069 ... where its definition says "'I am a Vole and I live in a hole.' Microsoft."

The scientific name of the common vole is "Microtus arvalis Pallas".

My own view is that this appellation is rather apt. The vole is a tiny rodent that's almost uniquely single-minded in the pursuit of its prey, because its metabolism is so very high that it must eat more than its own weight every day in order to survive. It's also a ubiquitous garden pest and like all rodents is prone to carry some rather nasty diseases.

Thanks for reading,
Egan

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1046437/how-times-microsoft-abused-monopoly

karvala · Oct 25, 2010, 23:24:18

No point in changing your OS and reinstalling everything just for the sake of it. It used to be essential new features or improved stability that lured users in early adoption, but XP pretty much killed that by being too good.

I moved to Windows 7 as main OS earlier this year after 7 of XP in that role (more or less skipped Vista, after having in a dual boot configuration for a while and being thoroughly unimpressed), mainly because I wanted to make the move to a 64-bit OS, and it had finally become viable. I find it quite nice to use actually; a bit more responsive than XP, even with my mega-bloated installation.

zappaDPJ · Oct 26, 2010, 04:46:04

I'll be quite happy to use Windows 7 for another year or two, in general it has served me very well.

DorsetBoy · Oct 26, 2010, 07:33:13

Likewise Zap, I really do like Win7 it is a very good OS and I will be using it for a good few years yet.

Technical Ben · Oct 26, 2010, 08:33:32

Quote from: vitriol on Oct 25, 2010, 17:57:25
I cant for the life of me work out why The Register refers to Microsoft as the "vole"

Anyone care to enlighten me?

I always thought they meant they had a "mole" in the company leaking info. But they changed it to "vole" because... well, I guess I'm wrong.

Rik · Oct 26, 2010, 09:06:29

For all those of my generation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hjnhtVcTQE

DorsetBoy · Oct 26, 2010, 09:13:52

Never heard that before Rik

Rik · Oct 26, 2010, 09:18:53

trophymick · Oct 26, 2010, 14:50:35

I've gone down the Linux road (no U turns allowed

) and so far it's more than I need.
One excellent feature I like is 'print to PDF', if you have a email, document or web page you want to keep and maybe even print, you can at a couple of clicks save it as a PDF document.

I was getting fed up with all the patches and virus threats on Windows (XP), so I tried Linux along side with a dual boot for a bit, then just dived in.

pctech · Oct 26, 2010, 16:15:14

I have a dual boot with Ubuntu but I've forgotten the password to get into it!

Glenn · Oct 26, 2010, 16:49:05

This is your friend

pctech · Oct 26, 2010, 16:51:08

Cheers Gleen.

Glenn · Oct 26, 2010, 16:53:25

Just boot from the CD and let it run, it should find all the account passwords in a few minutes.

pctech · Oct 26, 2010, 17:08:31

I'll have a crack (boom boom) at that over the weekend.

Rik · Oct 26, 2010, 17:10:03