Microsoft to release Windows 8 in 2012?

October 25, 2010 By Jeffrey Van Camp

Microsoft's Dutch site leaked that the next version of Windows is coming in 2012 and Steve Ballmer says it will be the company's riskiest bet.

Last week, we reported on the successful one year anniversary of Windows 7. Microsoft’s newest operating system has proven to be its most successful yet, selling more than 240 million licenses in its first year. Amid the celebration, Microsoft’s Dutch website spoke up about the company’s future plans, stating that Microsoft is working hard on Windows 8, but it’s release is still about two years away.

The offending paragraph has since been removed, CNET reports. In its place is a new sentence which says that the first Service Pack for Windows 7 is in testing and will be released in the first half of 2011.

A 2012 release would put the gap between Windows 7 and 8 at about three years. The gap between Vista and 7 was about three years, and the gap between Windows XP and Vista was five years. The company has said that it doesn’t plan to ever wait five years between major releases again.

Microsoft’s riskiest bet

At the Gartner Symposium last week, Steve Ballmer stated that Windows 8 would be the company’s biggest gamble, says Electronista. He did not provide details on why. Little is known about the next version of Windows, but a leaked set of slides show that the company may be focusing on USB 3.0, touch, facial recognition, Kinect-like gestures, fast boot-up times, and a Windows App Store, similar to the Mac Apps Store that Apple just announced. The operating system will likely incorporate the cloud quite a bit as well.

In February, a MS employee posted about the next version of Windows: “the next version will be something completly [sic] different from what folks usually expect of Windows,” said the employee in a blog. “I am simply impressed with the process that Steven has setup to listen to our customers needs and wants and get a team together than can make it happen. To actually bring together dozens and dozens of teams across Microsoft to come up with a vision for Windows.next is a process that is surreal! The themes that have been floated truly reflect what people have been looking for years and it will change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them. It is the future of PCs…”

What will the next version of Windows look like? Will Microsoft take some cues from Apple and adopt a more smartphone-like organization for its OS?

Showing 38 comments

Meh at 2:24pm 22nd February 2011 Not the riskiest and MS is not the only company doing this, it just happens to be the bigger advertisement board of them all.
Guest at 12:57pm 2nd December 2010 Microsoft does not develop Operating Systems anymore. Not since DOS. Windows is just a giant application. Hence the reasons for your persistent "crashing"...
Android God at 1:59pm 26th October 2010 Well to each, everyone will have to decided if they want to change from their current OS to Windows 8. There's going to be a lot of Marketing probably and a lot of waiting before it comes out. Windows 8 will have to be good or else I'll stick with Windows 7 Ultimate, which works great on my systems. On one hand with all the copying they're going to have to do, I'm worried that it'll be another Vista, but you would think they would learn... Why I chose Windows 7: For transfering files between my computers, home network, and currently on all my PC's if one of them crashes, I don't have to re-download the drivers for internet, usually picks it right up. Lots of Plug and Play, meaning I don't have do install a lot of drivers/software which is beautiful for me because it saves Hard Drive Space. Linux: too much source-code that I don't know how to do, to get what you need done lol. Would like to learn, but for my use not the best choice. Sry, no offense to Linux. Mac/Apple: Have never been a big fan of Apple. There's just too many limitations, and hoops you have to jump through to get what you need done lol. Though I do hear from friends that their systems are a lot more powerful and crash less. And of course, I LOVE Android OS.
1. Android God at 2:01pm 26th October 2010 Froyo is probably my favorite OS lol.
Andrew Bitto at 11:31pm 25th October 2010 Microsoft need to put it to the consumers (the every day consumers) as to what they would most like to see Windows do. Their ideas are stagnant and not thought-through. Do they seriously think everyone will go "omg yay!" if every software maker has the ability to have their own separate application store? Do they seriously think touching the screen in front of you constantly won't get tiring and annoying?
Palash at 11:23am 25th October 2010 Wow!! Nyc
Hangulman at 8:38am 25th October 2010 I see another Vista disaster on the horizon. "Wow! People liked our last OS because it doesn't eat system resources like a starved pig and it isn't decorated with loads of mandatory gimmicky unnecessary UI features! Let's add those features, mix in some memory leaks, and just a dash of showstopper security/usability problems. Ooh, wait! We need to force-feed them some features that can only be used if you pay for premium subscription/licensing services. Done! Windows 8!
echo7 at 8:14am 25th October 2010 They say this about every new version of Windows. Want less marketing talk and more facts.
mtcoder at 7:43am 25th October 2010 3 years in the technology industry is huge, waiting that long for OS upgrades / versions is plenty. I also love the windows has crashed for me for every version, hmm maybe its not the software but the user? I see a more pure cloud build this time around with 8, and a ton of built in aspects such as project natal being built into the OS where you can basically take a projector and your laptop and turn it into a huge touch screen. Throw together the fact 3d monitors will be down in costs by then, and I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't see windows 8 in 3d, with everything being spacial with the ability to utilize a kinetics bar on your monitor to move things around in the 3d space as seen fit. Think to the movie hackers where the main frame was shown as a 3d world where they could navigate through it. Or Avatar where they grab and drop things with their hands. That is where windows 8 is going. Will it be for everyone? Not at first, but as things change it will become the norm. Oh and one more thing people don't complain Google releases a new android OS every 6 months, Or a new iOS version once a year, or my favorite Linux distrubutions which maintain about 10 versions, and get a new ones super frequently. Now I would like to see cheap upgrade costs much like with windows 7 where for 50 bucks you could update from xp to windows 7.
1. TrollOnAnAtoll at 2:12pm 25th October 2010 You've said everything that I've also been thinking lately regarding the next Windows system using 3D display plus motion sensing technology. It just seems like such a natural step to take that I wouldn't expect anything less than that. I keep thinking of the way Tony Stark in Iron Man used the holographic display by making a variety of fancy hand gestures... how cool was that! But of course the Windows 8 OS would use stereoscopic 3D rather than holographic. I'd also like to see Windows 8 to be able to automate things to a great degree based on the users preferences and the way that they use the system.
Sarah at 7:37am 25th October 2010 Hmmmm..... Not really interested in getting this OS unless it is backward compatible to all the video games that run on Windows 98, XP and 2000. Long live Linux!!!!
1. JohnnyFive at 12:38pm 25th October 2010 So you want an OS in 2012 to work with games from 1998 ? Why don't you just lock yourself in a basement and run XP forever and never upgrade anything? That's like saying I want original Nintendo games for my PS3. Get over it ! and how can you complain about video games on XP and say long live linux?
L0Lz at 7:26am 25th October 2010 pardon me.. "will last 5 years minimum"
L0Lz at 7:24am 25th October 2010 "The company has said that it doesn’t plan to ever wait five years between major releases again." three years between versions of a poorly designed OS greedy scuzballs How about designing an OS that isn't filled with security holes, is stable and will last 3 years
1. nope at 7:27am 25th October 2010 Nope. You get new improved Aero UI instead.
Dragon Dan at 7:24am 25th October 2010 My idea for Windows 8: slash (not backslash) as folder separator, "/n" not "/r/n", /bin/bash, openssh, gcc (./configure; make;make install), package manager like apt-get, yum or macports. Just like what Apple did on Mac OS X back in 1999, this is the reason why so many developers are having Macs & Linux. Are you listening Microsoft?
1. andrew at 8:08am 25th October 2010 You mean what linux/debian doesdid.... And we both know your silly.
jabberwolf at 7:22am 25th October 2010 They are forgetting 1 thing about this OS. What happens in the corporate/server world almost always follows in the consumer/individual market. I am betting that they are geaing Windows 8 to be "service" and not just an OS. They probably plan alot of cloud applications for people along with the OS... an OS that will probably be accessable as a virtual OS from any location and/or device. That or downloadable and moveable to any computer. This has always been Microsoft strong point, of collaborating and being able to be on so many platforms while someone like Apple wants you locked down to only use their OS on their hardware. For those that know Vmware and Cirix, and MS's Hyper-V you'll understand the possible plan.
taxed at 7:18am 25th October 2010 I had crashing windows 3.1, ME, XP. I now have crashing winows 7. I will not repeat the mistake of buying another crashing windows machine, no matter the cost, inconvenience of switching, learning curve or anything else. My next machine will not be another version of crashing windows. Micro can shove it's latest versions of unproductive Office too.
1. temporaldoom at 7:38am 25th October 2010 Sounds like the way you're using your computer, the hand-holding aspect of an Apple "PC" is perfect for you... the Big Brother will make sure you don't visit those naughty sites and downloading free apps that will crash their precious OS.
LawPuff at 7:14am 25th October 2010 Both M$ and Apple "acquired" their technologies from other sources. You should rent a copy of Pirates of Silicon Valley. Yeah, it's a movie, but I believe that it has a lot of truth to how things truly played out and I'm sure it's how they both still do business.
Android God at 7:13am 25th October 2010 Well So far Every one of those apps is already out in one way or another, either on Linux, Apple, Android, etc. To to put them all together in 1 OS Could be good, or really messy like Vista. But I think they learned their lesson on Vista. Still, doesn't feel original, just feels like they're taking a bunch of Ideas, putting it together, and charging $300.
1. Logic Induction at 7:41am 25th October 2010 Feeling jealous ?
nope at 7:08am 25th October 2010 I cannot wait for the new snazzy CPU-hungry UI features needing to be disabled amidst a horde of enabled but irrelevant services.
John doe at 7:00am 25th October 2010 If windows 8 turns out ot be anything like what macintosh has become, i'm switching to linux. :P
1. JoeBlow at 7:40am 25th October 2010 Ummmm......can you say FreeBSD with a cute GUI ?
chrissomerry at 6:56am 25th October 2010 @NoBama1 Isn't that how all tech companies work, let alone the entire tech industry? What matters is whether it will copy the good stuff and put it together in a nice package ;)
NoBama1 at 6:48am 25th October 2010 Again, Balmer and Microsoft will just copy other peoples technology and try to pass it off as their own.
1. YoMama at 6:58am 25th October 2010 Except they'll do it right and have a skilled team to support it.
  1. Methodin at 7:19am 25th October 2010 You do realize a large portion of MS is developed in India, right?
    andrew at 8:02am 25th October 2010 Yeah the tech support call center
2. Andrew at 8:01am 25th October 2010 Hey Mofo I use Linux, and know that "Copy" is good- just not copyright-
3. TedBerger at 12:34pm 25th October 2010 Right because Apple has come up with every piece of new technology in the last 20 years and everything they do is innovative and new? Apple copies just as much as everyone else.
  1. @JeffreyVC at 3:01pm 27th October 2010 Everyone copies. The winner is the guy who does it best.
    King Kronos at 7:24pm 13th December 2010 Dude, your a genius.
4. ioman at 12:41pm 25th October 2010 And make billions upon billions doing it. I bet you wish Apple was smart like that eh? :)
5. francisl at 7:27am 26th October 2010 Apple has copied Bill Gate's Tablet computer idea, but people still like it. So what.
6. Andrei Fierbinteanu at 4:56am 19th May 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU&fe... quote "Steve Jobs: We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas"