Microsoft: Windows 7 set for 2010, not 2009
updated 07:50 am EDT, Tue April 8, 2008
Windows 7 due 2010
Microsoft chief Bill Gates recently indicated that Windows 7 would see store shelves sometime in 2009, but today the company hurriedly retracted the statement, saying Gates was most likely referring to developer seeds. Microsoft restated that its intended release schedule for Windows 7 would be from three years of Vista's launch, placing it some time during 2010. During an interview, Gates allegedly said that Windows 7 would be released "sometime in the next year or so."
Windows 7 is expected to consist of a brand new code base, which reportedly requires a Mac OS-like Classic layer to ensure functionality with earlier applications.
Late last week, Microsoft also announced it would continue to sell Windows XP Home through OEM PC manufacturers, ideally to prevent Linux from taking over the low-cost PC market. Vista's specifications are too rich for light-load PCs like the Asus EeePC and Intel Classmate.
[via InformationWeek]
