Windows 7 may still be pretty fresh, but that doesn't mean that Microsoft isn't working at full speed on its successor. To help shine a little light on how things are progressing we were treated to not one but two fresh morsels of information about Windows 8 over the weekend.
First up is a blog post on the company's official Netherlands site. Unfortunately, the page has since been changed, but according to several sources, it clearly stated that Windows 8 will arrive in around two years, possibly pointing to a launch on or around Windows 7's third birthday. This also means that a beta version could be made available before the end of next year or even - as some are speculating - next summer.
Obviously this fits in fairly well with Microsoft's track record when it comes to release schedules, as well as previous leaks and rumours that have all pointed to a 2012 or financial year 2011 launch.
Meanwhile, Steve Ballmer has also been dropping some hints on what to expect from the company's next release. When asked at a 'hot seat' session what the company's 'riskiest product bet' was, the CEO surprised audiences by responding that it would be the next version of Windows.
Again, this fits in with what we've heard previously about the upcoming OS being a major departure from the Windows orthodoxy, as opposed to an incremental change.
Unfortunately, Ballmer didn't go into how, exactly, the next version of Windows would try to break the mould. With tablets and touch expected to be much more important by then, the company's recent emphasis on cloud computing and the expected launch of a Windows 'app store' there's certainly a lot of room for the company to innovate. At the same time, with the computing landscape looking like it could start to change significantly, Microsoft may have to make a bold move just to stay relevant.
For now, we'll have to wait and see what the tech-giant has in store for the next version of Windows - though it looks like we won't have to wait too much longer.
