Microsoft will ship Windows 7 - the
next operating system after
Vista - in January 2010, according to a letter published by a
senior Microsoft executive.
In a
letter sent
to business customers, senior vice-president Bill Veghte said:
"Our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately three years after
the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows
Vista."
Bill Veghte said customers wanted a more regular and predictable
Windows release schedule. This was the impetus for setting the 2010
the ship date, said Veghte.
He addressed customer concerns over
application compatibility with Vista, which had come to light
shortly after its release.
"You've also let us know you don't want to face the kinds of
incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you
might have experienced early with Windows Vista.
"As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the
same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and
our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off
with Windows 7," said Veghte.