Microsoft sticks with Windows 7

Microsoft has confirmed that it will stick with Windows 7 as the name of its next operating system when it is made publicly available. Up until now both Microsoft and the press has labeled the OS, which is still in development, Windows 7 as it was the codename it was first given. However, Windows product manager Mike Nash confirmed in a blog entry that the software giant would retain the name Windows 7. Writing in the Windows Vista blog, Nash said retaining the name Windows 7 was about simplicity: "This is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore Windows 7 just makes sense." "Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows. We've used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or 'aspirational' monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista," Nash said. Microsoft is expected to release a pre-beta version of Windows 7 to developers later this month. The full version won't be released until 2010 at the earliest. The Seattle-based software company is also working on a new version of its browser Internet Explorer. A second beta version of IE8 is currently freely available but the company is keeping tight-lipped on when the full version will be unveiled. www.microsoft.com