Sounds a bit weird, why we are talking about the Windows 8 as the Windows 7 hasn’t even released? Well, Microsoft isn’t going to take rest even though they have a decent version of Windows just about released. As this article from ZDNet stats a little while back,

Some users wonder whether will Microsoft’s next version of Windows be completely cloud-based? Will it be Midori with the Windows name slapped on it?

No and no. The bottom line: Windows isn’t done when Windows 7 is released to manufacturing (most likely in late fall 2009). Windows 8 has been on the drawing board/planning stages for a while now. And as the “Codename Windows” blog recently reported, Microsoft is starting to hire developers specifically for Windows 8.

Great but I wonder why they code-named as “Windows”. Maybe that’s the final version of Windows before going completely cloud, which I don’t actually believe will happen anytime soon? Cloud is still a name that’s way beyond average users’ mind, including myself. I also doubt that the 8 will be the final release name for the new OS, considering all the previous release name we have seen, 2000, XP, Vista, and 7.

Microsoft is actually pretty good at planning ahead. They did the same thing on Windows 7 when Vista got released back in 2007. And this time, they even planned the “Windows” will be released in 2011 or 2012. However, I hope it will be much later. If the Windows 7 is as good as everyone says, there shouldn’t be a need for Windows 8, at least for the next couple of years.