Microsoft has made a lot of operating systems. With the recently announced Windows 7 being the official name, how did they determine the number 7? In this chart I am only taking into account major version numbers, not the server lines, and not interim releases (like Windows 98se).
First a quick history:
Historic line - The number determined by release date.
DOS Line - Based on MS DOS. 16-bit
32-bit NT Line - Written completely from the ground up and no relation to the 16-bit version except for name and look.
Consumer line - What was sold to mainstream consumers.
64-bit line - Windows completely rewritten to 64-bit.
For those saying Microsoft is rushing Windows 7 because of the bad Vista press, this is completely untrue. Just looking at the historic release date one can see a 2-3, sometimes 5 year time frame between Windows versions, so a 3 year time frame between Vista and Windows 7 is not unheard of. Calling Windows 7 the 14th version of Windows would not be accurate as there have been different lines of Windows for different markets. We can see Microsoft is going with the numbering system that was sold to mainstream consumers, starting with Windows 3.
When Microsoft releases Windows 8 as only 64-bit, then we will get into another naming snafu, as that will technically be the 4th version of the 64-bit platform. Also, since Windows 7 will be the last 32-bit version, and every modern computer is 64-bit, it makes no sense not to buy a computer with 64-bit Vista or get 64-bit Windows 7 when it is released. The industry support is there now, and its due time consumers make the switch.
Everything else aside, I'm enjoying Vista now, Windows 7 is a name that will work, and I look forward to it in the next two years.
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