Windows 7 Beta in 8 Weeks?

By Greg McNevin

September 19, 2008: Rumour has it that Microsoft could be releasing a beta of Windows 7, its anticipated successor to Windows Vista, within eight weeks – a good six months earlier than expected.

With two prominent tech conferences on the horizon, analysts are tipping that Microsoft will want to give developers more than just a list of features of guided preview to the new operating system, and that means that it could be likely to roll out some beta code to give attendees something to play with.

The first public showing of Windows 7 beta is expected to be at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) from October 27 to 30, with a follow up at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) on November 5 to 7.

What ends up being delivered at the conferences could be some rough code, but should a beta be released it will give fresh insight into Microsoft’s plans for Windows 7 and perhaps cement some reports that the company will be making the OS more cloud-based, with some applications decoupled and delivered over the internet.

While Windows Vista does seem to have hit something of a stride now that service pack one is out the door, what the beta reports show is that Microsoft is certainly determined to avoid another development quagmire.

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