Bloggers uncovered a posting on Microsoft's Dutch website that said
Windows 8 could be available in 2012.
Winrumors discovered the post and placed a translation on the site
Sunday. The wording of the post was quickly changed on the
Microsoft site to remove the Windows 8 reference, but not before
one outlet posted a screenshot of the text.
The original post, according to the Winrumors translation, said,
"Furthermore, Microsoft is on course for the next version of
Windows. But it will take about two years before 'Windows 8' on the
market."
Microsoft hasn't said officially when Windows 8 would be on the
market, but the company is claiming a big hit with Windows 7,
saying the operating system is the fast-selling OS in the history
of the PC industry. Microsoft formally released Windows 7 a year
ago on Oct. 22 and by early March had sold 90 million copies.
The latest Windows 8 report is not the first to reach the Web. In
June, bloggers uncovered what was claimed to be internal Microsoft
slides detailing some of the features planned for the OS.
The slides, first posted on the Italian blog Windowsette, were
stamped "Microsoft Confidential" and "Under NDA." Each slide had a
footnote saying, "Window 8 Discussion, This Is Not A Plan Of
Record." In addition, the slides indicated that Microsoft was
considering a 2012 release of Windows 8.
Among the features discussed was a version of the OS for
tablet-style computers. In addition, Microsoft appeared to be
focused on portability, since the slides described built-in support
for motion-sensing accelerometers, ambient light sensors, GPS
units, wireless networking and cameras.
In addition, Microsoft appeared to be planning a Windows "App
Store." Apple announced last week that it would launch an online
applications store for the Mac in 90 days.