Why 7?

There's been a lot of lively discussion since I confirmed yesterday that the official name for the next version of the Window client operating system will be "Windows 7" about how we got to the number "7."

I'll say up front, that there are many ways to count the releases of Windows and it's been both a trip down memory lane and quite amusing to read all the different theories about how we got to the number "7."

Anyway, the numbering we used is quite simple.  The very first release of Windows was Windows 1.0, the second was Windows 2.0, the third Windows 3.0.

Here's where things get a little more complicated.  Following Windows 3.0 was Windows NT which was code versioned as Windows 3.1. Then came Windows 95, which was code versioned as Windows 4.0.  Then, Windows 98, 98 SE and Windows Millennium each shipped as 4.0.1998, 4.10.2222, and 4.90.3000, respectively. So we're counting all 9x versions as being 4.0.

Windows 2000 code was 5.0 and then we shipped Windows XP as 5.1, even though it was a major release we didn't' want to change code version numbers to maximize application compatibility.

That brings us to Windows Vista, which is 6.0.  So we see Windows 7 as our next logical significant release and 7th in the family of Windows releases.

We learned a lot about using 5.1 for XP and how that helped developers with version checking for API compatibility.  We also had the lesson reinforced when we applied the version number in the Windows Vista code as Windows 6.0-- that changing basic version numbers can cause application compatibility issues. 

So we decided to ship the Windows 7 code as Windows 6.1 - which is what you will see in the actual version of the product in cmd.exe or computer properties.

There's been some fodder about whether using 6.1 in the code is an indicator of the relevance of Windows 7.  It is not.

Windows 7 is a significant and evolutionary advancement of the client operating system.  It is in every way a major effort in design, engineering and innovation.  The only thing to read into the code versioning is that we are absolutely committed to making sure application compatibility is optimized for our customers.

We're just over a week away from showing off Windows 7 at PDC and WinHEC.  I look forward to sharing more soon!

Mike

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Comments

  1. IronRabbit
    Posted on: October 16, 2008 at 11:29PM  

    Remember :

    Windows Server 2000 -Built on NT Technology..

    Windows Server 2003 -Built on Windows 2000 Technology..

    Windows 7 -Built on Windows Vista technology

    That means we will be facing the ulgy Vista again

  2. terranc
    Posted on: October 17, 2008 at 1:55AM  

    I suggest that Microsoft should further divide the application runtime platform and the OS itself, especially when it comes to the application compatibility.

    .NET framework is a good start. As a developer, we only concern the behavior of the API. If my application runs on .NET Framework 3.5, we should not care about whether the underlaying OS is Windows 7 or Windows Vista (or Windows XP or even it is other OS with Mono 2.0 installed).

    In that way, it is not necessary to use the version number to fool the application that it is compatible with the OS.

    Certainly there are still tons of applications running on Win32 that care about the version no. But Microsoft should provide a compatibility container to host them (by fooling them with a previous OS version of choices so as to allow them to run properly).

    But other than that, Windows 7 should report a version no. of 7.0 to further avoid confusion.

    The version number (both the OS and the application runtime environment) should reflect the level of changes in the area. If the OS (so as the application runtime environment) is changed significantly, the major version no. should increase.

    It will lose its meaning if it is used merely to maintain the compatibility.

    In addition, the compatibility issues (both the applications and device drivers) should be isolated. If Windows 7 should use the new Windows Driver Model, we should expect that the existing drivers for Windows Vista will continue to work in Windows 7 regardless the OS version no.

    Unless Windows 7 is merely Windows Vista SP2, it shouldn't bear the 6.1 version label.

    We don't want to see Windows 8 the version 6.2 and Windows 9 the version 6.3 and then Windows 10 the version 7.0. What a mess.

    It is definitely a poor convention to go for.

  3. natkay2603
    Posted on: October 17, 2008 at 10:01AM  

    I am looking forward to windows 7, it sounds great!

    http://windows-7-blog.blogspot.com

  4. arunkamal.chowdhary
    Posted on: October 17, 2008 at 4:15PM  

    I heard that Windows 7 comes up without any changes in GUI leaving it with Vista user interface. If that is true, I'm the first one in the line to feel bad. Could some one clarify if that is true or it's just for the time being Windows 7 uses Vista look?

  5. bday
    Posted on: October 17, 2008 at 5:50PM  

    Just make the version 7 so it matches for crying out loud and shut everyone up. Please. :) Personally I'm sick of having to learn silly numbers which don't really make sense for WMI queries and filtering. Ok so it is Windows 7, just make it v7.0 and SP1 can be 7.1 and SP2 can be 7.2... and so on and so on.

  6. Drew
    Posted on: October 17, 2008 at 6:39PM  

    Since the codebase is NT the numbering really should be from:

    3+Share 1

    LAN Manager 2.0 2.2

    NT 3.1, 3.51, 4 (NT with 9x shell)

    2000 and XP 5.0, 5.1

    Vista and 2008 6.0 and 6.1

  7. EvilShiloh
    Posted on: October 18, 2008 at 1:52PM  

    (Quote from Drew:

    Since the codebase is NT the numbering really should be from:

    3+Share 1

    LAN Manager 2.0 2.2

    NT 3.1, 3.51, 4 (NT with 9x shell)

    2000 and XP 5.0, 5.1

    Vista and 2008 6.0 and 6.1

    )

    Finally someone draws out the right lineage for the NT Kernel based OS. The Win9x OS line died when Microsoft discontinued support for Windows ME. Although the from Windows 2000 on the OS has a Windows 9x look, feel, multimedia capabilities and other API for more than just buisness apps it uses an NT kernel for stability. It was a smart move for M$ but you cannot compare Vista or Windows 7 to Win95.

  8. rnkbb
    Posted on: October 18, 2008 at 9:48PM  

    Wow, that's ridiculous, even wikipedia knows better!

    NT branch was 3.1, 3.5(!), 3.51, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 6.0 (even more if you count by marketing name). Windows7 is going to be 6.1 - so it is not the 7th in any case.

    I like Windows7 name, but the "explanation" is just a marketing jibbery joo ;-)

  9. newscientist2000
    Posted on: October 20, 2008 at 1:53AM  

    Well, basically the new version of Windows will be 6.1. but called 7, all good marketing really.

    However as we all know, Seven is percieved by many to be a lucky number and so naming it Windows 7 should result in more sales.

    Just like Office 2009 will not be Office 13, because of Triskaidekaphobia it would not sell that well if it was called that.

    All good.

  10. IronRabbit
    Posted on: October 20, 2008 at 6:37AM  

    Forget about arguing fancy name for upcoming OS.

    Just call it Microsoft New Operating System Alpha.

    Let starting all over again to design a new OS.

    By the way , I am using Vista now, I have just lost my mouse cursor, it is jumping to a corner

Trackbacks

  1. Posted by: Robert Hensing's Blog on October 14, 2008 at 5:06PM

    I actually for once - LOVE that we are keeping the name of the OS simple and leaving it at Win7. I will

  2. Posted by: TheUndeadable entwickelt on October 14, 2008 at 5:44PM

    .Net 1.0 wird in C# 1 programmiert. .Net 1.1 wird in C# 1 programmiert. .Net 2.0 wird in C# 2 programmiert. .Net 3.0 wird in C# 2 programmiert. .Net 3.5 wird in C# 3 programmiert.   Windows 2000 besaß die Versionsnummer 5.0. Windows XP be

  3. Posted by: John Coyne's Embedded Blog on October 14, 2008 at 6:11PM

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    Como es sabido la próxima versión de Windows se denominará Windows 7, Microsoft ha estado soltando algunos

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    Die nächste Betriebssystem-Generation von Microsoft wird den Namen " Windows 7 " tragen. Dies

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  8. Posted by: Teamzille.de on October 16, 2008 at 1:52AM

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    分类: 膝上电脑 , 桌面产品 套一句老外爱用的网络语：WTF？ Windows Vista Blog 的 Mike Nash 解释为什么 Windows 7 要取这个名字 ，前半段和我们大家都知道的一样

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