Microsoft is preparing to launch the next generation of its operating system by 2009.
Microsoft's corporate vice president of development Ben Fathi last week at the RSA Security conference in San Francisco suggested said that the next operating system would take about two to two-and-a-half years to build. That would put the final release at the end of 2009.
The launch would put Microsoft back on a release schedule that would see a major operating system launch every other. Microsoft previously released its operating systems on a bi-yearly schedule, but took more than five years to develop Windows Vista.
Windows Vista was delayed in part because Microsoft pulled engineering resources of the project to work on Windows XP Service Pack 2, an update that overhauled the operating system's security. The move a response to a slew of worm attacks against the software.
The next Windows version would contain some of the features that the company stripped from Windows Vista, Fathi suggested.
Microsoft pulled improvements including a new file system dubbed WinFS, the UEFI Bios replacement and a set of advanced security features from Windows Vista to prevent further product delays.
The company is planning to add support for UEFI through a future update. Instead of implementing its new WinFS file system in its desktop operating system, Microsoft plans to integrate pieces of the technology into the SQL Server database, ActiveX Data Objects and other Microsoft products.
The company hasn't spoken recently about what is left of its Next Generation Secure Computing Base strategy, which envisioned a bolted down, compartmentalized security structure that would automatically contain attacks.
Microsoft's director of the Windows Client Kevin Kurtz in an emailed statement said that the company isn't yet ready to provide guidance about the next Windows version.
The software vendor has scheduled a Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles this fall. The PDC events target software developers occur only in years when Microsoft feels it has something new to talk about and typically cover upcoming Windows versions. Further details about the next Windows version also could be provided at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) this spring.