Windows 7 Slated for January 2010: Microsoft
Some of you may have heard about "Windows 7", which is the working name for the next release of Microsoft Windows. We have learned a great deal through the feedback you have shared with us about Windows Vista and that feedback is playing an important role in our work on Windows 7. You have told us you want a more regular, predictable Windows release schedule.Some of this is the same message which has been stated previously by Microsoft: since Windows 7 will build on Vista, you shouldn't wait for Vista. Basically they're saying, "if you're going to have problems, you might as well get them out of the way now as Windows 7 will have the same issues."
To this end, our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately 3 years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista. You've also let us know you don't want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.
However, based on the fact that the same email outlined that Windows XP support for security and critical updates will continue until 2014, and that there are ways to still get XP, will businesses choose to skip Vista entirely?
![](https://hothardware.com/newsimages/Item7143/ClassmatePC2.jpg)
So, did we finally get the go-ahead from Microsoft that Vista is "skippable?"