More on the Windows Vista name

It’s official: Longhorn, the next version of Windows, is now “Windows Vista.” Microsoft now has an official Windows Vista page on their website, and PCWorld also has a story about the announcement. For more information on why Microsoft chose this name, check out this BetaNews page titled “Microsoft Explains Windows Vista Name.”

I’m surprised Microsoft announced the name so soon and so suddenly; they didn’t “build up suspense” by announcing ahead of time that they were deciding on a name for Longhorn. And Vista isn’t even in Beta 1 yet!

I remember a long time ago (maybe a year or so), I used the “contact us” form on the Microsoft website and gave a suggestion that they call Longhorn “Windows 2006.” I suggested that they make the “6″ in “2006″ a different color in the logo, because Longhorn is Windows NT version 6, right? Like I expected, I never heard back from them. And it seems Microsoft is leaning away from dated product names. If Windows XP were named Windows 2001, then computer-illiterate people who were buying Windows in 2005 might think that this “Windows 2001″ was very outdated.

Microsoft also announced yesterday that Beta 1 of Vista is arriving on August 3. The beta (a beta is a pre-release “testing version” of a product) will only be available to select people and not the general public. The final version of Windows Vista will released in time for the 2006 holiday season.