Microsoft working on Windows 8 - Confirmed

[darshit]

Microsoft hasn't finished the final touch and release with Windows 7 yet, but tut Microsoft has already started working on Windows 8.

A new job posting on Microsoft website says about Windows 8 as Follows:

For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support and support for one way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. We will also soon be starting major improvements for Windows 8 where we will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices.

There’s another job posting from April 16 that confirms about upcoming Windows 8 .

In Windows Server 2008 R2 release, the Server UX Test team (under the File Server Management organization) is finalizing the MMC based User eXperience (UX)/Interfaces for the File Server Role. Currently the team owns DFS Management, Share and Storage Management, FSRM & Classification UI, Disk Management, SMFS. For Windows 8, the SSD organization is working on the next version of the file server.

As a member of the test team, you will focus on working closely with the dev team to finish the automation development for our Windows Server 2008 R2 components. This will provide valuable ramp-up and familiarity with our existing test automation infrastructure. As the team moved to Windows 8, you will have 2 main responsibilities - (i) put on the customer/design critique hat as we plan our next version file server management experience (i) participating in the architectural design, and development and driving automated testing for managing the next generation file server. Our current automation does not meet the multi-machine paradigm requirement and so you will contribute significantly in the development of test automation to validate setup/configuration of the new server, managing configuration changes, performing diagnostics and reporting using Power Shell, Command line, Object Model, UI. You will need to develop tests that would verify the system with an end-to-end perspective in managed code using C#. You would also be responsible for testing scalability and performance aspects of the system, testing for limits and boundary conditions. We will give you the best possible support by assigning a full time mentor to work closely with you. You will develop in depth technical skills in: C# (C/C++) coding, Windows Operating systems fundamentals, Distributed algorithms, Data synchronization protocols, Networking, system scalability & performance and security testing and the like.

According to Mary-Jo Foley , Windows 8 is scheduled for release in 2011 or 2012.

[Neel23]

Two years of time is normal with operating systems. They are doing the right thing now, but They should bring something new with windows 8, otherwise i'll never like to spend buck for some few changes.

[Nigel_123]

Why prepare a windows 8 already ? If windows 7 is a success like XP then it is not necessarily useful to prepare a new version already ... Unless you need to correct some things they already know for windows 7 issues and they do not tell us!

[Solomon]

I don't think so they will release windows 8 after twoyears GAP, Happy that they still believe in the future, nothing prevents to have a team of Windows 8 , it does not say that Microsoft will leave windows 8 soon, it is a preparation not a release announcement.

[shahid khan]

I agree with solomon. If Windows 7 will be the huge hit as we can predict that , it will be (by the success feedback of beta version), Microsoft will not release windows 8 so soon to stop business with windows 7.