Windows7How

Windows 7 – The origin of the name

September 8, 2009

Whenever a new product by Microsoft appears on the market there’s always uproar. Professionals, enthusiasts, journalists and regular users download the product and test it; they discuss all its pros and cons on different blogs and forums. The same happened with Windows 7, the newest operating system, which is still in beta test phase. Each feature that the system possesses, every possible merit or flaw have been described and discussed with the other users and readers. One of the subjects of discussion was the name of the Windows; why, of all the names, 7? What happened with all the megalomaniac names such as XP or Vista? Why shouldn’t the OS be named according to its year of release, as was the case with some of the previous versions? In the rest of this article, we will try and offer some of the possible answers to these questions, we will try to analyze the explanations of the company and let you come with the final conclusion of what’s real and what’s just hearsay. According to the representatives at Microsoft there’s no mystery behind the name 7; it’s just the seventh bigger version of the OS (not counting the subversions and the additions). Let’s take a look at how they’ve come up with that number:

• 1.    Windows 1.0
• 2.    Windows 2.0
• 3.    Windows 3.0

Windows 3.1
Windows 3.11
Windows NT 3.1
Windows NT 3.5

• 4.    Windows 95 (4.0)

Windows 98 (4.0.1998)
Windows 98SE (4.10.2222)
Windows ME (4.90.3000)

• 5.    Windows 2000 (5.0)

Windows XP (5.1)

• 6.    Windows Vista (6.0)
• 7.   Windows 7 (6.1)

Though this is the official explanation, the version of the code for Windows 7, which is 6.1, may confuse some of the readers. According to Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President for Windows Product Management, they have not decided for the number 7.0 for Windows 7 code from practical purposes. Basically, it’s because the new programs, that are yet to be developed, may not be fully compatible with the older OS, especially Vista, which has been marked as 6.0. He claims that this shouldn’t be a problem since a lot of other operating systems from other developers have a number of the OS that is different from the number of the code. Still, he adds that Windows 7 is a great improvement in the world of desktop operating systems, with many system and visual improvements and it’s perfectly understandable why the OS should be named 7.

On the other hand, there’s another set of (advertising) reasons why Windows is simply called 7. First of all, it’s because the name Vista. Vista has a negative connotation since many users still dislike using this operating system (though judging by the many similarities, the new OS might have been named Vista Second Edition). Secondly, and most importantly, with names such as XP or Vista users stopped using the word Windows with the name of the OS. And we all know how much money, time and effort Microsoft has invested into making this brand known to the whole world. That way, on mention of the word Window(s), anyone would remember the OS first and its primary meaning second. Named as simply 7, the chances are you’ll most likely be using the full name of the OS or maybe just Win 7. One might say this is not likely to happen, but it makes sense to us. Also, from the astrological and mythological perspective, the number 7 is knows to be the lucky number (this is also true in many cultures). When you look at it this way, it seems that Microsoft has made the right choice by fixing on the simple but at the same time meaningful name: Windows 7.

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Tags: microsoft, name of windows 7, vista, win 7, windows 7, xp