Vienna: Vista's successor

Darius Chang | Jan 23, 2006

Even before Windows Vista has gone gold, the next generation of Microsoft's flagship OS has already been given a name change. From the cool-sounding "Blackcomb", Vista's successor will henceforth be associated with the city of Vienna.

Named after the capital of Austria, the "Vienna" codename follows Microsoft's trend of using locations to tag the different generations of its OS. Rather than using undecipherable serial or model numbers, the software giant says that "we have used city code names (for new operating systems) in the past, which are derived from cities/locations in the world known for great 'vistas'--the kinds of places we all want to see, experience and that capture the imagination".

What is significant about the name change? Apparently nothing at all. It's neither a developmental milestone nor a change in feature set. According to Michael Cherry, analyst at Directions on Microsoft: "It's just a morale thing. The other names have been kicking around so long, it's much more about trying to keep focused and keep some excitement around where they are going."

Just exactly how changing the codename name boosts morale, maintains focus and excitement is rather abstract, to say the least. Perhaps beta-testers and programmers truly are a different breed.

Filed under: PC & Peripherals
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