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Following the Monday announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series and last fall's Windows 7 launch, Microsoft is renaming the rest of its non-enterprise operating systems to fall in line.
Meet Windows Embedded Standard 7, Windows Embedded Compact 7 and Windows Embedded Automotive 7. Sure, the names are a little clunky, but Microsoft isn't selling the components to Lenny Laptop down the street.
"Seven has become a very lucky number for Microsoft," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Kirkland-based Directions on Microsoft. Then he laughed, "I don't think we'll see it called Office 7 instead of 2010."
Let me back up.
On Monday, Microsoft made available a release candidate of Windows Embedded Standard 2011 – once codenamed Quebec and now called Windows Embedded Standard 7 – to select testers on the Microsoft Connect site, a spokesperson said. The technical preview was released in September and the product is expected to be released to manufacturers this spring.
Windows Embedded Compact 7, which is the next version of the Windows Embedded CE line, is slated for release sometime this year.
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Meanwhile, Microsoft said it liked the names people suggested at CES for the automotive embedded product. So the company is calling it Windows Embedded Automotive 7, Microsoft said in a statement Tuesday.
The Windows Embedded products are composed of Windows components that run on machines such as ATMs, restaurant kiosks, Ford SYNC and more. Microsoft said it will roll out new logos and marketing language soon to reflect the name changes.
"The name change isn't really surprising," Cherry said, "because the components are the components of Windows 7."
Meanwhile, Windows Server 2008 R2 is still Windows Server 2008 R2. No name change there – yet.