Bill Gates recently set off a media feeding frenzy by noting that Microsoft might introduce its next Windows update as early as next year. “The next version is supposed to be Windows 7,” Microsoft’s chairman said during the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami. It “will be sometime in the next year or so that we’ll have a new version.”

However, it seems that Gates was actually referring to the release of a beta version of Windows 7 and not the full-fledged product. “As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback,” said a Microsoft spokesperson in an e-mail.

Raised Eyebrows

Noting that Microsoft is currently in the planning stages for Windows 7 — and that development is scoped to three years from Windows Vista — Microsoft said it would

not be sharing any further knowledge at that instance. “Instead, we’re focused on helping customers today get the most value from their PCs using Windows Vista, and we’re encouraged by the response and adoption so far,” the software giant’s spokesperson said.

Still, Gates’ remarks raised eyebrows across the PC industry considering they followed Microsoft’s announcement of plans to extend the shelf life of Windows XP for a new class of low-cost mobile computing devices.

According to the software giant, Windows XP Home will be available until June 30, 2010, or one year following the release of its next-generation Windows 7 operating system. The news had suggested to some industry observers that Windows 7 could come as early as mid-2009.

“The more Microsoft tries to clarify things, the more they get muddled,” noted Gartner Research Vice President Michael Silver in an e-mail. “If Windows 7 comes sooner than very…

Orginal post by Top Tech News