Rumors are circulating that a new version of Microsoft Windows is already in the works and is expected to be released by the end of next year. According to articles in Computer World and Internet News, Windows 7 is planned for release late next year and will use less memory, be more efficient and less bloated than Windows Vista. For now, the photos circulating show Windows 7 looking very similar to Vista but that is expected to change by the time the operating system is ready to ship. It's too early to tell how the final version of Windows 7 will look.
I have not upgraded to Vista yet and may just skip Vista altogether and upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released. It doesn't make sense for me to upgrade to Vista and have a new operating system released in about a year. According to Computer World's article, many businesses may wait until Windows 7 is released to upgrade as well. Microsoft seems to be moving up the current release date just as it did after Windows ME turned out to be a disappointment for the software giant.