Windows 7 to be called Windows 7!

I was speculating about the name of Windows 7 last week and today Microsoft surprised me by announcing the final name as Windows 7 (interesting seeing as the version is actually 6.1). Mike Nash over on the Windows Vista blog says:

The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows.  We’ve used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or "aspirational" monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista.  And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense.  Likewise, coming up with an all-new "aspirational" name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows.

Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore "Windows 7" just makes sense.

I think many people (including me) will be surprised at the simplicity of the naming, Microsoft are not knows for the keeping product names simple.