Microsoft tips off a 2012 Windows 8 launch

It looks like the next-generation Windows operating system is less than two years away.

It would be just a few years since the launch of Windows 7, an operating system that people have found at least tolerable, if not an improvement, after the debacle that was Windows Vista.

The news came from a Dutch Microsoft website in which an employee blogged about the next operating system being a couple years away. Production and planning are already underway.

Not much is known about what Windows 8 would bring to the table. However, based on previous leaks it appears Microsoft wants a centralized PC “App Store” interface, as well as faster boot-up times and the ability to log in users based on facial recognition.

With a two year buffer, it should still give users a reasonable amount of time to use Windows 7 before accepting that it’s time to update. The turnaround time for a new operating system would be notably reduced from prior history, including the long and dreaded amount of time it took for Microsoft to usurp Vista with Windows 7.