Like most tech companies, Microsoft tends to come up with code names for upcoming software releases. Windows Vista was called "Longhorn" before it was released. And for a while, we've been hearing that Microsoft is working on an updated version of the operating system called "Fiji."

Fiji won't be Windows 7, but rather an updated version of Windows Vista that could contain additional features such as an updated version of Windows Media Center.

There's pretty much zero chance that Microsoft will ever release a product called Fiji. This is just a codename used by the developers. But apparently Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, attorney general of the nation of Fiji says he's not particularly pleased with Microsoft's use of the name. Of course, it seems that Sayed-Khaiyum may be under the mistaken impression that Microsoft will release a commercial product called Fiji, since the attorney general says the country's name should not be used for "commercial gain."

[via Ian Dixon's Blog]

Sure, Vista Media Center's only been officially available for a few months. But onwards and upwards. Microsoft is already prepping the next version of Windows Media Center, which may or may not be codenamed Fiji. And the company is looking for beta testers.

Over the last few years, Microsoft has had a track record of releasing new versions of Windows Media Center every year or two. While Windows Vista includes Media Center functionality, the company is expected to release the next version of Media Center before the next full Windows release. Fiji could be available in 2007 or 2008, while the next major operating system upgrade is slated for 2009.

In order to apply as for a beta account, you'll have to fill out a series of questions and basically prove that you've got the right stuff to test out a new system and provide constructive feedback. Those selected as testers will be notified by May 31st.

I'll believe it when I see it, but Microsoft is planning a late 2009 release date for the next version of Windows, codenamed Vienna. That would be just two and a half years after the launch of Vista, which in turn was released more than 5 years after Windows XP.

Many of the upgrades that were planned for Vista had been put on hold when it became clear that the most important item for Microsoft to focus on was security. Therefore Vienna will feature a new file system and a new user interface (no more start menus or toolbars), which had originally been intended for Vista.

Most significantly, Vienna will break backward compatibility with many existing Windows programs. While that will probably make it easier for Microsoft to hit it's projected release date, I can't imagine too many folks will be happy about the need to upgrade almost all of their existing software. That said, it's possible that Vienna could include some sort of virtualization layer that would allow you to run older programs. Heck, if you can run Windows applications on Linux using Wine, why not run Windows programs on Windows?

[via Engadget]

Though Redmond has been uncorking bottles of champaign lately for the release of Windows Vista, they certainly haven't stopped looking forward. The next two versions of Windows are already on the drawing board, and have been for some time. Their codenames are Fiji and Vienna (Vista's was Longhorn, if you recall), and they're the successors to the Windows throne according to a blog called Unnecessary. Fiji is planned as a "Second Edition" of Vista, which is intended to finally bring some of those promised Longhorn features that never materialized to Vista. Among them: More new UI features, a more powerful Sidebar, tighter Windows Live integration, more advanced speech recognition, WinFS (finally!) on top of NTFS, maybe a music-authoring program called Monaco, and more.

Vienna (formerly known as Blackcomb) is slated to be the next huge leap forward for Windows, "similar to the transition from OS 8-9 to OS X." Vienna will break application compatibility with previous versions of Windows to make room for a "newer, more flexible, richer and secure platform." Among the new features will be a completely overhauled interface ("No more explorer shells, and taskbars. No start menu. Probably no toolbars, or menus."), speech recognition as a "major input device," a new version of NTFS wrapped in WinFS ("No more drives, or files/folders location to worry about. File Management will be done through applications, which will automatically index and sort the files they support."), and more.

Ooh, that all sounds great. But take it with a grain of salt. Preferably the biggest one you can find. I would love to see all of these new features in the next versions of Windows, but Longhorn/Vista has taught me not to hold my breath. Don't get me wrong, I am optimistic about the future of Windows, and I love reading lists like this.. but let's not count our chickens before they're hatched.

[Via Engadget]

The releases of Windows Vista ("Longhorn") and Firefox 2.0 ("Bon Echo") are slowly creeping up on us, but Microsoft and Mozilla always have their eyes on the next move. Both software makers have chosen codenames for the next-next versions of their flagship products. Microsoft's next version of Windows has been given the codename "Fiji," and Firefox 3.0 will be called "Minefield" (with a cute little logo to match). Why Fiji and Minefield? Who knows. Fiji is short, snappy, and tropical. Minefield, on the other hand, is exciting and aggressive but also kind of worrisome If anything's certain, though, it's that these nicknames will only stick around until the products' final releases, at which point it won't really matter.