Windows 8 plans leaked

"Also revealing is the planning of Windows 9, something no-one at Microsoft has confirmed before."

After Windows 8 comes Windows 9! They are already planning this! Front page news worldwide! Oh thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Duh...

Seriously, you print this crap? 128 bit processors? Just a little fact checking reveals that there is NO 128 bit x86 processor in existence, on paper or otherwise. Sounds like someone is just spreading pipe dreams on a trendy, moronic web site.

The only reason we went to 64 bit processors was for the memory address space. That's it. Extra registers, extra instructions, etc. were all simply because we could. There was otherwise nothing holding us back with 32 bit, making 128 bit seem even more far fetched

How does someone "accidentally" type a paragraph about two Microsoft products that are supposedly not being discussed yet? Yeah, this wasn't set up at all </sarcasm

Beside sthe max increase of available ram a 64bit opperation system brought, but overall information and data is being processed in a 64 bit enviroment, double the data of 32 more secure, so imagine 128bit

ok, now long time ago AMD has invented the front spoiler for the PC, the 64 Bit extension.

Close to the end of the year 2009 with the advent of Windows 7 and Office 2010 on the horizon it seems that 64 Bit will start to become a bit more common. After so many years.

I have W7 64 Bit installed, there are is still a lack of 64 bit drivers due ignorant hardware manufacturers. Including such names as Logitech (QuickCall) who find singed 64 bit drivers a unnecessary luxury.

128 Bit support for W8 / W9 probably means that Intel is developing 128 bit cores under the Larabee umbrella.

Those cores might be special-task "co-processors" for virutal reality and stuff.

You may well find that your "main" "core cores" that still feature 64 bits, but that those come with a couple of 128 bit cores that help to get the graphics stuff etc. done.

So this info possibly may reveal more information about Intel rather then Microsoft. I guess.

Maybe load up some more Intel shares???

Most operations even on a 64-bit platform are on 32-bit quantities. For example, there is no need for a 64-bit counter of objects unless you have tiny tiny objects and huge huge amounts of memory.

64-bit architectures commonly use only 40 to 45 bits or address space, and this may grow very slowly over time. 2**64 bytes of memory (about 10**20 bits) could store 50,000 years of 3-D High Definition TV.

It is not likely that the man in the street would need this.

@FK
"It is not likely that the man in the street would need this."

http://listverse.com/2007/10/28/top-30-failed-technology-predictions/

Check out 1 and 2.

;-)

you are spinning alot from a Linkedin resume:

January 2002 — Present (7 years 9 months)

Working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects. Research & Development projects including 128bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan. Forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP and IBM

Could be BS resume or trying to get some girls interested for all we know!

If true, researching experimental, W8 kernel compatibility with 128bit arch could imply many things, and they are working on a long term W9 project plan.

There's more to it than storage or memory. But that will cost you some googling time ;)

Yesterday I ran a nice little benchmark called performance test on my asus 1005ha that came with xp and I installed windows 7 enterprise rtm 32 bit for dual boot.
The windows 7 had a score of 188.1 the xp had a score of 260.1
Xp kicks windows 7 butt. I know this is 32 bit but I have had similar results with windows 7 64 bit.Ms is taking any faster cpu's and killing speed with bloat.
If they make one faster than xp I might take a look. I am NOT impressed with windows 7 and just because it's new doesn't mean its better. Maybe they should get 64bit right before they move up.And when did MS decided to become the worlds police with its DRM, if thats not big brother watching over you what is? I am much more interested in Linux and Moblin and Google Android.
These will be the Os computers will run on in the future. MS is to busy tripping over it's own feet to see the future.If MS was Smart they would keep selling copies of XP, They can sell more than one OS at a time.

Plans leaked? My arse! This is simply the usual crap from M$ that runs, "Yeah, we know our current Windows offering sucks but the next one will be great. Honest!"

Re @Scott:
We use Windows 2000 ... it has always knocked spots of XP in terms of performance and all our apps. run fine too :-)

Compatible means the source code has had a bit of an audit to identify all the nasty parts hard coded to 64 bits. It doesn't mean 128 bit processors are available or supported.

Assuming any of this is true (It's a bit early to move on to 128-bit, isn't it?), could it be some kind of plan to allow multi-core processors to be used on one thread at the same time? Or even some new fancy way of using multiple multi-core chips?

Windows 9 could just be an informal term for ideas they're mulling around for after Windows 8.

Also, is it possible we'll see new versions appear more quickly now, a bit like how we sat watching IE6 for years and then they started releasing new versions relatively quickly, in response to the threat of Web 2.0. perhaps they're going to put a lot more effort into Windows to combat the cloud?

It always make me smile when someone state that "X" future scenario is improbable/impossible based on todays knowledge and premises.

We won't "need" 128 bit... LoL! The correct statement is "We don't need it in 2009". Surely a thinking machine running on a photonic self assembled 3D matrices nano scale processor able to compute 1 billion Teraflops would need at least 128bit of addressing space?

What people lack is the imagination to see a future that is drastically different, or better put, a paradigm shit from what they know and accept as possible. "Limits" is just a concept of the human mind.

Your imagination and intellectual capacity aside, there is no limits other than time and the fundamental laws of physics themselves, remember that...

Since picosecond 1, the Universe is getting more and more complex. The over simplified, but still true logic is: 128bit being more complex than 64, it's only natural and logical that we will reach a stage where it becomes a necessity. It has never been a question of IF. It always was and always will be a question of WHEN.

Ramon

Mission Accomplished!

One small step for man;
one giant leap for Mandelbots!

Pro Pace et
Fraternitate Gentium,
Iam Encrypted!

XLV CIS C

There are no plans to make a 128bit processor since such a thing would be useless and slower than existing processors. This rumor is obviously false. People here saying that it's only a matter of time before we need 128bit processors have no understanding of what bittiness means in computer science. 2^128 is an incomprehensibly large number. Probably greater than the number of subatomic particles in the universe. Do people understand how large even 2^64 power is? Most people don't. The need for 128bit bit data operations is certainly real but the SSE already provides that. The need for 128bit bandwidth is real but that is already available as well. The need for 128bit address space is non-existant.

Vista is Windows ME 2. Hopefully MS can decrappify Windows by the time Windows 9 is released. Scrap DRM, active activation, garbage wizards...

well this should be fun 128bit OS well if Microsoft has struggled to get people onto 64bit Windows so far how will it manage 128bit with all legacy support for previous apps and drivers.

What Microsoft needs to do is start from new get rid of the Windows registry and recode, having apps assigned to a packages to name a few changes and get rid of legacy support.

This is the only way forward, but means that people will have to buy new PC's and new software

... if Google follows through and buys Microsoft in 2013.

Could those 128 bits have to do with cryptographic keys and things, be about OS security?

What is Intel and AMD doing?
Putting GPUs and CPUs together. GPUs for the more popular part are graphics chips, which run at 128bit. Have done for some time (if not more).

Bringing those two together is logical, as you should be able to run 64 bit code in 128bit environments, much in the same way you can run 32 in 64 (ok that's a very high level way to put it).

Finally, MS sees the light. Now they can program features nobody wants on platforms that don't exist!

Anybody holding their breath for WinFS running on a 8Thz 512-bit Core i837?

There is an old saying... If the world was meant to have it, DEC would have invented it.

Well if it took 6 years fir Microsoft to go from XP to Vista we can expect this OS in 2014

it will not be backwards compatable which means new kit and new software!!!!

So you better start saving now!!! Only concern is what Apple will come up with as by 2014 they will have releases 3 new OS version. Which might outporform Microsoft os like Snow Leopard does when compared to Windows 7 by big margin

funny article,

Aside from the obvious hilarity of the supposed leak, Robert Morgan does not exist in the MSFT corporate address book. Neither are there job titles like "Senior Research & Development".

What the hell? And I've been working on 256bit application development for weeks now, and MS will be behind? Ughhh.....

So 2010 Windows 7 is the "U-pay-for-it" service pack for the 2007 flopware Windows Vista.

Now, in 2012 they will ask us to discard the obsolete Windows 7 in favor of paying through the nose for the next service pack, called "Windows 8". What a great plan to extort billions from a world that could use the money elsewhere.

Actually, I baled off the Microsoft Milking Machine (TM) in 2005 before the Vista-Cow came out. Have been running the FREE 64 bit OpenSuse Linux since then. Supports all hardware, graphics cards, sound cards, and wireless chipsets that I have tried.

And for those complaining about Win7 64 bit driver problems, OpenSuse-AMD64 will support almost any hardware you need out-of-the-box, no extra "drivers" required. Also simultaneously runs 32 and 64 bit apps, works as a home server, can run your old copy of XP in Virtualbox --similar to what Win7 offers for a heavy price -- if you just "need" to run some piece of Windows software that will not directly run under OpenSuse/Wine (and Wine seems to run most Windows apps that I have tried).

I usually vomit when i hear words apple, iphone or jobs. But i remember an article when Apple used to preach the G5 to its blind worshipers, just like they are worshiping the newly crafted iPhone, Mac and other false gods.
http://www.apple.com/sg/g5processor/architecture.html
"you could compare 32-bit processing to a glass of water, and 64-bit processing to the Niagara falls"

How would one describe 128Bit !?!

Maybe they should concentrate a little more on getting an 32-bit OS to work well first.

Not until they sort out all the problems in their 16-bit GUI.

I guess since the 64 bit Windows software and driver support is coming so slow, they decided to scrap 64 bits and skip to 128 bits right now. Maybe in 30 years when we actually need 128 bits, they will have all of the bugs worked out. They will probably limit it to a 10 terabyte hard drive and 16 gigs of ram though, just so people will have a reason to upgrade to the next version of windows when it comes out.

128 bit integer calculations should speed up encryption calculations although 128 bit encryption is a bit weak. 128 bit floating point will add precision and a few tasks needing fixed point integer calculations could be sped up by using high precision floating point instead. A 128 bit address space in virtual memory could be used with some algorithms storing stuff in a sparely populated array, although that is probably bad programming practice. I've been frustrated with only being able to allocate 1.4 gigs of ram to Java in 32 bit windows because of address space conflicts.

I worked for SGI in the 90s. We sold 64 bit CPUs from the early 90s and fully 64bit OS from about '95 (back when windows was in 16bit mode). Windows took 10 years to catch up with it's first 64bit version and 15yrs for desktop versions.

Now we all know Moore's Law. CPUs (pentium PowerPC) have had 128bit registers for many years and floating point numbers are often handled as 80bit values. GPUs have 128bit registers. AS/400s use 128bit addressing as do a number of C++ extensions for making data permanent automatically.

Given how quickly 64bits followed 32bit and the current amount of 128bit registers I'd think full 128bit CPUs will be available in 5-10 years (sooner if GPU based computers show up within 5 years as nVidia would like). Unix will adopt this first these immediately. Windows would be 5-7 years after that.

WinXP lasted 8yrs. If Win7 goes 5 years then Win8 will be competing with 128 Linux so Win9 had better support it and later version of Win8 better at least have some support.

2020-25 will come a lot faster than we think, along with it's 1TB RAM for high end machines, 128bit CPUs and TeraFLOP GPUs and who knows what else. The only laggard will be broadband.

According to my calculator 2 to the power of 64 is a bit over 1.8E19

That means 64 bits is enough to address 18 million Tera Bytes of data. And this is not going to be enough for PCs in ten years?

Really 128 bit sounds like a marketing gimick to me.

Todays iA64 Is NOT "True" 64 bit, its 40 Bit String inside TOTAL 48 bit Transmision packet. to get to 64 takes another 24 bits, then another 48 to get to 128. every bit of space is taken, so with NO More code it'd be super slow down. with more pins & instuctions, maybe in decaded. computers just arn't That Complex. Make 60 Mb L3 Cache or beter 600 Mb L3, shurely you'd have instant games & 8 O/S's simulaneously, Yet, its Long time to Develope ALL that space with code & hardware that work it ALL. first true 64 might be 9/10/?11

drashek

There's no arguement 128bit technology WILL turn up, but with the world's software developers still churning out pathetically little in the way of 64bit software after the better part of a decade don't hold your breath!!

The Microsoft marketing machine is the single biggest source of bull on the planet.
It took me a long to time find a journal that was worth reading regularly, don't screw it up now.

MS must be assuming economic recovery by 2012 so they can sell us a new bloated OS on an expensive new platform that none of us need, few of us want, and even fewer people will go out and spend money on. They need to get 32 bit and 64 bit right before moving on to something else.

I laughed when I read this.. Its exactly what they want you to think... Fucking fanboys make me laugh.

www.debian.org .. Nuff said. amirite.

The itanic-larrabee-tukwila-fusion-fermi compiler will be the Quetzalcohuātl of us all!