Microsoft code names

Hi, my name is Mary Jo Foley. I'm the editor of the All About Microsoft blog on ZDnet. Today I'm going to talk to you about a subject near and dear to my heart: Microsoft codenames. Yes, I am the "Codename Queen" at Microsoft. As someone suggested, I should have that on my business card. I don't yet, but I thought I'd use today to show you something that I do know about, which is how Microsoft used to name their products by codename family.

In the not too distant past when you wanted to figure out what Microsoft had coming in a product group, you would just try to figure out how the codenames fit together. For example, the Windows client family. We know there are a number of code names -- Whistler, Longhorn, Blackcomb, and Creekside -- in that family. Can you guess what they all have in common?

Whistler was Windows XP, Longhorn was Windows Vista. Blackcomb is the next version of Windows, which I call "Windows 7." Creekside is the little known codename for XP Starter Edition, the product that Microsoft sells overseas to developing countries. So, have you guessed yet what these have in common?

Yes, indeed! They are all skiing resorts in British Columbia. Having to do with that theme, given that the Windows team likes to spend their vacations up on Whistler Mountain, Blackcomb, the Longhorn Saloon, where they have many a drinking party, and Creekside, the gondola station on Whistler Mountain.

Now, let's go to development tools. The development tool family has a theme going here with Whidbey, Orcas, Rosario, and Hawaii. Again, can you figure out what's common among these codenames?

Whidbey was Visual Studio 2005. Orcas is the codename for Visual Studio 2008. Rosario is the codename for Team Foundation System, the next version after Orcas. And Hawaii, we think, is Visual Studio 2010, although Microsoft won't confirm that.

Again, can you figure out what's common here? Yes, islands. All islands, especially the San Juan Islands. Whidbey and Orcas are San Juan Islands off the coast of Seattle. Rosario is a retreat center on Orcas Island, and Hawaii -- as anyone who knows Microsoft knows -- is a favorite destination for vacation for the rainy Seattleites.

On the Windows CE front, we have a different theme going here. We've got Talisker, Jamison, McKendrick, Macallen, and Yamazaki. Can you figure out again what's common among this theme? If you were figuring out Windows codenames you'd try to.

Talisker was the codename for Windows CE 4.0. Jamison was CE 4.1. McKendrick, CE 4.2. Macallen, CE 5.0, and Yamazaki, CE 6.0. Any guesses from any of the drinking members of our audience? Yes, indeed! Single malts is the answer. You can tell what the CE team was doing when they were working on their code.

Well, those fun days are over, because Microsoft's decided this was too much information for us codename watchers. We're now moving into an era of number codenames. As we've talked about before, Windows seven is the next version of Windows, followed by -- yes -- Windows 8.

On the Office side of the house, where they've been relying on numbers already, we've got Office 12, which was the last version of Office. Now, we're going to Office 14 in 2009. As you'll notice, there is no Office 13. Yes, Microsoft is a superstitious bunch.

So from now on, I hear from my sources, we're going to a world where all the codenames are basically places. Yep, that's where we're going to see Vienna, Monaco, Fiji, you name it. Any beautiful vista, that will be your codename going forward. Not very much fun anymore for a codename watcher like me.