Whether they did it on purpose to spark interest, or it really was a mistake, Microsoft briefly listed the words “Windows Strata” on the Professional Developers Conference website.
The name came up as a session title for the conference and was taken down shortly afterwards, but not before a few bloggers noticed it. Speculation has ensued as to what it actually relates to, with a cloud-based operating system clearly being the top guess.
This would fit as Steve Ballmer did comment last week about such an OS, saying:
We need a new operating system designed for the cloud and we will introduce one in about four weeks, we’ll even have a name to give you by then. But let’s just call it for the purposes of today ‘Windows Cloud’.
The fact there is a type of cloud called a stratus cloud is also a big giveaway.
The Professional Developers Conference does not start until October 27, so we may have to wait until then to see if it reappears and whether it is the new cloud OS Ballmer mentioned.
