So if they didn't exactly make the big reveal last week, Microsoft at least scooped some mud out regarding the next release of Windows. In doing so, they poked a growing meme about the product right in the eye, the "MinWin" concept which many of us had been hoping would mean a return to sanity in terms of operating system size and performance.

Steven Sinofsky's Q&A discussing the upcoming version, slated for release no later than January 2010 (and you can bet that's going to happen on schedule this time around; the ghosts of the Vista release are looking over their shoulders) had more ra-ra than detail in it, but he made it very clear that the kernel in Seven will be an evolution of the existing VIsta kernel.

Now, it's not necessarily the kernel that bloats the operating system, so that doesn't necessarily rule out a lighter and faster Windows. But it's certainly where one might like to start the streamlining, and unless this was already a factor in the Vista build-out, it doesn't sound like it's going to happen for the kernel we see in Seven. Considering that it was a Microsoft engineer talking up the benefits of doing so originally, you have to imagine that it would be a benefit to the system (which I did.)

Mary Jo Foley explores the origins of this meme and while it all makes sense (even something large starts with something small) it doesn't explain how it is that Microsoft thinks it's a good idea to dump cold water on a scheme that a lot of people were getting excited about. Is it because they are technically incapable of delivering a smaller, but effective, version of Windows? That would not speak well of either the discipline or the capabilities of a company which prides itself on technical competency (at least to the troops). Or do they not believe that it's a good idea at all? Or in fact are they working toward it nonetheless but wish, for reasons outlined by Foley and Paul Thurrott, to publicly minimize the effort?

It's amazing after all this time that a company that was largely built by PR still has so much trouble getting its messages straight and at shaping them correctly for the intended audience. At the same time, I suppose it's part of their charm. Still, the earlier they can come to terms with the fact that the Vista damage control period is over and that it's time to be open and honest about what is coming next, the sooner corporate IT can move forward along the planning horizon.