Windows 10 No More Nonsensical a Name Than Previous Versions

Today we learned that the next consumer version of Windows will be called Windows 10. Some people are a bit confused at this name, since the current version is called Windows 8.1. I say that “Windows 10” is no more nonsensical a name than many of the other previous versions of Windows have been.

Here’s a history lesson for you. The list below contains the names of every consumer version of Windows so far. See if you can spot the pattern…

1. 1985 – Windows 1.0
2. 1987 – Windows 2.0
3. 1990 – Windows 3.0
4. 1992 – Windows 3.1
5. 1993 – Windows 3.11 for Workgroups
6. 1995 – Windows 95
7. 1998 – Windows 98
8. 1999 – Windows 98 Second Edition
9. 2000 – Windows Millenium Edition
10. 2001 – Windows XP
11. 2007 – Windows Vista
12. 2009 – Windows 7
13. 2012 – Windows 8
14. 2013 – Windows 8.1
15. 2015 – Windows 10

Hah! It was a trick question! There is no pattern.

Here are the version names from another Microsoft product line you might be familiar with:

1. 2001 – Xbox
2. 2005 – Xbox 360
3. 2013 – Xbox One

So sure, why shouldn’t the next version of Windows be called Windows 10? Microsoft hasn’t bothered with logic in their naming schemes in the past, so why start now?

[July 2015 Update]
Just saw this tweet in an article on The Verge. Seemed appropriate to add here:

Saw this Windows t-shirt at the Microsoft booth today. Check out Windows 9 pic.twitter.com/H4jmi8hPfa

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 2, 2015