With Windows 7 only recently released and by all accounts faring quite well amongst business and home users alike, it's hard to imagine Microsoft plotting the release of Windows 8 for any year in the near future. However, an ex-employee blog suggests otherwise.

Microsoft's Windows 7 was released only in October (the 22nd, to be exact), and since that time has turned Vista-haters and other critics into big fans of the Windows platform once again. In a recent Windows 7 survey, digital content distributor Steam found that almost 1 in 4 of its users had converted to the new operating system (OS) -- a rather incredible adoption rate.

Rumor: Windows 8 Release July 2011

It's surprising, then, that Microsoft may at this very moment be working on an update in the form of Windows 8, its next OS. How do we know? Well, we can't say for sure, but yesterday the blog of a recently-departed Microsoft employee showcased an early version of the Redmond-based firm's "roadmap" for upcoming critical software, including Windows 8. (Source: electronista.com)

If the roadmap is to be believed, Windows 8 could be released to manufacturing, a process often referred to as "RTM" as early as July 1st, 2011 -- about two years after the completion of Windows 7.

The roadmap suggests Windows Server 2012 and Office 2012 would be shipped 366 days later, on July 2nd, 2012. (Source: ubergizmo.com)

Is Microsoft 'Speeding Up' the Development Process?

If the roadmap is to be believed, it would indicate Microsoft is significantly accelerating the development process and shortening the life-cycle of its operating systems. While Windows 7 did ship only 2.5 years after Windows Vista, the latter was considered by many experts a failure -- forcing Microsoft to go back to the drawing board earlier than usual.

Similarly, the mostly-forgotten Windows ME was shipped two years after Windows 98, but it was considered little more than a stopgap between that OS and Windows XP.

So, what should we believe? Expect that date will change significantly or that, if accurate, Windows 8 is a far less intensive project Microsoft will more casually push upon a rather confused marketplace.