Speaking in Japan yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the next version of Windows would arrive next year. Calling the as-yet unreleased operating system "Windows 8," he said that the next generation of Windows would be hitting the market on PCs, slates, and tablets.

Nothing too surprising—Windows 8 is the logical successor to Windows 7, and a 2012 release would be consistent with Microsoft's intended three-year release cycle—but somebody wasn't happy with Ballmer's speech, as today that announcement was hastily retracted. The name (Windows 8) and the date (2012) were both a result of Ballmer making a "misstatement." New Windows 7 hardware will arrive in the coming fiscal year, but neither the timing nor the naming of the next version of Windows is announced yet.

But now we know it's going to be Windows 8 in 2012.