Windows 8 Is Confirmed to Release in Fall 2012

Microsoft generally keep pretty tight lipped on the release date for their new operating systems. They generally don’t like anyone to know too much about their new projects understandably, so I was quite surprised when they showed off a preview of it early this year at theAllThings D event.
While they did show off that preview to us, they kept quite on any details regarding the release date. However recent hints from the corporate vice president for Strategic and EmergingBusiness Development Dani Lewin pretty much confirms that Microsoft are planning to bring out Windows 8 in Fall 2012.
He told us to look at Microsofts release schedule in the past or “the crystal ball” as he referred to it. He said to assume

“what happened in the past is a reasonable indicator of what our forward looking timelines will be and just speculate–we’ve made the point about having a developer conference later this year, and then typically we enter a beta phase, and then in 12 months we’re in the market, so let’s make that assumption,”

Generally Microsoft holds it Professional Developers Conference during the early fall. This years conference in scheduled to kick off September 13th. That would be an ideal time for Microsoft to announce the release of Windows 8 assuming that it hits the market a couple of weeks later.
If we look to the past at Windows 7, Microsoft had a 9 month beta period of Windows 7. The 12 months that Dani Lewin mentioned seems awfully long, especially when you consider that Microsoft are probably looking to get this new OS out on the market as soon as they can. The flip side of this is that if Microsoft are planning on a 12 month beta period, that means we will be getting our first “official” taste of the software from Microsoft towards the end of this year.
As Windows 8 is coming to us sooner and sooner, are we ready to welcome it? Is there any new funtions on Windows 8, like the new  feature for Windows 8 password recovery, Windows 8 wallpaper or others?
More info resource from: http://windows8news.com/2011/06/16/microsoft-vp-hints-windows-8-release-fall-2012/