Plans for Windows 8 allegedly leaked online

An employee has allegedly accidentally leaked details of Microsoft’s next operating system via his LinkedIn profile.

Robert Morgan, a senior member of the Microsoft Research team for the last seven years, posted the details on his profile at LinkedIn, a popular social networking site for business professionals.

He describes himself as: “Working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and long-term projects. Research & Development projects including 128bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan.”

If correct the new operating system will be a major jump for Microsoft, which is producing a 32bit version of Windows 7 as well as a 64bit one. The jump to 128bit suggests Microsoft is banking on machines using much faster processors and a buoyant hardware refresh cycle.

Steve Ballmer has confirmed that the company is working on a client operating system to follow Windows 7 but details were not released. The earliest expected date would be 2012 he said.

Also revealing is the planning of Windows 9, something no-one at Microsoft has confirmed before.