Microsoft Unveils a Brand New Windows Logo

Windows 8's Metro UI is a pretty dramatic departure from what most Windows users are used to. In light of this, Microsoft has seen fit to redesign the Windows logo we've all come to know and love. The company unveiled the new logo via the Windows Team Blog late on Friday afternoon. Have a look at the brand new logo, as well as a timeline of Windows logos, below:

Microsoft's Sam Moreau explains that over the years, and as the operating system evolved from Windows 1.0 to Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Windows logo had evolved from a simple window to a waving flag. However, Microsoft is eager to take Windows back to the logo that started it all.

" [...] if you look back to the origins of the logo you see that it really was meant to be a window," Sam says. "'Windows' really is a beautiful metaphor for computing and with the new logo we wanted to celebrate the idea of a window, in perspective."

So really, Microsoft hasn't done much in the way of re-designing so much as return to the old concept of a window to represent Windows. Obviously it's got a very Windows 8/Windows Phone 7 feel to it, but what's got us most excited is the fact that this likely means 'Windows 8' isn't just a codename. Microsoft hasn't ever confirmed that Windows 8 will be what the next version of Windows will be called, but it's hard to imagine the company unveiling a new logo featuring the Windows 8 name if it's not the official title.