Bill Gates didn't come up with a name for next year's Win2k upgrade last night in his Comdex keynote, but according to Microsoft's press release (which looks to have been written in something of a hurry) on the event he did. Sharp-eyed Paul Thurrott of WinInfo spotted the reference to "Windows 2001," although Gates in reality didn't say much about Whistler, and didn't use the term.

According to the release: " Gates said that the next version of Windows, scheduled to be available in the second half of next year, will make the PC much simpler for consumers and business users alike, while featuring the rock-solid performance of Windows 2000 that businesses have relied on. He explained that cutting-edge hardware and software companies are excited and already planning for the Windows 2001 launch."

Anyway it might be called Windows 2001, or then again it might not. Watch for an evolutionary process taking place in the official Microsoft press release here.

You'll note something else weird in the first sentence. Bill's Comdex keynote is now apparently "his annual 'state of the industry' speech". Steve Ballmer's currently president of Microsoft, but we hear there's currently a vacancy elsewhere. Go for it, Bill... ®