Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Releasing Windows Update … Next Year?!

The Windows 8 launch hasn’t even gotten off the launch pad, and already Microsoft Corporation (NASAQ:MSFT) is producing a lot of chater about an update to Windows – codename “Blue” – coming out possibly as soon as summer 2013.  While the chatter is loud about this update, very few details are coming out. What is causing all this chatter is the peculiar schedule – Microsoft is usually several years between Windos updates, choosing instead to send out patches and service packs in the interim to keep things courrent on the existing system.

For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows fans and followers, the expected timing is interesting in that “Blue” is scheduled to come out about the time than many companies introduce updated versions of their mobile operating systems. While it seems very unlikely that a Windows 9 will be coming out so soon, that posibility does exist. But it does seem more likely that this new release could be just some feature updates or upgrades to the existing Windows 8 – porbably more than a simple service pack or patch but less than a full-blown new operating system. Speculation and guesses abound, but chances are there may not be any new information for a few months; at least until after the Windows 8 launch is finished and the success evaluated.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a well-followed and well-held stock in many hedge-fund portfolios, including Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group, which owned a $226 million position in Microsoft at the end of March – even after selling 42 percent of its shares during the quarter (check out this multi-billion-dollar portfolio).