It is not the first time that this rumor surfaces, Microsoft's next version of Windows may drop version numbers altogether and might simply be called "Windows".

This time it is ExtremeTech who reports about this:

The idea would be that, in the mind of the consumer, Windows is just Windows, and that all of these different names and flavors are just confusing (“Why is it called Windows Phone if it can’t run my Windows programs?”). Getting rid of all that complexity and returning to the old way — where Windows is synonymous with personal computing — would certainly be a coup for Microsoft. But just as it shot itself in the foot with Windows RT, consolidating on just “Windows” could be fiscal suicide if Microsoft’s various operating systems don’t indeed come together as one harmonious platform.

In the latest Windows Phone ads, for all of the new Lumia handsets and Cortana, “Windows Phone” isn’t mentioned at all, save for a small “windowsphone.com” URL in some of the videos. Check out the ad below for the Lumia 930. “It’s Windows, so it works with all of my stuff here,” the actor says, indicating a Windows 8 tablet.

Microsoft might drop Windows version numbers