Windows 7 beta gets a mascot

There's a reason Microsoft chose the specific fish it did for the desktop wallpaper in this version of Windows 7.

January 13, 2009 8:50 AM PST

The Windows 7 beta features the Siamese fighting fish, also known as a betta fish.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News)

Look closely at the desktop when you boot up Windows 7 for the first time. That's not just any fish you see on the desktop.

It's a specific type of Siamese fighting fish, also known as a betta fish. Get it?

Although pronounced like the Greek letter beta, the fish gets its name "from ikan bettah, taken from a local dialect of Thailand," according to Wikipedia.

For the record, I'm no fish expert, but as I was re-installing Windows 7 last night, my partner, AJ, turned to me and said, "Hey, it's a betta fish." Following the old journalism adage "trust, but verify," I double-checked with Microsoft.

Two points for AJ.