Longhorn - 2006!

http://news.com.com/2100-1008_3-5189453.html?tag=nefd.top
from WinCustomize Forums

The next major version of Windows, code-named Longhorn has been pushed back to 2006, according to Microsoft.

Longhorn will provide 3 major updates to Windows:

  1. WinFS - a new way of managing your files on your computer.
  2. Avalon - a new graphics engine designed to provide a composited user experience (imagine being able to run at very high resolution without everything being tiny -- the screen resolution will be irrelevant, we'll deal with things in terms of DPI - dots per inch).
  3. Indigo. A set of new services built into the OS to make it easier for developers to create Internet applications.

You may be wondering what that means in terms of customizing Windows. It's really too early to tell. I can say that having the entire screen composited in 3D will create all kinds of new opportunities for software developers. Our only fear is that Microsoft's (ahem) "security initiatives" which seem fixated on making everything be "managed code" won't straight jacket Windows into a one-sized fits all solution (though we're sure Linux advocates would love to see that).

What we do believe, however, is that Longhorn will present programs like WindowBlinds and DesktopX with all kinds of new goodies. Imagine graphics that are vector based instead of just bitmapped? And with the hardware that would be available by then, imagine your WindowBlinds skins transformed into vectors on the fly via accelerated video cards with alpha blending built in.

Though don't get too excited. It's over 2 years away. And Windows XP will likely be here to stay for quite awhile. Luckily, XP is pretty darn nice.

5,854 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hi,

I think Longhorn will be very cool.

I did find the next article:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_16/b3879009_mz001.htm

It looks like some features will be let out of Longhorn.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Interesting, very interesting....
(thx for link @bussie -) ) I´ll try to find more information or something...
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nothing I haven't seen in other OS's before... and by the time 2006 rolls around, this will be old news... I wish MS would just release something this year, even if it is dumbed down... just a little taste of Longhorn...

Based on what I've seen in screenshots, it looks incredibly bulky and unorganized... but MS doesn't care, right? Millions of lemmings will still pay $$$ for it, and Gates will boost his earnings tenfold.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

What would you want to see this year?


I don't expect mainstream opeating systems to invent totally new concepts. I do expect them to EXECUTE On those ideas fantastically though.

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I read that there won't be a beta of it this year, just an alpha. The reason: SP2 for XP. It has put MS back, and because of that features will be cut in Longhorn. That is total BS. They should ship the new OS when it's ready with all the nifty features implemented. But they won't, I think they're under pressure from customers and maybe a little bit from the open source community. So they have to get it out in the first half of 2006. I just wish they for once, would deliver a complete OS. I don't care if I have to wait a year more. I'll do just fine with XP til then.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The problems they ran into with the European courts probably isn't for nothing regarding the delay...
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
A couple of points.

Screen resolution has a DPI, just a fairly low one. There's no difference it's just numbers. I've never coded at the windowing level in Windows but I'd be surprised if it didn't have a 'relative' screen addressing mode to complement the 'absolute'. Even GEM had this in the bygone days of the Atari ST.

Vector graphics are only really useful if originally designed as vectors. Bitmap>Vector conversions are always horrendously low quality due to the (usual) nature of bitmaps. Only very simple bitmap graphics (eg a triangle with a solid colour or possibly gradient) would be suitable for translation into a vector. And, of course, all the graphics we see are rendered to a bit-map on the screen anyway.

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have not been watching Longhorn. Nor am I particularly interested in a new OS, just yet. If SP2 is negatively impacting Longhorn's developement, it's due to security changes in the existing software code. This means Longhorn is being built on a constantly shifting foundation. Awkward for Longhorn - great for XP.

Consumers over the last five years have demanded additional stability and security. MS has been (slowly perhaps) implementing them. So now a few are upset because for once MS has not lost focus. They're not rushing a product to market. They're actually making an attempt to provide what consumers have asked for - both the letter and the intent.

Now I'm not saying the MS might not have some ulterior motive (including post Sept 11th software law changes) but I think we consumers need to be a little more consistent here.

As for waiting for absolute completion of Longhorn... It's just not going to happen. XP's been released for two years now and it's still not finished (after all, SP2 is due out in a couple months). Waiting until it has all advertised features is just as unrealistic. Their are Dreamers, Unrealized Software Programmers, and other corporate fluff that demand the right to do their thing - aka, confuse, obscure, deny accountability for and otherwise pass the buck.



JerryHat: Yeah, I miss my Atari ST too! Where are the CodeHeads when you really need them?
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't understand what's so nice about windows xp.
The only really nifty addition is enhanced icons. everything else is just bloated stuff, and they even broke the "Search in files feature". And the search dog "Do a trick" option?!?! what's wrong with MS??? Windows 2000 is still the perfect OS for me. If it only had nice icons 8[[[
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Toothsome, you're only considering the GUI and effects of it, not the underlying structure. Supposed to have much greater system stability and driver support inately.

I see your point, though: On a brand-new Toshiba Laptop, I can't keep XP running stably for over 8 hours (right out of the box).

Buying a mac.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The only thing I'm concerned about with Longhorn is privacy/freedom. It's supposed to have DRM out the ass, which means everything that you run on your computer will have to be authorized online...kind of like how Office XP requires you to verify with MS that it's a good copy. If I can't use my mp3's then screw it. I simply won't use it at all. On the other hand, if I can do everything on Longhorn that I can do on XP with the same amount of freedom, then I think it will be nice. I just hate this 'trusted computing' idea.

In the meantime, I plan to save up for a Powerbook G4. At least someone has the user in mind.