Microsoft: Longhorn beta will arrive by June

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft is on track to release the first full test version of the next major Windows release by the end of June, a Microsoft executive told CNET News.com on Monday.

The company has said publicly that Beta 1 of Longhorn would arrive by the end of 2005, though internally, the company has been aiming for a release by midyear. The final version of Longhorn is slated for the second half of next year.

"There will be a beta 1 of Longhorn...happening in the first half of this year," John Montgomery, a director in Microsoft's developer division, said during an interview at VSLive, a conference devoted to the company's Visual Studio .Net toolkit. The release will be primarily aimed at developers, Montgomery said. "I do, however, expect that you will find IT departments starting to look at it, kick the tires, figure out what's in it and what's not in it."

Beta 1 will be the first look at Longhorn in its current form. Microsoft released a developer preview version of Windows at the Professional Developers Conference in the fall of 2003 and updated that early code last spring.

However, Longhorn has changed significantly since then, with Microsoft announcing changes in August affecting all three of the key pillars of Longhorn. Two of the components--a presentation engine called Avalon and a Web services architecture called Indigo--are being pulled out of the next Windows release so they can be offered for both Longhorn and the current generation of Windows operating systems.

The third major component, a reworking of the Windows file system known as WinFS, has been delayed past Longhorn's release and is expected to be in beta testing when Longhorn ships. It is unclear when WinFS will be integrated into Windows itself.

Microsoft has not talked a great deal about what features will be part of the beta release. Montgomery said many of the updates have to do with improving the "operational characteristics" of the operating system--basically making Windows easier to manage and more reliable. Among the changes will be a new model for drivers--the bits of code that allow Windows to work effectively with hardware add-ons such as graphic cards and peripherals.

Another improvement will come in the way businesses are able to install Windows on large numbers of machines. Today, mass deployment is done through a process known as "ghosting" an image of the operating system. An improved method will come with Longhorn, Montgomery said.

Montgomery said Microsoft is on track for two other key releases for this year. The 2005 editions of the Visual Studio programming tools and the SQL Server database are slated to get new test versions in the coming weeks, with final releases scheduled for late summer.

Earlier Monday, Microsoft said that by March, it will release an update to the preview version of Avalon. Servers and tools Chief Eric Rudder is slated to talk about Indigo on Tuesday.

[bobby_brady]

Beta1 '05 Beta2 '06 Beta3 '07 RC1 '08 RC2 '09

So sometime by 2010 we'll get Longhorn which will be XP with a new color schemes.

[lilrazztx]

haha

I guess the hackers got tired of XP. So to help the hackers get
used to the new OS they send beta out to them.

[Jake M.D.]

really??

ummm, yeah...

So True...

"So sometime by 2010 we'll get Longhorn which will be XP with a
new color schemes."
Hahaha!
I bet this will be the case.
Another piece of junk attempting to emulate OS X that will need
who knows how many service packs as soon as it is released,
hahaha!

Thanks Microsoft for making me laugh!
Instead of being a company MS should be a circus, hahah! :-D

[Llib Setag]

Aw C'mon... I like the XP Teletubbie color scheme!

Remember when Apple logo was rainbow striped & black & white
MS-DOS was the solid, business machine for serious computing
experts? (while Apple Computers & Mac was just a "toy" for little
kids)
Now Apple logo is just white on silver aluminum backround with
no Apple lettering, just the logo like Nike "swish" logo. OSX UNIX
is black & silver aluminum X today, while MS WindowsXP is
multicolored yellow, red, green & blue with a rainbow butterfly?
But MS is good for serious "business" & Apple is just for fruity-
artsy-graphics people...RIGHT.
Apple is now UNIX/Open Source/FreeBSD/Darwin/Mac GUI OS
with Linux & Unix developers utilizing X11 to easily convert their
programs to Mac OSX UNIX with brushed silver & three simple
dots on their window (red, yellow, greem like a stop light).
Plus Apple is making 64Bit dual processor Towers & XServe rack
mounted servers.

My,my,my how times have changed...
Tiger OSX 64Bit OS will be out in just a few months GOLD PUBLIC
RELEASE & Shorthorn is stripped of major components to finally
reach Beta.1 release in June.

BFD MS.
UNIX/Open Source/Linux/Mac OSX 64Bit is the future & Windoze
is stuck in the past at Jurassic Park (Redmond).

[adamncincy]

Longhorn, a joke...

What is the hype all about??? Just like another poster's comment,
"another hacker's OS"... Why even bother people? Go with Mac,
you won't regret it, and your privacy depends on it. What is there
you can't do on a Mac? And if you can't do it on a Mac, then you
don't need it! Just like anything else, the criminal is always one
step ahead... and I sure as hell do not need to worry about my
computer being eaten up with viruses, or my personal info being
handed over on a silver platter.
-Adam in Cincinnati

A Hurd of Longhorn

Isn't it ironic that GNU's Hurd http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd.html and Longhorn are both among the more famous examples of vaporware out there.

I guess RMS was thinking of a herd of Gnu's when he named the project; but seems a Hurd of Longhorn seems so much more appropriate and amusing.


More seriously... I'd lke to see Longhord support Reiser FS. From its whitepaper:
http://www.namesys.com/whitepaper.html
it'll give many of the supposed benefits of WinFS. And it'd be great for BillG's newfound concern about interoperability:
http://www.betanews.com/article/Gates_Promises_Interoperable_Software/1107536147

Yup

Perhaps they should chage the name to "LongJoke".

[Earl Benser]

The Unwashed Masses....

... who have bought the concept that MS can make no errors are
flat stuck with a kludge platform that isn't good enough to run
OSX. So they need something else. And MS is kindly offerring
them the answer that MS says they need. After all MS makes no
errors. GPF's were always the faullt of other software companies.

So have pity on these poor folk. They don't really know any
better, and most of them don't care enough to look.

And we do need something to keep the game rats quiet in the
cellar.

[Be very scared]

Longhorn,MS vs Mac

As Bilkl gates so profoundly says: "End users amaze me" I would hate to be so naive and insecure I lived in fear of a virus or personal information being hacked which is very rare indeed. Its so simple,dont use a PC if you are so insecure.

[tomrlumsden]

Longhorn beta

What cost to upgrade (or outright purchase)? I am slow to react. Just upgraded to XP and only because it is touted to be the best, infallible, safe, the end all to be all. Now what does one do? Let me know when it is ready, safe to change over, hacker-proof, and gives me all the bells and whistles that XP is supposed to.

[Willy Wonker]

It's Windows ME with XP graphic

This beta would freaking mess up computer when you exectioned for the start. Dont trust them.

[unixrules]

No Longhorn? Great!

People talk about Longhorn delays as though it were something bad. I say the longer the delay the better. I certainly don't need another "consistant" user interface to have to deal with.

[Willy Wonker]

Super Jumbo Mumbo Ware

Of course I'm always right. The first release of Longhorn(NWO of OS) will have to be unserce to start out to prove that you alway need to updates monthly.

[qazwiz]

Not for Apples... MAC (But.....)

We know the superority of your machines... that is why Apple went from over 90% of the market to less than what... 5%? So stop with your I'm so superior that less and less people buy me speaches!

But... what happens to one uppity company can certianly happen to another.

If you search you will find that I responded to the mid-year release notice with a "Where can I sign up for Beta?" posting but with all the things being pulled out of Longshorn (misspelling intended) maybe I'd better start saying "Where can I sign up for Linux?"

I found the GIMP2.2 compiled for XP online and it downloaded for free. I'm told that Photoshop has more bells and whistles but as a casual user of both I don't see any difference. (What did you pay for Photoshop and upgrades X.x, Y.y, and Z.z?) When upgrades are available they will be free for a grand total of ZILCH.

This leads in to what I believe Bill should do to retain Windows hold on the PC market. Fund a seperate entity that converts Open Source programs to the various Windows flavors. The corporate world is slow to rely on no cost software so there will be a purchase market for some time but the cost contious buyers are slowly migrating to the FREE world of Linux in its various flavors.

The cost would be negligible to Microsoft. Fancy buildings and furnishings are there to impress the paying customers and no sales staff is needed either.

A simple building with a top of the line network of computers are the main requirements (cafeteria and playrooms reminecent of the '80s are suggested but not strictly required)

A dormatory could be an additional incentive to work there.(again very simple but functional)

After this initial outlay, programmers just starting out of college can be hired below market. Two or three years of experience on a resumé will more than makeup for reduced salary.

One or two dozen programmers and a supervisor plus utilities should come in under two million a year. (and under ten would still be a bargain)

Unfortunatly the only ones to benefit monitarily from such a plan is Windows manufacturer Microsoft, so they are the ones who need to impliment the plan before their Marketshare slips away just like Apple.

NOTE: to keep Windows out of Open Source this program needs to be very seperate.

Also: if they become lax in updating a program anyone else will be able to do the tweek because Open Source requires the source to be available.

[dejo]

Apple's 90% market share... never happened

"that is why Apple went from over 90% of the market to less than
what... 5%?"

Really? Show me proof that Apple had 90% of the market. That
just isn't true.

[Llib Setag]

64 Bit Tiger Mac OSX GOLD Public delivery by JUNE 2005

Full version of Mac OSX Tiger UNIX 64 bit OS with IBM POWER G5
64 bit chips with Open Source/FreeBSD/X11 capabilities that
easily allow Linux & Unix developers to convert Unix programs
to MAC OSX Unix Darwin 64bit OS.

Plus, "pop the hood" widow and start custom hand coding in
UNIX or use MS Office for Mac or Virtual PC for Mac.

Mac/Unix/Linux/MS Office Suite/Virtual PC Win apps all with
64 bit chip (or DUAL chips) & 64 bit OS in ONE BOX...

Yeah, Shorthorn BETA is coming... don't hold your breath.
Close but no cigar Citizen Gates...

[Bill Dautrive]

No matter how good macs get..

..they won't overtake windows, unless they change their philosophy. If they make macs x86 compatible, then they will be a real threat.

[Llib Setag]

64 Bit UNIX OS on consumer & pro desktop/server

http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/technology.html