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Windows Longhorn: more details emerge

Jon Morris CNET

Published: 11 Nov 2003

By all accounts, the next version of Windows will be a long time coming. Code-named Longhorn, the OS isn't due until sometime in 2006. Bits and pieces of the embryonic operating system have been leaking onto the Internet since the beginning of the year, however, and recently, Microsoft has started to divulge details of its ‘biggest bet’ since Windows 95.

At a roundup in Los Angeles last week, the company handed out DVDs with an early version of Longhorn, and it detailed changes to the OS along with related programming tools such as Visual Studio and SQL Server. The goal was to corral developers behind Longhorn, but in the process, Microsoft also gave a solid glimpse at what's in store for the rest of us.

While it will be compatible with today's applications, Longhorn will change everything about the OS, from the way the desktop looks to how you store and retrieve files to how your PC is safeguarded. And it should provide the foundation for more innovative Windows applications.

Looks are everything

By the time Longhorn ships, according to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, PCs will have 4GHz to 6GHz processors, more than 2GB of memory, at least a terabyte of storage, and graphics accelerators three times more powerful than those offered by ATI and Nvidia today. He says that Longhorn is designed to take advantage of all this muscle, and nowhere is that more evident than in the in the rich, three-dimensional interface known as Aero.

The Aero eye candy is built on a new graphics and presentation engine (Avalon), which in turn is based on XML but also borrows from Microsoft technologies such as DirectX and ClearType. The result is a more sophisticated look with transparent menus, smooth animation and windows that shrink to thumbnail size or expand with the contents intact.

The new engine also lets you create and display Tiles on the desktop. Conceptually, these remind us of the old Active Desktop. The difference this time, however, is that instead of HTML, Tiles are based on XML, so they can display both online information, such as news headlines or stock quotes, and info from any local drive, such as all your MP3s or a list of important contacts. The Sidebar -- one of the prominent new features of Longhorn -- is really just a collection of Tiles showing a clock, a buddy list, news, Windows Media Player controls and quick-launch keys for major applications. Despite the name, the Sidebar can be positioned vertically on the side of your display or horizontally across the top or the bottom. Early versions have also reportedly included Tiles for synchronising with other devices and for searching.

Longhorn's user interface will integrate many of the cutting-edge features that Microsoft is testing today in Tablet PCs, mobile devices, and Media Center PCs. Last week, Microsoft showed off Longhorn's support for ink handwriting recognition (sticky notes) and voice. Just as Internet Explorer became a component of Windows years ago, Windows Media Player is slowly morphing into an omnipresent feature rather than a standalone application, and some versions of Longhorn even include a My TV application.

As many reviewers have remarked, this sounds an awful lot like Mac OS X, from the Aqua interface and Quartz graphics engine to the Dock to the ‘digital hub’ strategy. It requires not only a fast PC, but a relatively large high-resolution display. Microsoft is gambling that most users will have both by the time Longhorn rolls around. But just in case, the OS will reportedly offer different levels of operation that disable the more intensive Aero effects to boost performance on less capable PCs.

Minding the store

Who knew storage could be sexy? The most talked-about feature in Longhorn so far is its new storage system, WinFS. In this case, the hype may be warranted. WinFS is a file system that works more like a relational database, which is no coincidence, since it is based on the same technology as the next version of SQL Server, code-named Yukon. Rather than stashing data in a series of folders and subfolders, WinFS promises to let you organise and search for files based on their content or other attributes.

A very early Longhorn prototype of the My Pictures folder includes metadata and a filtering option; at the top, you can click More to get a search box.

The old folders and subfolders will still lurk beneath the surface, but files can be organised into stacks. Although these stacks have been described as an extension of the existing My Pictures or My Music folders, they appear to work more like the search folders in Outlook 2003. In other words, the actual location of the files isn't really important. Instead, these virtual folders show you files or data that all share common properties using filters that you can create and modify. For example, you could create stacks that show all songs longer than one minute, display photos taken in the past month, or sort all contacts (Longhorn includes a My Contacts folder) by email address.

Microsoft also promises that WinFS will make searching for files much more powerful by breaking down the separate silos of information that today reside in application-specific file formats. For example, from a single search box, you will be able to pull up all email messages, Web pages and Office documents related to a particular topic -- a powerful feature that Gates has referred to as his personal holy grail.

Batten down the hatches

Microsoft's Achilles' heel has been security -- the company recently admitted that security fears were affecting its corporate sales. With that in mind, a major focus of Longhorn will be on improving security, although exactly how Microsoft plans to do so without imposing draconian measures on users remains unclear.

Some changes may be apparent to users even now. For example, Microsoft is mulling whether to turn on the built-in firewall by default, and rumours are swirling that Longhorn will include its own anti-virus program. It seems more likely, however, that the company will find a way to integrate existing anti-virus utilities deeper into the OS to push more users to install and update them regularly. Early versions have also included a tool that lets parents restrict access to the PC or Internet to certain times of the day. A new reporting tool, basically a ‘black box’ for your PC, could also help developers locate and plug security holes in applications.

On a broader level, Microsoft is developing a new security architecture, called NGSCB (Next-Generation Secure Computing Base), that splits the OS into two parts: a standard mode, where today's hardware and software play, and a secure mode that requires more stringent authentication and encryption. The move requires changes to third-party hardware and software as well. For example, Intel has stated that its next-generation Prescott chips and chipsets, due out early next year, will support it.

Under the surface

Ordinarily we wouldn't spill much ink on changes to Windows at the programming level, but Microsoft claims that these changes will be the foundation for more sophisticated applications.

At the heart of Longhorn is a shift toward XML. Microsoft describes this as moving ‘those rich user schemas down into the platform’, which is geek-speak for taking all that data stuck in proprietary application file formats and putting it in XML files that can be shared. The obvious example is a common address book that can be used by any PIM, email program, instant-messaging client, and so on. Similarly, the new WinFX programming interface, along with tools such as the Indigo communications platform, will standardise how applications interact with that XML data.

Microsoft believes so strongly in the power behind Longhorn that it is putting most of its Office resources behind creating a version of the suite that runs solely on the new OS -- a major gamble. The company also plans to release new versions of Visual Studio for developing Longhorn applications.

Waiting game

Before you get too excited, bear in mind that Microsoft is still very hazy on the release dates for Longhorn. Most seem to agree it will be 2006 before it hits stores, but the company says only that it will be a technology-driven release, which is a nice way of saying that the date will probably slip. A beta version of the client OS, however, is expected sometime next summer. The cost will be about the same as Windows XP, according to Gates. The bottom line: if Microsoft delivers on half of what's supposed to be in Longhorn, it will still be a significant upgrade.

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So if you upgrade to XP SP3 you can't uninstall Internet Explorer, I'm quite sure I'm having a Deja-vu feeling about MS preventing people from uninstalling Internet Explorer in other Windows products.