Technorati tags: Windows Server 2008, Windows Longhorn Server, Longhorn, Windows Vista, Network, Product Box, WinHEC 2007, Linda Epstein, Windows Home Server, BETA, Viridian, Virtualization, Enterprise

Technorati tags: Windows Server 2008, Windows Longhorn Server, Longhorn, Windows Vista, Network, Product Box, WinHEC 2007, Linda Epstein, Windows Home Server, BETA, Viridian, Virtualization

Technorati tags: Windows Longhorn, Alpha, Vista, XP, PDC 2003, WinHEC 2004

From CRN

 

"The next Longhorn server beta is due "shortly" but the final product won't ship until the second half of 2007.

During his keynote at the Microsoft Management Summit 2006, Bob Muglia, senior vice president of servers and tools at Microsoft, told the audience that the next major Windows server upgrade, code named Longhorn and informally referred to as the Vista server, will likely ship during the second half of 2007.

The company has said it would ship in 2007 but did not provide this guidance in the past.

The company is expected to release the next "near feature complete" beta in the very near future, Muglia said, and will release the next major server beta that incorporates all necessary Vista client changes this fall."

Read the rest here

I noticed when I launched Windows Longhorn Server build 5308 setup from within Windows XP Professional, a notification on the setup dialog said, upgrading from Vista Enterprise Server is not supported.

From Information Week

 

"Not many concrete details about the next next-generation version of Windows have been made public. Code-named Windows Blackcomb, this OS will replace Windows Vista.

Blackcomb (also named after that Canadian ski resort) was originally scheduled to be the successor to Windows XP, but the company decided to release Windows Vista in the interim while they focus on more ambitious changes for Blackcomb.

According to Internet rumors, Microsoft sources have indicated that Blackcomb's goal will be nothing short of a radical rethinking of the way users interact with their PCs. This will probably entail a complete replacement of the Start menu and Taskbar, as well as the entire Explorer shell.

Blackcomb should feature two technologies originally planned for Vista but removed because of time constraints: the WinFS file storage system, and a new command-line scripting language known as the Microsoft Command Shell (code name Monad). Not surprisingly, the OS will also include bolstered security features.

The current release date for Blackcomb is thought to be somewhere around 2011 or 2012, but Microsoft isn't saying for sure."

Read more about the 20 years of Windows here

Yes, its immature and fannatical to even be posting about this version of Windows especially with Windows Vista/Longhorn Server still in early development, I can't help it, thats just me.

From Channel9

Here is an interesting way to apply for the Windows Longhorn BETA 1 Program:

Jim Allchin just sent out this picture of the efforts of an unnamed customer who's really keen to get Longhorn beta 1.

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I need to get those creative juices rolling, unfortunately, the person still did not get in.

From ActiveWin

Quote

" ActiveWin.com will be attending the Longhorn Lab summit in Redmond on Thursday and Friday to discuss the new Longhorn OS with other key influencers and the Windows product group. Most, if not all, of the information will be under wraps, but we will share what we are able to. Stay Tuned!"

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From Microsoft-Watch

Quote:
"For the past several years, Microsoft has been promising that Longhorn would deliver some substantial security, reliability and performance improvements.

But until the worldwide partner conference in Minneapolis in mid-July, company officials had not quantified the benefits that Longhorn — the version of the Windows client operating system, due in 2006 — would deliver.

Amy Stephan, a senior product manager with the Windows client unit, outlined some of the various Longhorn "fundamentals," including systems management and deployment features, which Microsoft is readying.

Read the rest here

From Reuters
Quote:

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft expects to show that it will recover from a recent sales slump when the world's largest software maker reports details of early orders this week for its next Windows version set to launch next year

Along with quarterly results, Microsoft on Thursday will report unearned revenue, which reflects long-term contracts on the balance sheet that have been signed but not recognized as income.

"This will be first quarter where the unearned revenue sees a meaningful impact from the prospect of significant new products," said Jamie Friedman, analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners.

Wall Street began focusing more closely on unearned revenue after Microsoft began encouraging customers to sign long-term contracts for products in its pipeline.

Friedman said that contract renewals for the next version of Windows, as well as new database software and the next-generation Xbox 360, are also driving expectations for Microsoft fiscal year to June 2006.

Read the rest here

They are confident, aren't they?

From Information Week

 

"For many companies, buying Microsoft products is more a duty than a choice. That sense of duty will be tested as Microsoft prepares to launch Longhorn, its next-generation operating system, and with it the next generation of server and productivity applications.

We talked with several Microsoft executives and heard a great deal about the company's obligation to its customers and how that responsibility will be met through the products introduced around Longhorn. The OS is scheduled to ship for workstations in the 2006 holiday period, with the server software to follow in early 2007. Jim Allchin, Microsoft's group vice president and OS expert, has made it clear that hitting the ship date is critical--more crucial, in fact, than any particular feature. WinFS, the new file system for Windows, has already been jettisoned from the initial Longhorn feature list, and other features could follow if difficulties are found. Some features, such as the new Web services package Indigo and a new graphics feature set called Avalon, are no longer slated for Longhorn, but will be made available for Windows XP."

Read the rest here

From Engadget

 

"A lifetime of computing has taught me one thing: shortly after a new operating system hits the shelves, I end up upgrading my computer.

Oh sure… I do my best to limp along with the “antiquated” hardware. After all, my computer is always well within the minimum specs. However, despite my best efforts, the story always unfolds the same way: I begin to crave the speed. I drool over the new features. I want the latest and greatest. In short, I fold like a cheap suit, and I upgrade.

The one bright spot in the upgrade process has always been the monitor. Like the North Star, the monitor is always there to ease the transition. I look to it for comfort, and it stares back at me as if to say, “It’s OK, Buddy; I’m here for you. You’ll always have me.” Sure, monitors can get a big dated (think dirty beige 14-inch CRT), but when have you had to upgrade your monitor to avoid functional problems in the new OS?

That all changes with Longhorn.

Why? With Longhorn, Microsoft will begin pushing opium. Well, technically it’s OPM. However, opium might be a good option for those livid that the video content being sent to their pristine 24-inch Dell LCD monitors is purposefully being “fuzzied” (more on that later).

So what is OPM? The successor to Microsoft’s rarely-mentioned COPP (Certified Output Protection Protocol), PVP-OPM (Protected Video Path – Output Protection Management) is the first play in Microsoft’s game plan to ensure that protected content stays protected. PVP-OPM performs two main functions. First, it detects the capabilities of the display devices attached to the computer. For instance, does the DVI LCD monitor that you’re using have HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)? Second, it manages what, if anything, gets sent to those devices.

If you’re one of those rare people whose display is equipped with HDCP, you’re fine. However, in the world of computers, those users are few and far between. While HDCP has become the de facto standard for display copy-protection in televisions, its penetration in the computer display market would be pleased to merely be called anemic. Whether you’re plunking down money for one of the new ultra-fast LCD displays with 4ms response times or you’re becoming the envy of neighborhood with Dell’s UltraSharp 2405FPW widescreen display, you’re buying a monitor that won’t play nice with premium content in Longhorn.

So what will happen when you try to play premium content on your incompatible monitor? If you’re “lucky”, the content will go through a resolution constrictor. The purpose of this constrictor is to down-sample high-resolution content to below a certain number of pixels. The newly down-sampled content is then blown back up to match the resolution of your monitor. This is much like when you shrink a JPEG and then zoom into it. Much of the clarity is lost. The result is a picture far fuzzier than it need be."

Read the rest here

I still can't understand it, but what I get from it is this ridiculous idea that Longhorn is going to make your monitor what you are watching to find out if its copy protected or not.

 

Lots of persons have been claiming including Paul Thurrott that Longhorn Build 5203 is a forked branch that will continue on the path to BETA 2, but this is not true. Here is is an update from Mike Brannigan:

 

"That is not strictly true. It has everything to do with Beta 1. That build is now old and close the point where we forked prior to the drive to final Beta 1.  We have done more work on the Beta 1 build with regards to bug hunting and stability on that build when compared to the fact that 5203 is just a daily build (features come and go, app compat and stability may not be the primary concern for that build etc) and now already past. Remember Beta 2 is months away so that build will bare little relation to Beta 2."
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Regards,
Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

From ActiveWin

Quote

All of us at ActiveWin are pleased to announce the release of our Longhorn section. The section includes new content on about longhorn, its components, faq, etc. and a bunch of key links to other Microsoft content. Since the OS is the very preliminary stage, this section will of course grow like the others. But in the meantime, check it out!

Check out the ActiveWin Longhorn InfoCenter here

From WinInformant

From InformationWeek

"Microsoft plans to ship its next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, in the fall of 2006, but executives acknowledged that it could slip into the following year.

At the company's annual Worldwide Partner Conference, one Microsoft executive said the company will provide the first beta of Longhorn aimed at IT professionals this summer, but the "cool new UI" with visualization, organization and search capabilities won't be included in the Longhorn code until beta 2, which is due next year.

"I'm very confident we're going to make next year," Sanjay Parthasarathy, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Developer & Platform Evangelism Group, said about making the fall 2006 ship date for Longhorn. "Keep your fingers crossed for us."

Read the rest here

Yikes, 2007 looks awfully far for the Longhorn client. I feel confident though Microsoft will make the release date by fall 2006.

From The Register

Quote:
"Microsoft's delayed Longhorn operating system appears to be taking a page from the Unix management book by curbing user's administration rights.

Mike Nash, Microsoft's security business and technology unit corporate vice president, has said Longhorn would accord end-users certain rights and privileges apparently ending the concept that everyone using their PC is also the PC's administrator.

Speaking at Microsoft's Worldwide partner conference on Sunday, Nash indicated the architectural change is part of a move to improve security of desktop systems by limiting the ability for end-users to install applications or for malware to take control of a machine, turning it into a zombie."

Read the rest here

Resources:
Common LUA Bugs - Making Your Code LUA Ready

From CRN

Quote:
"Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says there is more-than-ample business opportunity in the pre-Longhorn era for partners to profit. He cited migrations from IBM Notes/Domino, SAP, Novell and Oracle products, as well as upgrading Windows NT 4.0 as huge green field.

In a partner panel at its worldwide partner conference, one VAR stated concern that the bulk of migration work is done and wondered what opportunities could help partners bridge the gap between now and the much-anticipated Longhorn release, starting next year."

Read the rest here

Well, I agree that there are a lot of businesses and customers still not on XP because they are just happy with their current invest and don't see the justified cost in upgrading to use back basically the same functionality they might be getting from Windows 2000 already.

But could this "don't wait for Longhorn" idea suggest that Microsoft is looking to delay Windows Longhorn release again? Lets hope not.