! !
08-27-2004, 07:46 PM
http://wwwi.reuters.com/images/mdf678022.jpg
http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6092802
The next version of the Windows operating system, Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) flagship product, will ship in 2006, the world's largest software maker said on Friday.
That's the first time that Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has committed to a launch target for the ambitious upgrade to Windows, code-named Longhorn.
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, is leading the effort to ship the next major upgrade to Windows, which promises to boost the performance of the world's most widely used operating system.
"Getting 'Longhorn' to customers in 2006 will provide important advances in performance, security and reliability, and will help accelerate the creation of exciting new applications by developers across the industry," Gates said in a statement.
In order to get Longhorn shipped on time, however, Microsoft said it had sacrificed a key component of the system that was to be shipped at the same time, the underlying file system for the software, called WinFS.
The new file system, based on database software architecture aimed at making it easier for users to find information stored on hard drives, will be shipped later, with a test, or beta version, of WinFS shipping along with Longhorn in 2006.
"We've had to make some trade-offs to deliver the features corporate customers, consumers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are asking for in a reasonable time frame," said Microsoft group vice president Jim Allchin.
As part of the overall plan, Microsoft said it will make some of its programing tools available to software developers early so that they can build applications that will work with Windows XP, the current version of Windows, and Longhorn.
http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6092802
The next version of the Windows operating system, Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) flagship product, will ship in 2006, the world's largest software maker said on Friday.
That's the first time that Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has committed to a launch target for the ambitious upgrade to Windows, code-named Longhorn.
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, is leading the effort to ship the next major upgrade to Windows, which promises to boost the performance of the world's most widely used operating system.
"Getting 'Longhorn' to customers in 2006 will provide important advances in performance, security and reliability, and will help accelerate the creation of exciting new applications by developers across the industry," Gates said in a statement.
In order to get Longhorn shipped on time, however, Microsoft said it had sacrificed a key component of the system that was to be shipped at the same time, the underlying file system for the software, called WinFS.
The new file system, based on database software architecture aimed at making it easier for users to find information stored on hard drives, will be shipped later, with a test, or beta version, of WinFS shipping along with Longhorn in 2006.
"We've had to make some trade-offs to deliver the features corporate customers, consumers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are asking for in a reasonable time frame," said Microsoft group vice president Jim Allchin.
As part of the overall plan, Microsoft said it will make some of its programing tools available to software developers early so that they can build applications that will work with Windows XP, the current version of Windows, and Longhorn.