[kochi_hw_club] Re: [kochi_hw_club]Features of LongHorn revealed

On the horizon: Microsoft's next OS

The next-generation Microsoft Windows operating system
- code-named "Longhorn" - promises an intriguing list
of revolutionary changes and powerful new features.
Among them a streamlined 3D user interface, a
versatile new file system, and a new service-oriented
model for application communication.

In an article on the Microsoft Developer Network
(MSDN), content strategist Chris Sells explains how
Longhorn is as different from previous versions of
Windows as Windows 95 was from Windows 3.1. For those
who don't recall, or were more into Nintendo in those
days, the leaps in performance, ease-of-use,
stability, and capabilities between the two Windows
versions were enormous.

Like previous versions of the Windows operating
system, Longhorn is expected to come in both consumer
and professional versions. And as of April 2004,
Longhorn is still in internal Alpha testing, so the
final lists of bells and whistles in each full version
is yet to be determined. But Microsoft has described
the central pillars of the Longhorn OS, as well as
several of its planned features. 

New user interface 
With Longhorn, Microsoft will extend the visually
appealing, task-based graphical user interface (GUI)
introduced with Windows XP. The GUI will leverage the
power of modern PCs' 3D graphics cards to afford users
a photo-realistic screen and interface windows.
Microsoft also plans to include a customizable sidebar
- similar to the dashboard feature on MSN 8 - to
display frequently used programs, photo slideshows,
and other links. More detailed information on
Longhorn's new GUI and media integration layer
(code-named "Avalon") is offered in this MSDN article.

New file system
One of the more radical changes within Longhorn is the
introduction of the Windows Future Storage (WinFS)
database subsystem. A new storage engine built on the
existing NTFS standard, WinFS promises to make
locating and working with stored information much
easier. It uses what Microsoft calls an "everyday
information" schema for describing items stored on a
computer, and adds relational database capabilities
based on SQL Server 2003 technology. This powerful
combination allows users to find files more quickly
using all sorts of complex relationships.

Think about how easy it is to find and sort audio
files by artist, title, album, number of times played,
genre, and other information using most media player
applications. WinFS similarly leverages file metadata
to extend these kinds of powerful organizational
capabilities to the rest of the files on your hard
drive. 

A detailed introduction to WinFS is offered at MSDN. 

New communication model
This doesn't refer to a new model of communication
between people; rather it's a new model for how
applications communicate - sort of the "plumbing" of
the OS.

"Indigo" is the code name for Longhorn's new
communications subsystem based on XML and Web services
standards. It signals Microsoft's movement away from
object-oriented computing (such as J2EE-based systems
from IBM, Sun, and Oracle) and toward the managed-code
or service-oriented model of the .NET Framework. This
.NET 101 article offers the basics of .NET.

And Indigo is discussed in much greater detail on
MSDN. 

Early news 
Longhorn will no doubt offer many new and appealing
features, although at this point details are sketchy.
Expected are higher levels of security and privacy,
smart-synching for devices such as DVD cameras, audio
devices, and handhelds, and more media-center
capabilities. 

As with most moves Microsoft makes, early reports of
Longhorn are a mixture of great promise, hype, alarm,
rumor, and wishful thinking. Concerns about Longhorn's
legacy application support, privacy, and security are
already circulating, and Longhorn is still in
Alpha-version development. More will become known
about Longhorn's new features, strengths, and
weaknesses once the Beta version gets put through its
paces by legions of testers beginning in mid-2004.
Longhorn's full public release is expected in 2005 or
early 2006.

Visit Microsoft's website for the latest Longhorn
information.


Nice to see you feel good on part of all placements.
Thanks for the appreciation!

Piyush( ?01-?05)


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