Windows Archive

Is Microsoft's new version of Windows a radical innovation or a return to the company's winner-take-all software strategy from a decade ago? Read the report at News.com.

Get details on the over 140 sessions presented at PDC 2003, including slides and source code downloads for many of the sessions.

Longhorn is the .NET version of Windows which finalizes the replacement of the WIN32 API with a managed system, as well as a massive rethink as to the way developers write applications for Windows and consumers interact with their computers. Read the article at ZDNews.

Ian Griffiths posted to Longhorn user group detailing some of the kernel improvements that we can be expecting from Longhorn. Longhorn will feature CPU time reservation, and disk access scheduling. These changes are being added mainly for the benefit of the media services. MS wants movies and other media to play without interruptions. Additionally, GotDotNet is featuring a diagram showing how Longhorn is built.

Here is a chat log of Microsoft/Neowin/Stardock chat regarding PDC and Longhorn. On the last day of the Microsoft Professional Developer Conference, Stardock's Brad Wardell, Jed and Jana from Microsoft and Creamhackered from Neowin hosted a Neowin.net live chat to answer questions and provide information on Longhorn, the next version of Windows due out in 2006. The chat is very interesting and should help more people understand --in plain english-- what Longhorn has to offer. Elsewhere, ExtremeTech posted a preview of Longhorn with screenshots. Update: Another preview.

Microsoft introduced the next version of Windows, code-named “Longhorn,” at its Professional Developers Conference this week in Los Angeles. Although Microsoft has leaked details of Longhorn before, the conference offered the first official look at many of the technologies coming when the operating system ships sometime in 2005 or 2006. Elsewhere: "Today was the 4th and final day of the Microsoft Professional Developer's Conference in LA. If you were there, things were a lot quieter than previously. Most sessions had to do with creating software with all the new goodies." Read it here.

With Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft is introducing a set of security technologies that will improve Windows XP-based computers' ability to withstand malicious attacks from viruses and worms. The technologies include: Network protection, Memory protection, Safer email, Safer browsing. This paper discusses the first two elements on this list.

"Today I'll talk about two of those technologies into more detail. Now, my understanding about the advantages of some of this is sketchy and incomplete since we are, after all, talking about an OS that won't ship for 3 years. Anyway, those two technologies are: WinFS and managed code in the form of the API called WinFX." Read the article by Stardock's Brad Wardell. Update: A reply.

NeoWin put together lots of interesting links to videos, screenshots and articles of all the happenings in the PDC this week. In some of the screenshots and video you will see the new hardware accelerated Aero UI. Also, a demonstration of WinFS featured a method to "stack" documents by author in a window, with the heights of the stacks corresponding to the number of documents. Apple also works in something similar reportedly (Apple calls them "piles").

News.com spoke to Bill Gates on the first day of his company's software developers conference. In the meantime, eWEEK has a mini-review of Longhorn while here is a screenshot of a version of Longhorn that includes Avalon (not included in the PDC beta).

At its Professional Developers Conference this week, Microsoft is taking the wraps off its Longhorn Windows, Yukon SQL Server and Whidbey tool suite. Check back here for news from the Los Angeles event. Articles here, here here, here (lots of good info about the new Longhorn features) and here. Longhorn SDK here, screenshots and video of Longhorn from today conference here, Longhorn Tweak Guide, special access to Longhorn/Whidbey PDC release code. Even more articles here, here and here.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Monday plans to discuss the company's strategy to generate interest--and dollars--from an avalanche of Windows-oriented products over the next three years. Read the reports at News.com, eWEEK and Y!News.

WinNetMag reports that in November Microsoft is planning to release for a small fee (usually it's $20) a first public beta of Longhorn. MSDN members will get it for free in December. The report states that the first pre-beta won't feature the new Aero UI.

The next version of Windows isn't due out until at least 2005, leaving us to wonder: Will Microsoft address the big questions users have about stability, security, and features? In this special report, PCMag looks at where Windows is heading.