The Windows Longhorn reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Windows Longhorn

Longhorn is the blanket code name for the next version of Microsoft Windows (to follow Windows XP), Windows Server, .NET, MSN, and Microsoft Office. Expected to ship sometime early 2006, Microsoft has released documentation and early builds of several features that are expected to be included:

• a new database filesystem-extension called WinFS for Windows FutureStorage. (Note: WinFS is not a new filesystem; NTFS will remain the preferred filesystem in Longhorn.) WinFS is based on the next version of SQL Server, code-named Yukon. It allows one to see the relationships between files, rather than just the current hierarchical folder-file relationships.
• a completely re-designed user interface, code-named Aero. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetic than previous Windows interfaces.
• DirectX-based windows to .NET-XML-based vector formats under the codename Avalon, which are to replace the older APIs known as GDI. Longhorn will require 3D computer graphics hardware that enables the new DirectX-based user interface.
• WinFX, an API which will complement the Win32 API.
• anti-virus APIs for programmers writing anti-virus software.
• built-in DVD recording capabilities.
• a new installation program that will install Longhorn in about 15 minutes.
• a command-line interface codenamed Monad.

• Support for the "NX" (No-Execute) feature of processors. This feature, present in AMD's AMD64 architecture, can flag certain parts of memory as containing data instead of executable code, which prevents overflow errors from resulting in arbitrary code execution. Note that this has nothing to do with the Fritz-chip.

Table of contents

1 Editions 2 System requirements 3 External links

Editions

At this time, Microsoft intends to offer various editions of Longhorn, priced differently:

• Home Edition
• Professional Edition
• Tablet PC Edition (Codenamed "Lonestar")
• Media Center Edition (Codenamed "Symphony")
• 64-bit Extended Edition

System requirements

It has been reported that Bill Gates expects computers to have, by 2006, 2GB of memory, processor speedss of between 4GHz and 6GHz and at least a terabyte of hard disk space, and graphics cards three times faster than those available in 2003. Longhorn is written to make use of these resources; the cynical would take these figures as provisional recommended system requirements.

History of Microsoft Windows

Windows: 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.x | NT | 95 | 98 | Me | 2000 | XP | CE | PPC | WM | Longhorn

External links

• BetaONE -- Short video-based review of Alpha Build 4051
• Microsoft Longhorn Developer Center -- Developer information on Longhorn at MSDN.
• Microsoft Longhorn SDK -- Documentation of the Longhorn API's made public so far at MSDN.
• Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows -- Detailed information regarding Longhorn, including screenshots.
• Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: PDC 2003 Section -- Information regarding Longhorn build 4051, released at PDC 2003.
• Microsoft unwraps 'Longhorn' operating system

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