Print - Ballmer Says Longhorn Wave Is Coming

This year has been a quiet one for Longhorn, the next version of Windows, although that situation is going to change, according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Interviewed by Gartner analysts this week during the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2004 conference in Orlando, Florida, Ballmer said that the Longhorn wave of products--which will include new versions of Microsoft Office, Windows, and Windows Server, among other products--is finally on track.

Ballmer touched on one of the more controversial Longhorn topics--the recently delayed WinFS storage engine--and noted that progress is being made, "just not good enough for the 2006 [Longhorn client] delivery." Instead, WinFS will ship as a free Longhorn add-on a year later, when Longhorn Server ships.

Ballmer also touched on matters such as security, the future of Office, and the fact that Linux has yet to make any real inroads in the PC desktop market. But what Ballmer didn't deliver was a definitive product-delivery timeline. That's where WinInfo Daily UPDATE fills the gap.

According to recent internal schedules I've seen, Longhorn and Office 12 are set to arrive concurrently on May 22, 2006. And the first Longhorn beta is set for February 16, 2005--the same beta 1 date I first reported in April. Naturally, this schedule could change--we're talking about Microsoft, after all--but the massive Microsoft infrastructure finally seems to be rumbling to life. For beta testers and Windows enthusiasts, 2005 looks to be a busy year.

This basically tells us that Longhorn, which was supposed to be a ground up 'bet the company' move.. isnt. If it's backward compatible or connected to XP in any way, it's a bad move. Nothing to see here guys. come back in 2 years.

ummm...and your point is??? It was known since WinFS wasn't going to be implemented that LH was going to be connected to XP, minus maybe some Aero technology. WinFS was supposed to be "Longhorn" but it didn't turn out that way, so what your stating was already known for sometime now.

Man you people have a lot of time on your hands. Paul is simply reporting what Ballmer is saying. No need to attack him for it. I'm sure you people couldn't stand two hours running a magazine website.

WinFS suppoe to be longhorn? huh? WinFS itself is just a new pillar to Longhorn, it's basically a revamped FileSystem that has many improvements, it essentially works on top of NTFS, for compatibility reasons obviously.

I heard Longhorn tells Micro$oft if you have any pirated software. If it's true alot of my friends are gonna be in alot of trouble, lol.

lol I dont think I would want longhorn sounds like there a lot of problems in it..Well that is what I heard from many people on message boards!

Longhorn is coming.... this headline has been in use for 2 years now... how much longer? likely at least 2 years more. This is just to fool people not to invest in an OS that actually is up to date and available today.

Uh.. Paul gets the TRIDENT for talking about a Longhorn Wave that won't hit for another.. hrm.. 2-3 years... Talk about an Anti-Climax.. Longhorn will ship as an SP3.. woof..

Microsoft should just delay Longhorn until 2007 and have all the featues. In the mean time they could come out with a "XP second edition" in early 2006 that adds part of the features.

Longhorn is not going to be anything special. They are probably delaying so much to see what the far better OS X - Tiger will offer, then pinch many of the ideas from that. The other, more important issue with Longhorn is, why should the industry, meaning the businesses, invest in upgrading to what seems to be mainly a consumer upgrade, what does it offer businesses other than a prettier interface?

some of you, especialy the last comment have never seen the developer videos available on the msdn site. they show how a business would easily implement a simple interface according to their business venture. longhorn will be big. but i fear it might come too late.

"...the fact that Linux has yet to make any real inroads in the PC desktop market" Well...Apparently our friend Steve hasn't opened his eyes recently. The fact that he mentions it is proof itself. An example of one major conversion from M$ to Linux has been Novell's corporate pc's. They have converted/converting its 5000+ user base from Windows to SuSE....There are many other examples (i.e.ErnieBall Inc), but not enough space here. Steve, Bill & Redmond are scared. Why else would they generate the FUD about Linux?

Wow. Longhorn is on it's way. I hope to God they change the name from "Longhorn" to something else. I just cant see buying an OS that is called "Longhorn". Lol. But on the real though, .. Paul, that waste of bandwidth is extreemly tiresome. We all know about Longhorn, its possible relesase dates, etc ... what I want to know is .. WHY dont you people see that M$ is really just fooling you? Longhorn is just a cover! The real OS that will ship in 2006 is a fully revamped 64 bit OS, complete with an all new near 3D GUI, extreemly fast file system to rival Linux's, be built on a completely new kernal, and look and sound like nothing we have ever seen before. It's called "Project Atari". It's true! http://www.microsoft.com/ft.lab1.intel/project_atari/confidential/encrypted/osdiagnostics.pdf :|

Tried to post a reply and the site just hung...That is why we are having triplicate entries...Oh wait winnetmag.com is running IIS..Now it makes sense...Get a real http server like Apache on BSD.

*sigh.. Longhorn will be dropped for some mundane name like Windows Experience 2008

Longhorn has to ship in 2006 because some ppl paid a subscription license for MS Products in which MS promised them that they would get new versions of the software for less. Instead, they paid more than those who paid for just the XP license, since the subcribers paid for estimated upgrades which have now been delayed. Thus, they only received XP and will get a crappy Longhorn (I says this since it's not what was envisioned). This is why something has to come out that is not an SP but a new product. If not, MS will have made the subscribers pay more even though MS had promised them that they would be paying less than those who didn't sign up. So another question is if in 2008, when ppl have to renew, will they?

I suppose forget Longhorn, let it come whenever it wants, with whaterve features and filesystems, try to explore what u have at present, i thats XP sp2 if i m not wrong or Widnows server 2003. Be familiar with features of this OS first and when u think u know everything about this OS then look for Longhorn which will take long time to come. Regards...! Dhruval Patel dhruvpatel2005@rediffmail.com

From what I've read, Longhorn is bottlenecked on security issues. The federal government has publicly mentioned that they may move away from Windows if the security doesn't improve. Considering how many holes Windows has had in the past, Microsoft's task of issuing their first-ever secure OS must be like wrestling a 800-pound gorilla with herpes.

The best thing about LH waaaaay back when we first started hearing about it.. was that it wasn't connected to XP, in that it was a whole new OS from the ground up with security in mind.. that's why Jobs keeps comparing it to Jaguar.. har har.. you guys are gonna be so annoyed when you finally get window trasnparency.. it's not all its hyped up to be.. you'll just turn it off cuz it's incredibly confusing..

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041022-4342.html Yes, there will be a second release of XP.

just another a temp by micro$oft to keep the buzz about longhorn. I think with all the people starting to change over to linux and etc. microsoft will have gone belly up because of all the patchs and mistaks with patchs and the time it takes to get them out. If .net and all the other coding applications are so great and allow the developer to code without mistakes and code faster why the hell aren't they using it?

i used longhorn 4074, if thats what there going to release they still have bugs, and they may as will go back programming screen. I'm using xandos linux now. it nice good interface and it doesn't crash. the two main points of longhorn was new filing system and the new 3d depth desktop interface now there gone. and yes longhorn is a little more better than xp, but it still crashs. if governments are moving over to linux.the only differents is the governments will hire experts write drivers for linux where ncessary. linux needs to be 100% plug&play if anything that the only thing to thank microsoft for is the pluy&play concept.

Longhorn is a joke. And Thurrott is just another Microsoft apologist. How about reporting on something original for a change. Hell, I can start my own column by cutting and pasting clips from a company's press releases.

I don't understand what it is with linux users but i can peg every SINGLE one of you. I am a Nuclear Engineer with the United States Navy, so don't even attempt to dismiss me as some "dumb ass" First of all, does Win XP have flaws, yes. But so does linux, just try getting it to install on the first try, w/o any help from a "guru". (I know, I've been through 6 distro's...) My 3yr old niece could install XP. If you cant install it and use it, it doesnt matter how "great" it is. That is really where M$ gets everyone, ease of use. Sure it's not the greatest, most secure, but it's fairly straight forward. You try telling Aunt Lucy how to configure a makefile and build source, I bet by the time you're done she's cross eyed. Now, as far as Longhorn SUCKS.... It is a BETA! BETA ie NOT the FINAL release. The point of a BETA is to find bugs. Isn't that the mantra of the Linux community.. "it's so great bc so many ppl are working on it..." well let them work, unless you have useful comments I suggest everyone keep their mouth's shut, no need to help the green house effect along....

damn. The US NAVY must be really desperate to hire people like you. your 3 year old niece can install xp? rrrriiiggghht. hey, did i tell you about that new computer that runs at 20000 ghz and sells at 15 dollars? and thats before discount! Linux is free. Linux is more secure. Whats the yapping about? microsoft is out to bleed you dry, and you guys just don't get it do you? but i'm safe. i'm on a mac. =)

well, i understand the short commings of Windows and the obvious advantages of Linux. Mac is also a great platform but is severely limited by the lack of 3rd party peripherals and software. All I was trying to say in my last post was that Linux is a far cry from being easy to install and use. Also everyone is judging Longhorn before the product is released. Linux is superior in many ways but that doesn't mean that everyone should be so narrow minded and quick to judge. Good decisions are made once ALL of the options available are thoroughly evaluated. Being biased and demeaning just because someone doesn't share your opinion is not only unintelligent but also immature. And YES the NAVY took me in, no they aren't desperate. I scored in the top 5% of the country on the ASVAB. Thank you for your sarcastic beliddling comment. It makes me seem all the more mature and rational. Oh, and have a nice day! :-)

WinFS does not sit on top of NTFS. one file system can't sit on another. Its a new file system altogether. In a sense it will replace NTFS.

I know that Linux it´s free and it doesn´t crash so much like Windows, BUT i agree with the man man who works in the NAVY, in Windows everything is easy to be done. I am studing Computer Licenciature at University so i know very well how Windows and Linux work. And finally, let´s wait for the final version of Longhorn and then talk about it, perhaps it´s much better than we expect. Sorry about my english, i speak Spanish, so i don´t know if i made mistakes. Bye :)

Fools,Longhorn will be a powerful operating system,not just an XP SP 3.But seeing as that's what you thing then..Well youll be rotting in XP hell while ill be using longhorn.

Oh and by the way,Whoever spelled Microsoft Micro$oft is a moron heres what i picture when you say M$ or Micro$oft:http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2002-07-22&res=l and for those wondering,I dont hate linux.Infact i have about 3 working comps 2 windows 1 linux.I just hate macintosh because it crashes and its slow :-P

If Windows was free, those 50 people using Linux would have stopped by now. In Terms of what you can do with an OS and the available apps, Linux isn't even in the same league as Windows. Both OS's have their shortcomings of course. For the masses, Windows is easy, Linux is Difficult. Exchange vs Sendmail? SQL Server vs MySQL/PostgreSQL? Windows GUI vs KDE or Gnome? Windows Games vs Linux Games? MS Office vs StarOffice? IIS vs Apache? Disk Management on both Systems? Installing Drivers/Hardware? Gimmie a break, even these core things are no match for Windows. Fix em' so an adult could manage them and we may even begin to compare OS's. Longhorn will be just another improved OS from Microsoft that commands the Lionshare of the Market. And most of the World will use it. Period.

Hey Paul, Perhaps you should tell the MS guys that they better include a free MS Word,Excel,Access "reader" versions, so many ppl wont be forced to buy ******* office! hey, and also dont forget: a free pdf reader too... perhaps they could tie up with Adobe and integrate that into the windows OS as a free add-on tool! Cheers

If anybody important or any company was running Linux, alot more ppl would be trying to attack it and therefore would be alot less stable or secure. By the way my windows never crashes I run a shitload of games and programs and mess with the registry, let me tell you this: it's a heck of alot easier to acheive that on windows than on linux.. especially since the games are crap on linux, I know I had 3 distro's. As for Mac OS X, Longhorn will blow it away and Blackomb in 2011...watch out. Your free world is crumbling down.

you guys/girls are idiots, get a life and stop trying to prove you are better than one another, cause y'all suck :)

As a gamer the clear choice of an OS is Windows. Windows is easy to use and in the long run cheaper...that's right cheaper than Mac. Mac is held to it's own base meaning that everytime they relaease a significant upgrade you have to buy a new computer. As for Linux, I regard it as more of a tool then all working OS. Linux can be used to run gaming severs and is free. Despite wwhat people think Longorn is not a copy of Mac OSX Tiger and the file system, although delayed, is far more advanced then anything Mac has to offer. And finally, Linux and Mac are not as secure as their uses think.... just look on symantecs website.

glad i don't have paul's job of reporting completly usless information on a product that in several years will be only slightly worse than somthing that is available now!!!

osx 10.4 is sick. windows sucks. opensource is cool. apple has mucho devellopers...quality devellopers. and now, soon, osx will ship for intel. get a mac. us navy is dumb.

You all ***** and moan. Throwing abuse one way or the other will not make one OS better than the other. Think about it like this, Linux is still growing and developing one day it may knock windows off of its high horse. However, at the moment windows is the most compatible os and is very easy to use configure. Linux has a few more miles to go before it can compete fully for the desktop. Linux is cheap and you know whats going on under the hood. Who knows what windows is upto?

That Last comment was just dumb. honest to god you windows worshipping morons need to get a life. sure windows xp pro is good (for grand'mas and the kids). but if you need a server and actully know what the heck you are doing with lunix its going to be better. if you don't know how to use lunix well then you can't comment at all becasue obviously its one sided. and saying that its crap just because you can't install it well that your problem because millions use it and love it and would never use anything else I was intrested in what was the most stable os out there. lunix = four years uptime windows one and a half years uptime mac = just over six month so navy guy just drop it for you windows is god for me lunix is my god every one has a os for them obviusly lunix is not yours.

All of those who are talking crap about the navy guys are totally foolish. You don't get his simple points don't you? He doesn't claim Windows is better than Linux but he simply states Windows is easier to install and deal with compared to Linux. And Alpha/Beta are released to get feed back - don't take it for the real deal :)