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Journeyman
Microsoft Corp on Monday showed off features of its next major release of Windows and unveiled an advanced edition of the current generation of its flagship operating system to help fill the gap until the new version launches next year.
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, promised personal computer hardware makers at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle the new version, code-named Longhorn, would offer beefed-up security, richer graphics, better organization and search of information stored on PCs, as well as much faster performance.
"We just gave people a glimpse to show them it's an awfully big deal," Gates said in an interview after his speech.
After delays, the world's largest software maker is facing its longest-ever gap between releases of its Windows operating system, which runs on more than nine out of 10 PCs worldwide. Longhorn's scheduled launch in time for the 2006 holiday season will come five years after Windows XP's debut in late 2001.
Gates reiterated his promise that a preliminary, or beta, version of Longhorn will be available this summer.
In demonstrations of Longhorn, Gates showed a new look of the desktop as well as new ways to organize information.
Semi-transparent windows will allow users to see objects underneath, including moving video, while search results are displayed in real time as queries are typed in.
Gates also showed prototypes of Longhorn-equipped PCs, including a laptop with a small auxiliary screen on the outside that can access information such as contacts, e-mail and other key data without having to flip the machine open and power up.
In the meantime, Gates said a new version of Windows, called "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition," aimed at enterprise customers, will begin shipping next month. They can crunch more information at one time, handling 64 bits of data compared with 32 bits in the previous generation, he said.
That will give it the ability to edit videos, search files and crunch numbers at much faster speeds than the current 32-bit standard.
*story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=1&u=/nm/20050425/tc_nm/tech_microsoft_dc
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, promised personal computer hardware makers at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle the new version, code-named Longhorn, would offer beefed-up security, richer graphics, better organization and search of information stored on PCs, as well as much faster performance.
"We just gave people a glimpse to show them it's an awfully big deal," Gates said in an interview after his speech.
After delays, the world's largest software maker is facing its longest-ever gap between releases of its Windows operating system, which runs on more than nine out of 10 PCs worldwide. Longhorn's scheduled launch in time for the 2006 holiday season will come five years after Windows XP's debut in late 2001.
Gates reiterated his promise that a preliminary, or beta, version of Longhorn will be available this summer.
In demonstrations of Longhorn, Gates showed a new look of the desktop as well as new ways to organize information.
Semi-transparent windows will allow users to see objects underneath, including moving video, while search results are displayed in real time as queries are typed in.
Gates also showed prototypes of Longhorn-equipped PCs, including a laptop with a small auxiliary screen on the outside that can access information such as contacts, e-mail and other key data without having to flip the machine open and power up.
In the meantime, Gates said a new version of Windows, called "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition," aimed at enterprise customers, will begin shipping next month. They can crunch more information at one time, handling 64 bits of data compared with 32 bits in the previous generation, he said.
That will give it the ability to edit videos, search files and crunch numbers at much faster speeds than the current 32-bit standard.
*story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=1&u=/nm/20050425/tc_nm/tech_microsoft_dc
