Very shortly Longhorn Beta 1 will be coming out.  The current expected date is August 3, 2005.  So what's in it? What can we expect?  Microsoft was kind to inform a group of us what beta 1 would be like.  Because of our NDA, I can only recap what is already known with a bit more detail.  Once beta 1 ships, we'll be free to write more. And hopefully I'll be able to show some cool screenshots.

First off, as many already have heard, Longhorn has been christened "Windows Vista".  It will probably come out in August 2006.  In my view, Windows Vista has 3 goals:

1) Security.  Microsoft wants to make sure Windows Vista is very secure. It will hopefully bring an end spy ware and malware and the like.

2) Developer Flexibility.  A great deal of work in Windows Vista appears to be setting the stage for the future.  Long ago, there was a second Microsoft OS code-named "Blackcomb" which was to be the follow-on to Longhorn.  In my opinion, Longhorn is setting the stage for what comes next.  It is doing this through the creation of several new, and more effective ways of creating content and software.  For example, Avalon is a development platform that is designed to make it much easier to create visually exciting applications.  It's a whole new presentation sub-system. Avalon applications are typically written in a new mark-up language called XAML.  There is another mode called Avalon-Express applications which I think are particularly exciting -- Avalon apps can be run as part of a web page.  Naturally,  some Macintosh users will claim that this is like "Dashboard".  And indeed there are similarities here.  But Microsoft has been working on Avalon a lot longer than Apple was working on Dashboard.  And Avalon Express applications are designed to be very secure from day 1.  Another new development platform is called Indigo.  It's .NET based and is designed to make it much easer to create network-based programs.  And then there's the integration of RSS into the OS.  Microsoft seems to believe that RSS is going to be a dominant way of making use of data in all kinds of interesting applications.  We think the same thing.  For example, when IE 7 starts coming close to release, we plan to make WinCustomize's skin galleries support RSS.

3) Polish.  Microsoft had little more than a year to take Windows 2000 and turn it into Windows XP.  This time, Microsoft has put a lot of effort into figuring out how to make Windows easier to use and have better "fit and finish" to it.   Much of this is provided by the new user experience called Aero.  And it really kicks ass.  Early on, there were screenshots of concepts for Aero. They were bulky, ugly, and over-kill.  Aero has come a long way though and Microsoft seems to be intent on making this version of Windows the most polished, cleanest, best OS they've made yet.   We're not just talking about being pretty, which it is.  But also being far more responsive to user input, booting up faster, better memory management. 

When beta 1 comes out, bear in mind that the "good" stuff won't really show up until beta 2  Beta 1, I believe, is primarily designed to knock out compatibility bugs and put what's there through the ringer to make sure they've got a solid foundation in which to take care of the rest.

When you put all the pieces together, you have a pretty significant improvement over Windows XP.  It should be a secure, fast, visually appealing OS that lends itself to new and innovative software development opportunities.

When Beta 1 is released, I can go into much more detail and with a lot more specifics.  Stay tuned.

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