So apparently now Longhorn will not contain some of the super-uber-breathtaking-death-defying features that Microsoft once proclaimed that it would have. I think all of us knew this was bound to happen.
Either cut out the fat or leave it in and delay the project even further. If you have Microsoft stock I would sell in the near future ;-).
Talk about spin.
Seems like MS have taken note of Apple’s rapid pace of OS X development and is replacing the uber-all-in-one-(death-defying)-Longhorn with a more modular approach. This would seem to be much more sensible: they would have a less lumbering, more flexible release schedule; they can stay competetive (competition is good for everyone) by, for example, getting their spotlight-like instant searching tools built in sooner; they could get service packs out without the painfully bad PR of yet another uber-Longhorn delay; they would make more money with several smaller interim OS releases, a la OS X.
That last point there is their main driving motive, I would have thought. ;) Seriously though, breaking down Longhorn would seem to make a lot of sense for MS and its customers.
Longhorn, the Lesser
The big news of the day, of course, is that Microsoft has made big changes to Longhorn (more from Microsoft Watch). Namely, it will be generally available in 2006, Avalon and Indigo will work on Win XPSP2 and Windows Server…
Hmm… if they read the entrails after gutting the longhorn, I wonder what the auguries will tell them? “Beware of the Tiger” maybe? lol
I think that Longhorn will be as leaky as XP. Remember how Microsoft told everybody that XP will be da-best OS ever? Now they are up to SP2 and it still sucks.