“For this preview, I had originally written a long-winded backgrounder about the history of Longhorn, and the ways in which this project has changed over time. I’ll save the lengthy exposition for a future review, however, and get right to the point: Longhorn is now considered a major Windows release by Microsoft, and early alpha builds are now testing at the company’s Redmond campus. Last month, some of those builds leaked to the Internet, causing a stir in the Windows enthusiast community. I take a look at one of those builds here.” Read the preview and view screenshots at WinSuperSite.
Windows Longhorn Alpha Preview Available
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
I don’t see anything revolutionary. He only scratches the surface of the real changes: “Avalon.” Those other things (a clock on the login screen, etc.) are so incredibly trivial, easily achieved by one half-hour’s worth of programming by a Windows programmer. And I’m disappointed not to see anything even remotely hinting at WinFS.
So… currently they’ve added a sidebar and some eye candy. Some new colors here, slightly changed preview there, some changes to already existing menus. Oh, and a “my contacts” folder. Woo hoo.
I’m not exactly horribly impressed by what I see. Granted, it’s still an alpha, but I expected more visual changes. Currently I’d call it winXP 1.1a1
This looks a lot like what’s happening in the Linux environments right now…
Does the sidebar actually do anything useful besides add bloat and further idiot-proof the OS?
Also, wonder which version of IE this will come with? Now that Netscape is back from the dead, I’m hoping MS makes some real improvements to IE this time around, because with 1.2b, Mozilla has become almost tolerable.
I wonder how many more people will come in and say ‘This looks like (insert whatever here.’
Seems fine for the Linux community to rip off MS apps left and right, but when even a HINT of the reverse is true …
Photon, as coded by microsoft. sounds yummy.
I really like this one: http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/lh_alpha_029.gif
It is concince, clean, modern and up to the point.
And the task-based UI on the Explorer is a really good thing for newbies. Geek users like us might not find it too much of a help (in fact we might find it too webpage-like and stupid), but non-geek users is going to love the task-based UI (http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/lh_alpha_025.gif)
As for the XML Sidebar, in its current form, I think it sucks (http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/lh_alpha_067.gif). It is crumbling a lot of data in there, it is just way too crowded and non-standard. Like the Active Desktop thing, I don’t believe that anyone will use it. Unless Microsoft finds a way to make the SideBar more intuitive…
The rest of the UI changes are not way too important to get mentioned. The Plex theme is terrible.
Nobody was ridiculing Microsoft for copying Linux. He was making a comment suggesting that microsoft is patching up there UI much like the Linux Distro’s have been. A little touchy when people pick on Windows? your not much different then the linux zealots are you?
but taht doesen’t take away from tehf act that tehy are copying linux.
Recent documents, virtual desktops, etc. Many of the new features are from linux.
Now if oly Linux would learn to copy the GOOD things from MS>
Virtual desktops are not a UNIX thing. BeOS has them, hell, even NVidia has them on their driver downloads. That’s like somebody inventing the button and then you crying foul when other people use it. It was a good design, and it is by no means proprietary. It’s an open-ended concept, why shouldn’t Microsoft use it?
Oh, and by the way, recent documents is in no way a Microsoft rip-off of UNIX/Linux. They’ve had a C:
ecent folder for as long as I can remember (at least NT 3.5 and Windows 95).
So you need a major change of looks? Not happening. Windows 95, introduced a new look. Used in a high extend in Windows 98, Windows NT4, Windows 2000, Windows Me. Change a little here and there, like in Win2k, the icons changed, but their changes were minor.
They don’t have anything better to do than pilling up useless features on poor explorer.exe?
Look at http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/lh_alpha_016.gif
Where are your photos? Well they are in the small corner in the right of the Picture Window Folder *SIGH* UI designers should be replaced ASAP!!!
> but that doesen’t take away from theft act that they are copying linux. Recent documents, virtual desktops, etc. Many of the new features are from linux.
Sorry, but this is not correct _at all_.
Some things are in fact natural to be there. BeOS has them, Mac has them, other OSes also have them, simply because on some basic stuff, it makes sense to have them at some point.
Some interesting changes, though the interesting stuff isn’t being covered here and there’s still a good LONG time until this sucker is released … can’t have a real opinion on it yet.
I wish Microsoft would realize that the UI should be simple and unobtrusive. The picture of the little kid holding the camera is just going to annoy the hell out of me … hope they either remove that or allow me to turn off that folder view. Please make the GUI monochrome, Mr. Gates …. or at least hire some decent designers (enhancing the silver Luna theme would be great!).
Longhorn is definately an OS to keep an eye on. I just hope they don’t screw it up by slapping on an even more fischer price color scheme or implementing some stupid digital rights management crap.
I find that screenshot downright creepy somehow. It really does smack of some kind of big-brotherish ‘Happy-happy joy-joy – you WILL like our moron-friendly product whether it makes you vomit or not’ attitude.
I don’t mean to sound so cruel, but I find that image to be really cloyingly precious and I don’t like the idea of them forcing it on me that way – and it certainly won’t mesh well with my cyberpunk-nasty wallpapers, themes and icons from Digital Blasphemy, End Effect and Sub88, to say the least (Hah! Can you imagine!?).
> Where are your photos? Well they are in the small corner in the right of the Picture Window Folder *SIGH* UI designers should be replaced ASAP!!!
Look closer, look for texts like “(placeholder)” and such… on some places the (placeholder) text are intentionally left out to not interfere, but face it… it’s ALPHA, so cooool down.
So, that is what $5billion in research and development buy you. I must say, Microsoft aren’t getting much bang for the buck.
When are they going to start doing to something radical? how about embrace the FreeBSD 5.0 kernel, and build an easy to use UNIX ontop it, then market it as Microsoft UNIX 5.0. btw. Microsoft could easily get it UNIX certified, it only costs a few grand.
Those examples are bloody awful. Here is a hint to any would-be so-called “gui expert”, minimalism is the key:
(http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/lh_alpha_025.gif)- To complex, too “busy”, too much of the idea that one should shove every possible option under the sun on the one page. This is the perfect example of what NOT to do when designing an interface.
(http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/lh_alpha_029.gif)- Too internet like, too glossy, and bright. Take a leaf from the book of CDE. Boring is good. Minimalism is good. Lack of “effects” is good.
Yet another example why Microsoft “doesn’t get it”, sure, the unwashed masses will slug it down no problems. These are the same people who think WWF is real wrestling, the world revolves around the US, McDonalds is fine food and they’re got a chance to win lotto in their life time.
Virtual desktops is a UNIX/X11 thing. Unless you can point me to an OS that provided virtual desktops before UNIX/X11, I’d be glad to hear. Every example you gave has been after UNIX/X11. CDE had them, OpenWindows had them, IRIX had them. Need I go on further?
i heard that this design was scrapped and this alpha version is 4months old.
Maybe Samba can’t include support for WinFS quickly enough for most Linux users but I have a question:
1. Why try to add it into Samba at all? Why can’t IBM, Sun, Oracle, RedHat, or the Samba team just create a service that will run on Longhorn (or .NET and Windows 2000 Server for that matter) that will serve to the *nixes? That way, it would avoid the patent issues altogether because the server would natively be running its native filesystem anyway, just create a service to communicate with it. My virus scanner runs as a service, why shouldn’t this approach be taken with *nix/Longhorn interoperability? Samba has been banging it’s head against a wall all of these years doing it the other way around.
> So, that is what $5billion in research and development buy you.
This is a leaked Alpha. You can’t expect it to be, not even logical at this point.
> how about embrace the FreeBSD 5.0 kernel, and build an easy to use UNIX ontop it, then market it as Microsoft UNIX 5.0.
Please, be serious.
This is plain visual overkill.
I don’t know where to look first.
The main problem is that nobody running these Windows networks is willing to run these servers. Samba lets me access the Windows network at my campus. Do you think they’re going to run a special program on their servers just for me?
“So, that is what $5billion in research and development buy you.”
Maybe you should read more about the work of Microsoft Research. They do a lot of computer science reseach which has nothing to do with Windows at all and is open for other scientists too, for example Luca Cardelli’s work on object theory among many others. If you think the scientists there think the whole day about how to make Windows more easier to use you are wrong.
Much of Microsoft R&D money goes to waste. Most of the projects never see the light of day. Microsoft doesn’t add some new feature just because it is cool, contrary to other unsuccessful companies. It adds features that its target market could see as benefits.
Besides, there isn’t a sane reason why Microsoft should adopt FreeBSD and make Microsoft UNIX after spending millions of dollars, tonnes of press releases, thousands of executive statments against UNIX.
Besides, to be good, one doesn’t have to be UNIX. Windows NT’a architecture is much better than BSD or System V UNIX. Things like stablity and security are the faults of stupid Microsoft decisions (which most of them were made to sell the product, *sigh*). The future looks very bright for Windows. As a niche product (Linux would dominate the server market). Maybe it might beat Linux if one day Microsoft executive decided the best way for Windows NT was taking a almost similar route as UNIX (only with more standards).
But even if Microsoft makes Microsoft UNIX, its future as a dominant market player is as bleak as Windows NT, plus the fact that even if it is based on FreeBSD, it doesn’t mean Microsoft can’t/won’t introduce security and stablity issues.
Much of Microsoft R&D money goes to waste. Most of the projects never see the light of day.
Thats the point of research – you spend money to *research*…some projects come through, others are used as a learning experience. No-one expects big results from large amounts of research, just the occasional ‘gem’
3 words: Open Your Eyes…
Most changes in Windows OS latelly are Eye Candy, bug corrections and UI shuffling (isn’t nice to have all menus and items reshuffled between windows versions? but alas how would they justify the retraining of all those “engeneers-wannabees”?). As for true changes in Windows, you will have to look at them with an amplifying lens, because they are very hidden…
The new licensing only proves the point… Corps don’t upgrade OS and application BECAUSE then don’t need the new versions… Specially after W2K and Office 2000… So they now are “FORCED” to upgrade…
As for the Linux world, you only have to look at the work in the kernel to see the changes… And if you want to concentrate on Eye Candy only, look at the improvements of KDE, GNOME and the UI redesigns that are underway in most distros.
The Linux world don’t work like longhorn also… Normally they place their stuff where their mouth is… when a anouncement is made, the stuff is right there… not some kind of vapourware with lab fumes all over (and that can or cannot be the real thing, because you never know if they decide or not to scrap everything and start all over as they did with some other versions of windows)…
But also, a commercial company needs to keep it’s flame burning thru lots of useless PR stunts… [and they have to deliver a new version each 2 years now to justify the licencings changes
]
Cheers…
Most changes in Windows OS latelly are Eye Candy, bug corrections and UI shuffling
My point too. That’s why I’m using win2000 after years of use of NT4. I only bought win2000 for USB support otherwise I would be running winNT4 now (I only bought win200 when winXP was launched).
Office XP has real enhancements, speccialy for my (Latin)language, that justify the upgrade.
I don’t have it at home but it’s really great for language translation and XML .doc interchange. (no need to send graphics together with the text is nice and practical).
When are they going to start doing to something radical? how about embrace the FreeBSD 5.0 kernel, and build an easy to use UNIX ontop it, then market it as Microsoft UNIX 5.0. btw.
Let’s hope they leave the BSD 5.0 alone.
The best and the most revolutionay and radcal for the Windows OS would be to change the backslash for the “normal” right slash / as the directory seperator !
That would be welcome and I would buy the new Windows in the next day if one could turn off all the eye candy.
That screenshot looks a lot like the preferences in Heroes of Might and Magic II/III
There’s a third party utility that adds wirtual desktops to Win2000 already some time, and virtual desktops looks like the only worthwile improvement in this Alpha.
Let’s wait, but let’s not hold our breaths here. This is going to be a non-sequitur release, like Win98.
The screenshots look really more like something from a womans magazine where all the kids where makeup and are supposed to look good, every explorer window is an advert!
The next feature will have links steming from these pics so you can buy the stuff they use so you can look like them. Its far to commercialised, i like it plain and with the lack or a corporation feel to it.
— Matthew Gardiner —
When are they going to start doing to something radical? how about embrace the FreeBSD 5.0 kernel, and build an easy to use UNIX ontop it, then market it as Microsoft UNIX 5.0. btw. Microsoft could easily get it UNIX certified, it only costs a few grand.
What would be the point of that?? Unix people would hate it, and start screaming “monopoly” even louder. Windows users wouldn’t use it; existing Windows apps wouldn’t work unless you had some kind of kludgy WINE layer. Even if MS did it, it would still be WinAPI programming on top of a unix kernel. If they added X support, you’d end up with the current boatload of conflicting interface standards that is common on unix.
If you want something radical, try thinking before your next post.
The new licensing only proves the point… Corps don’t upgrade OS and application BECAUSE then don’t need the new versions… Specially after W2K and Office 2000… So they now are “FORCED” to upgrade…
i am not a microsoft fan, but on that issue you are 100% wrong! the new licensing does not force you to upgrade at all! it only forces you to buy the new versions.
Whoever said that Microsoft R&D is wasted needs to stop reading Slashdot and get more in touch with reality.
Possibly the two most significant changes in Longhorn will be:
1) The Windows File System. This could very well become the fastest file system out there, and will make working with files extremely easy. Your “MP3” directory may contain files that are located all over the HDD, but to you they are in the same place all the time. If you want to get really nuts you could create folders for MP3s that are longer than 10 minutes and you wouldn’t have to put them in there yourself, they would just be there. The SQL based file system is going to be a very important move.
2) Hardware accelerated UI. Longhorn is going to have a DirectX accelerated UI, meaning the interface is going to be very smooth (considering your have enough AGP bandwidth, the amount of bandwidth needed rises quickly as you up the resolution.) and effects as seen in Media Center should be very possible in Windows.
changes in Longhorn will be:
Yes, Those are quite good change (innovationn ?, as always from Microsodt ?)
As for hardware acceleration ?? …. it’s the same bet we saw on high band width !! with online gaming for XBox …. it didn’t happen, thus a big loosse !
It’s quite a big/bug bet, what if it doesn’t get a standard (OpenGl AGP cards are very expensive, specialy, today !) DirectX ? Standard ?
I till think the best innovation and revolutionary event for Windows32 would be the forward slash / !!
All the new OSes looks like candies. I mean these Display properties panels, sidebars, common tasks in folders, wizards and so on. Ok, they all look nice, and of course customers do like such stuff – where you can see – you will have nice buttons, cute tiny graphics everywhere and so on. Design elements are now hardcoded into programs so it’s harder to change overall visual aspects of a system, then, developers have to adapt their programs for the new OSes in order to “fit in”. Everything’s getting larger, more complex, buggy.
I DO miss those old good days when we had a nice simple fast Windows95 (well I miss DOS times even more). Imagine wouldn’t it be nice if Microsoft gave us a new update for, say, Win95? A Windows95 with support for new hardware, without all those animations/effects/graphics/services/system restore and all that sh*t. Imagine how would it run on today’s computers! Actually it wouldn’t be too hard to make such update compared to what it takes to prepare each new Longhorn release.
Right, I’m suppose to be away, but heck, who cares.
Luis, the new licensing version isn’t to force companies to upgrade. Companies that would forever be happy with their version of Windows and Office that opt out. However, they won’t get the traditional volume discount.
The reason why companies are moaning because they can’t upgrade at their own pace or skip versions to avoid changes. Massive changes. An upgrade for Windows 2000 to Windows XP for most companies is not worth the hassle. Yet with the new licensing policy, if they want the discounts, they have to get each update. It is their problem whether to use it, but basically what MS is trying to do is saying “Okay, you can’t jump from Windows XP to Blackcomb, you have to get Longhorn too”. or “You can’t jump from Office 2000 ro Office 11, you have to get Office XP first”.
They aren’t forced per se. They just have less appealing altenatives compared to their usual old upgrade plans.
As for hardware acceleration ?? …. it’s the same bet we saw on high band width !! with online gaming for XBox …. it didn’t happen, thus a big loosse !
Have you even bothered to check out Xbox Live sales? They’re selling out everywhere. It’s a huge success.
It’s a huge success.
After they cut the prices, yes, sales improved.
I was refering to high band width online gaming not to sales (related with 2D/3D hardware acceleration gpu/vpu).
Do you work for Microsoft ?
Do you work for Microsoft ?
No, do you?
your nuts. a database file sytem will be the fastest!!! sure it might be very flexable but just becasue the user will see a fast reaction to there copyies etcet becasue MS hides the reality of the database behind virtual folders does not make the FS fast. the fact that the data is so fragmented means that loading will be slow no matter how much information the OS has on the file location on the drive…the disk still has to spin.
Did anyone notice the amiga ball in the main photo?(longhorn_datasheet_1b.gif) It’s in the lower right hand corner. At least it looks like it.