WinInsider

At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2003 trade show in New Orleans in May 2003, Microsoft finally revealed its roadmap for Longhorn, the next major Windows desktop version, and the successor to Windows XP. Longhorn, as readers of this site know, will be the most dramatic and exciting release of Windows ever, and the most important update to the product since Windows 95. As I noted in my first Longhorn preview, published almost a year and a half ago, Longhorn has long been wrapped in mystery, with conflicting reports about the product's features and an unprecedented number of purposefully forged screenshots, video clips, and technical documents. In that first preview, I played the role of debunker, forced to document the many Longhorn fakes out there, explain why they weren't real, and then detail the information about Longhorn I knew to be correct. This year, things are becoming more clear, thanks to a suddenly open and communicative Microsoft, and the all-to-obvious fakes are fewer. So here's what we know about Longhorn, circa mid-2003.

Microsoft is prepping a new version of its MSN Messenger software that includes integrated Webcam and gaming features in an apparent bid to beat rival America Online (AOL) to market. AOL has been reined in by regulators from offering some advanced instant messaging (IM) services.

The next version of MSN Messenger, due to be launched during either the second or third quarter, will include integrated voice and video features which allow users to communicate live, face-to-face over IM, the software maker said Monday.

Users are currently offered Webcam functionality over MSN Messenger, but as an add-on service provided by Microsoft partner Logitech.

Microsoft has rolled Windows Server 2003 out to the computing public, but the company still wants to put more polish on the product. Microsoft executives have detailed a bevy of additions and improvements to the server software that it plans to introduce in coming months. That road map for Windows Server 2003 came out this week at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC).

David Thompson, Microsoft vice president for the Windows Server Product Group, talked about the plans, calling these future additions "out of band" releases. They will not be major Windows release, but effectively part of Windows and delivered through service packs, he said.

Although Microsoft and its hardware partners see clear value in using Microsoft's Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) in server computers, it could be many years before the hardware-based security technology moves beyond the PC.

"Servers are very important, but server hardware is very complex," said Peter Biddle, product unit manager at Microsoft's security business unit. Features such as hot swappable processors can "really cook your noodle in a trusted computing model," Biddle said at Microsoft's Windows Engineering Hardware Conference (WinHEC). "(NGSCB) will be a server technology, but that is a long way out," said Biddle.

Microsoft is looking ahead to improvements in its Windows CE .Net operating system. Version 4.2 of the product, featuring voice over IP functionality, is due to ship on June 1, said Keith White, senior director of the embedded and appliance platforms group at Microsoft.

Beyond that, version 5.0 of Windows CE .Net, code-named Macallan, is in the planning stages, White said. He would not reveal details of the release, but did say that version 5.0, like its predecessors, would operate in devices ranging from telematics systems in automobiles to smart phones and portable media players. Improving Web services capabilities in Windows CE is also a key investment area, White said.

Microsoft has promised the first real beta of its next-generation database for the first half of the year. That gives the company about three weeks, and sources said the push is on internally to deliver a beta drop by June 1, just in time for the company's TechEd conference in Dallas. But "recent metrics show that might not happen," said one insider.

Meanwhile, SQL Server Product Manager Stan Sorensen said Microsoft remains on track to ship the Yukon beta in June, but he's not committing to the first of that month.

There were an awful lot of reports this week comparing Microsoft's and HP's Athens PC to the Mac, and at first glance, this comparison seems to make sense: Both machines feature a 23" widescreen display with rounded edges, and a small cube-like CPU box connected to the screen with a single wire. But the comparison falls apart when you actually know something about the Athens PCs, and don't just make your opinions based on a few photos Microsoft posted online. The Athens PC was designed to for functionality, not just to look pretty, which is the biggest differentiator between it and the Mac. Its keyboard, mouse, and integrated handset are all wireless, unlike the Mac, and all of these components feature notification lights tied to work functions such as email, voicemail and meetings. And the Athens PC screen is not only high quality, but features the super-high pixel density that Longhorn's advanced graphics features can take advantage of, a capability the Mac--and Mac OS X--lacks. So get beyond the superficial, one-glance comparison, and you'll see the Athens PC is a classic PC--functional, useful, and horsepower-packed--and not just a pretty Mac clone at all.

With Windows Server 2003 behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the more exciting world of desktop computing, where Microsoft is slowly plowing through pre-beta milestones of Longhorn, it's follow-up to Windows XP. Due in late 2004 or early 2005, Windows Longhorn will offer sweeping changes over its predecessors and be the most significant release of Microsoft's desktop operating system since Windows 95. For developers, consumers, and business users alike, Longhorn is going to be huge. I've written a lot about this intriguing release but I present this third Longhorn alpha preview with some reluctance. Frankly, Longhorn hasn't changed much since the last alpha build I examined, and it's unclear what all the excitement is about. But 2003 is going to be a big year for Longhorn information, starting with an interesting little trade show next week in New Orleans. So here, at last, is my look at Longhorn build 4015. Suffice to say, things are going to start picking up soon.

Microsoft unveiled on Thursday antispam tools for its MSN and Hotmail services and said its overall efforts have blocked 2.4 billion spam e-mail messages each day. The Redmond, Wash., company's announcement reflects how controlling unsolicited commercial e-mail is becoming a competitive advantage for online service providers like MSN, America Online, EarthLink and Yahoo. All the services have a variety of antispam technologies and practices. Last week, AOL said it had blocked 2 billion spam messages in a single day.

When you add up its growing list of Weblog-related initiatives, Microsoft is poised to try to capitalize on Weblogmania. Microsoft's been hinting publicly and privately that it's bullish on blogging.

For any Rip Van Winkles out there who've slept through the blogging craze, Weblogs (a k a blogs) can be as simple as personal online diaries. But they can be more. A growing number of Microsoft bloggers are using Weblogs as a tool for sharing with a larger community their work-related aspirations and inspirations.