Longhorn in late 2003 and XP2E this fall
WinInfo | at | by Mike
I was surprised to learn about a post-XP Longhorn desktop release that Microsoft revealed in July, but I have an even bigger surprise for you now: This interim version, once thought of as Windows XP Second Edition (XP2E), won't ship any time soon. Instead, Microsoft now expects to ship Longhorn in late 2003, about a year later than originally planned. The reason? I've heard that Microsoft is adding two interesting new features to the release: a SQL Server .NET-based file system (once code-named Storage+) and a .NET "bar" that will sit on the right side of the screen and let Microsoft and third parties integrate plug-ins for Web services such as MSN Calendar, Hotmail, .NET My Services, and other features. This bar is fully extensible (think Active Desktop 2002) so developers can integrate their services into it and legally extend the Windows UI. As I've noted on my SuperSite for Windows, the Longhorn delivery "extension" makes me believe that Microsoft will ship an updated version of Windows XP this fall. I have no corroborating evidence for this suggestion; it's just a hunch.