Windows: What's next?
eWeek | at | by Mike
Microsoft watchers and industry analysts have noted, something doesn't add up with Longhorn. Microsoft's top brass have taken to referring to Longhorn as a 2005 technology (despite the fact that the leaked screen shots still label the product as "Windows 2004"). But remember: Software Assurance licensees of Microsoft products are expecting some kind of Windows upgrade by 2004, given Microsoft's commitment to upgrade its products within a three-year window.
Developers inside Microsoft have told some developers outside the company that an interim upgrade of Windows--at least for client systems--is one option that Redmond is considering, regardless of what the guys at the top are promising.