Gates: Microsoft will invest $6.8 billion for R&D, Longhorn
crn.com | at | by Mike
Microsoft will increase its investment in research and development by 8 percent to $6.8 billion in its 2004 fiscal year as it works on its Longhorn version of Windows, collaboration services and .NET services across all product lines, said company Chairman Bill Gates.
At the company's annual financial analyst conference here, Gates said the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, will incorporate a new Windows File System and managed set of APIs that will enable Windows developers to get to key Windows services more deeply and efficiently.
The first technical beta of Longhorn will be delivered at the Professional Developer's Conference in October, and a broad beta test version will be available next year, other Microsoft executives said Thursday.