Longhorn: If they build it, will anyone come?
Published: 01 Apr 2005 18:10 BST
By the time Longhorn ships, Microsoft plans to have a new version of its Internet Explorer browser, though the company said last month that it will make IE 7 available for Windows XP, a break from the company's mantra that browser updates would require an upgrade of the operating system.
Microsoft has not talked in detail about its plans to integrate desktop search into Longhorn, but Gartner analyst Michael Silver said that's a clear requirement.
"People want that now and they have to look to third parties," he said, noting that Apple will have significant search built into its Tiger operating system, which will ship sometime in the first half of this year.
Mobile computing moves
At last year's WinHEC, Microsoft outlined some of the features it was evaluating that it said would improve mobile computing in Longhorn. Among the ideas it was toying with were the ability for notebook computers to have a second, easy-to-access interface for key tasks such as playing a DVD or consulting an address book. Another feature the company outlined was a synchronisation engine that could make sure information is kept current between one or more PCs as well as on devices such as portable music players and flash memory cards.
The software maker also talked about a "mobility centre" that would bring together controls for laptop-related settings — such as display, power management and networking — much as the Security Centre does in XP Service Pack 2. A user could also create one profile that turned up performance for delivering a presentation, while a different "on the plane" profile might throttle down the power usage and turn off wireless connections. Such settings today must be changed individually and are scattered throughout the operating system.
It is unclear whether things such as the mobility centre or DVD-playing interface are still on tap for Longhorn.
Longhorn will definitely include improvements for wireless networking, both Wi-Fi and lower speed cellular networks. A Microsoft representative said last week that simplifying home networking is "a key focus" for Longhorn. A new Network Explorer will show all the PCs and devices that are connected to a network, and the company plans to offer several options for securing a wireless network, something that remains quite difficult for most Windows XP users.
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