Putting Microsoft brand on a new breed: Longhorn

The next time you see Microsoft software developers showing off their latest invention, the question to ask is whether their work will be in Longhorn.

It’s not an inside joke among the coding cowboys. Longhorn is the code name for a radically new version of Windows designed to be a foundation of Microsoft’s business in the coming decade. More than 2,000 of the company’s engineers are rushing to finish the project by late 2004.

“It’s a phenomenal step forward and very ambitious,” Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said of Longhorn. It’s “my big-time focus now.”

The new operating system is expected to be a key weapon in Microsoft’s battle against low-cost software based on freely shared code. Although various versions of Windows run more than 90 percent of the world’s computers, software developers are increasingly drawn to open-source software such as the Linux operating system.

The article is well written and offers interesting insights into Longhorn.

Source : The Seattle Times