[attachment=351]Abstract
Longhorn is the codename for the next version of the Windows OS. The release would be a client version. There would be a sever version as well sometime later. Windows Longhorn is the next major desktop windows release, which will follow Windows XP. Like Windows XP, Longhorn will ship with Home edition, professional edition, Tablet PC edition, media center edition, AMD-64, Itanium and other version. Alpha testing is already done and Beta 1 will ship in summer 2004 followed by Beta 2 release and then the final release expected in 2005. It has some special functionality as Longhorn will feature a task-based (or "iterative") interface that goes far beyond the task-based interface found today in Windows XP. Longhorn will require 3D video hardware to render special effects that will make the screen more photo realistic and deep. One of the most exciting aspects of Longhorn is its optional integration with Palladium. Palladium--now called Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) Longhorn will include a database-like storage engine called Windows Future Storage (WinFS), which is based on technology from SQL Server 2003 (code-named Yukon).