21 replies to this topic

[Neon]

I want it to work with my existing hardware as well as newer pc's, greater hardware compatibility, new features to make networking easier and more fun, making more things possible.

What do you want from it?

[ShadowFox]

New GUI, how abotu a NEW OPERATING SYSTEM because there ar talks of a NEW task bar!!! That'd be nice, a NEw desktop design, better performance and less process use!

[Neon]

there are talks and infact evidence that microsoft is working on an entire new codebase away from windows for one of their OS. hope its blackcomb!

[ShadowFox]

ohh god I hope so, the word just makes me drool!

[stevenaxe]

there's not such thing as blackcomb anymore, its vienna...
and i think your talking about singularity, it's just some research microsoft is doing and they don't have any plans to make it real
very little is known about blackcomb! it was supposed to be huge, but then longhorn was born and took longer than it should (it was meant to be only a minor upgrade, but took a whole new path) and thus blackcomb is supposed to be a minor upgrade if it comes out soon (relatively soon ) but blackcomb was supposed to be huge and revolutionary, completely changing everything! But again, not much is known about, I doubt anyone at microsoft knows what to expect...

[Neon]

See cos i remember as in 2003 Microsoft clearly stating that it was no upgrade, that it wasn't XP SP3 but it was infact a whole New Operating System, it seems that features have been dropped to make the time schedule, so surely this isn't what started as an upgrade, cos if it was they get a few too many things in the original plan.

If you used Longhorn 3683 you'll see what was in that, MCE obviously and many avalon features, WinFS and other things that are starting to appear now, although broken it is from 2003 and shapes what we have.

[ShadowFox]

"Development
The code name "Blackcomb" was originally assigned to a version of Windows that was planned to follow Windows XP (codenamed "Whistler"; both named after the Whistler-Blackcomb resort) in both client and server versions. However, in August 2001, the release of Blackcomb was pushed back several years and Vista (originally codenamed "Longhorn", after a bar in the Whistler-Blackcomb resort) was announced as a release between XP and Blackcomb. Since then, the status of Blackcomb has undergone many alterations and PR manipulations, ranging from Blackcomb being scrapped entirely, to becoming a server-only release. In January 2006, Blackcomb was renamed to "Vienna". Vienna is still planned as both a client and server release with a current release estimate of 2011 (although no firm release date or target has yet been publicised).

Focus
Internal sources pitch Vienna as being not just a major revision of Windows, but a complete departure from the way we have typically thought about interacting with a computer. While Windows Vista is intended to be a technologies-based release, with some added UI sparkle (in the form of the Aero set of technologies and guidelines), Vienna is targeted directly at revolutionizing the way we interact with our home and office PCs.

For instance, the "Start" philosophy, introduced in Windows 95, may be completely replaced by the "new interface" which was said in 1999 to be scheduled for "Vienna", before being moved to the Longhorn project, and then back to "Vienna".

The Explorer shell will be replaced in its entirety, with features such as the taskbar being replaced by a new concept based on the last 10 years of R&D at the Microsoft "VIBE" research lab. Projects such as GroupBar and LayoutBar are expected to make an appearance, allowing users to more effectively manage and keep track of their applications and documents while in use, and a new way of launching applications is expected - among other ideas, Microsoft is investigating a pie menu-type circular interface, similar in function to the dock in Mac OS X.


Other features
Several other features originally planned for Windows Vista, such as the Monad Shell and WinFS are also expected to be part of "Vienna", though they may be released independently when they are finished.

"Vienna" will also feature the "sandboxed" approach discussed during the Alpha/White Box development phase for Longhorn. All non-managed code will run in a sandboxed environment where access to the "outside world" is restricted by the operating system. Access to raw sockets will be disabled from within the sandbox, as will direct access to the file system, hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and complete memory addressing. All access to outside applications, files, and protocols will be regulated by the operating system, and any malicious activity will be halted immediately. If this approach is successful, it bodes very well for security and safety, as it is virtually impossible for a malicious application to cause any damage to the system if it is locked in what is effectively a glass box.

Another interesting feature mentioned by Bill Gates is a pervasive typing line that will recognize the sentence that you're typing in. The implications of this could be as simple as a "complete as you type" function as found in most modern search engines,( i.e. Google Suggest or as complex as being able to give verbal commands to the PC without any concern for syntax.


Backward compatibility
An announcement was recently made that "Vienna" will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, in order to ease the industry's transition from 32-bit to 64-bit computing. Vienna was previously expected to support only 64-bit server systems. This will mean continued backwards compatibility with 32-bit applications, but 16-bit (MS-DOS) applications are unlikely to be supported. This is a notable break, as Windows line of products has been known throughout its history for backwards compatibility.

The announcement referred to above was made prior to the decision to push back production of Vienna and release Microsoft Windows Vista (formerly code named Longhorn) as an intermediate product."

[stevenaxe]

I didn't mean upgrade as in upgrade your xp to sp3, I meant like xp is an upgrade from 200, which is an upgrade from 98
it's a whole new OS, meant to follow whistler, but stuck longhorn (which was meant to be a minor new os (happy?) but became huge) in between...blackcomb (now vienna) is supposed be huge, like completely different, and alot of the original ideas have changed (think about when it first sprout and the technology back then)

[m.oreilly]

well, to 2011 gentlemen

[ShadowFox]

okay I'm done posting now... no one reads -.-

[stevenaxe]

that's all speculation, everything has been jumping around and nothing is set in stone, longhorn was supposed to be just a minor bump, it took 10 steps foward to be a HUGE thing, then took 2 steps back...don't see how you can say anything is positive for vienna with the way vi jumped around

[Neon]

i am reading Shadow!

[Leo]

Me too...........
I´m very interested in all new stuff so keep informing us.

[BlueScreenOfDeath]

Lets concentrate on Longhorn ..Vienna isnt even being worked on just yet.

Edited by BlueScreenOfDeath, 29 March 2006 - 06:23 AM.

[joejoe]

Yeah ,exactly !
Just wondering how long it will take until the first guys start posting the fake screenies that are circulating on different boards lol