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Longhorn Preview
itraor writes "PC World has previewed Longhorn, not the first one out I guess. Among the few noted features is that Windows now offers translucent UI, finally catching up with Apple. "
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Hasn't microsoft sort of always followed apple?
I love the "bell and whistle" logo they've applied to the story. Very appropriate, especially since the review discussess little besides the eye candy.
...in 3 to 5 more years.
Zing!
Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
man: no entry for woman in the manual.
"Qua!?"
"PC World has previewed Longhorn, not the first one out i guess. Amoung the few noted features is that Windows now offers transluscent UI, finally catching up with Apple. "
And who said Slashdot doesn't have quality control ?
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
Hmmm...more & more like Copeland evey day...
The newest versions of the next Windows add graphics sizzle and more search features but lack visible productivity enhancements.
Scott Spanbauer From the August 2005 issue of PC World magazine Posted Wednesday, June 22, 2005
The most recent build of Longhorn--Microsoft's next Windows--has some impressive visual touches, including the kinds of translucent objects found now in Apple's OS X, and more powerful ways of finding files. But it doesn't yet exhibit any breakthroughs in productivity, or promised features such as security improvements and smarter connections to handheld devices.
We tested the 64-bit version of the latest code released to developers (Longhorn build 5048) and have also viewed demonstrations of a subsequent build. The first beta version of the operating system is due for release this summer.
Over the last several years, Microsoft has touted Longhorn's trio of significant innovations: a graphics engine dubbed Avalon; a technology called Indigo that enables programs on different computers or devices to communicate; and an indexed, searchable data storage layer called WinFS. But when faced with a self-imposed release deadline of late 2006, Microsoft decided last year to pull WinFS out of Longhorn, promising to release that component as an add-on at a later date.
So what of the two remaining Longhorn design pillars? A new desktop theme called Aero is about the only sign of Avalon graphics in our pre-beta. Turning mundane buttons, window frames, title bars, and icons into animated, 3D-rendered, and sometimes transparent objects, Aero brings the Windows interface to life. Indigo, which supports enhanced Web services, won't be visible to end users.
But even though WinFS is now out of the mix, Microsoft has taken advantage of file attributes in the NTFS file system already available in Windows XP to make Explorer better at ferreting out documents according to author, camera model (for photographs), or genre or album title (for music files). The operating system lets you create virtual lists based on these attributes so that, for example, you can see every photo on your system or all Microsoft Word files, regardless of where they are stored and without having to explicitly search for them.
Longhorn will also do a better job of connecting to smart phones (Microsoft wouldn't indicate whether the phones would have to run the company's Windows Mobile operating system), cameras, and audio players, improving their integration into Explorer and making file transfers and synchronization more consistent across device types. Still notably absent from the Longhorn builds we've looked at are new versions of the Internet Explorer browser (even though Microsoft has said it is close to releasing a beta of IE 7) or any other bundled utilities. Gone, for the time being anyway, is the desktop sidebar that lurked in previous preliminary versions of Longhorn.
And in spite of announced planned enhancements such as monitoring of outbound data (Windows XP's firewall watches inbound traffic only), protection against malware, a new type of restricted user account, and a secure startup scheme to ensure that a PC hasn't been tampered with, Longhorn so far has the same minimal security toolbox as Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
Though security remains an unresolved issue, build 5048 brings Longhorn's graphical user interface into sharper focus.
Catch-Up Eye Candy
The new Avalon graphics engine includes a programming interface that permits Microsoft and third-party software makers alike to write applications that put the latest and greatest graphics cards to work rotating, texturing, and fading windows, as well as making menus, title bars, and other elements translucent--finally enabling Windows to catch up to Apple's OS X, several years after the fact.
We managed to activate a subset of these features in our copy of Longhorn build 5048, and they're certainly welcome refinements (see top screen). Nevertheles
Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that.
Okay, from what I see about this beta, Microsoft is using the eye candy just for that, to show everyone how aweseome Longhorn is because your titlebars are semi-transparent. OOO! I'm totally uprading because of that!
Looks like it will cause some nastyy readability problems. Apple uses eye candy in OS X for a reason! the windows suck down to the dock so you can see where they went. The active window has shadows to let you know its the active window. Users change with a cube flip because its easier on their brains. I'm afraid that this would do nothing but chew up processor resources with crap that I don't find useful. Expect a lot of eyecandy-disabling apps to come out very quickly.
That interface is more cluttered and garish than go.com, or some other failed late-90s "web portal". I'm used to trying to help users who wind up with some kind of mental block against using the start menu because every time they click on the start menu they're so overwhelmed with confusing options and information they don't understand that it's more than they can hendle. I guess I should preemptively get used to helping users who wind up with a similar mental block against using the windows file browser.
I thought, when I first saw that Mac OS X release, that no one would ever make a clumsier, more overdesigned OS theme. Microsoft seems to be doing their absolute best to prove me wrong with every single release, reaching new heights of gangly ugliness with first "luna", then "avalon"...
For a second, I read "Longhorn Preview Infected in 12 Minutes".
Badass Resumes
And in spite of announced planned enhancements such as monitoring of outbound data, ... protection against malware, a new type of restricted user account, and a secure startup scheme to ensure that a PC hasn't been tampered with, Longhorn so far has the same minimal security toolbox as Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
Though security remains an unresolved issue, build 5048 brings Longhorn's graphical user interface into sharper focus.
Soooooo, little development with respect to security, but more colourful icons. Super.
I agree with the parent. There seems to be no real cohesion to the new theme. Everything just seems to be bundled on top of each other. If these were the first Longhorn screenshots out, that'd be fine.. but we've been seeing the same for a year now.
In the screenshots it appears there's no difference made between menus and toolbars anymore.. the menus just kinda blur into them. Icons are different sizes. Different sized toolbars just smudge into each other and look messy. There seems to be no thought put into it.
Microsoft never ceases to amaze me. The company has billions of dollars (and they don't get it by writing checks I know) but they supposedly have some of the "best minds" out there.. and yet their products and interfaces are so scrappy? I know being Microsoft isn't easy.. they've got to be compatible, they've got lots of products to integrate.. lots of hardware to support.. but heck, can't they at least get decent interface design? It's not like it's a billion dollar job. Even people working for nothing, like the xfce people, do a better job.
Surely "prettier" is a subjective term. I took one look at the screen shots and blurted out "...what the fuck!"
I guess I just have vastly different aesthetic tastes than the Windows UI designers. Sucks to be me.
I'd like to be the first to say that I have always found Windows to be a fine product for all my home needs.
I'll I'm looking for from a home-OS is for it to be easily compatible with my usual web/mail and games software. Windows has never let me down on that score.
I'm sure there are plenty of MS horror stories, but personally I have yet to experience them.
Unfortunately, I am not Wil Wheaton
No, Windows doesn't support per pixel alpha levels. Just per window alpha. And when you do set per window alpha, weird things happen if you drag a non-transparent window over a transparent one (sometimes the image of the non-transparent one will be "embedded" in the transparent one).
Personally, given my experiences with linux so far, if it were up to me I'd concentrate more on building a GUI where you can change the monitor resolution to the resolution you want when you want it on arbitrary systems, without having to ever edit a file named "XF86Config".
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
The exact same build we've been able to read about on Slashdot a few months back.
Beats me why they suddenly reviewed it super late out of the blue, because it's not really like Slashdot is posting a really old news article either here.
And here I was thinking they were having an early beta 1 review, whose release is due this month.
Reviewing alpha quality software should tell a lot of IT people here about how useful a review like this is. Beta 1 and 2 should be far more interesting in seeing where Longhorn is heading.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
wtf... alpha blending has been around natively in windows since W2K. It wasn't used but it was there and many mods allowed context menu to set windows transparency.
o x-composite is still slow like hell...
o e17 will us software blending...
*sigh*
\u262D = \u5350
Microsoft, as part of its goal of cutting down Slashdot dupes, has decided to ship Longhorn pre-infected. Don't worry about it.
Where were you when the voynix came?
I wonder if OS 10.5 will arrive before Longhorn? Steve Jobs said that the company plans to release Leopard in late 2006 or early 2007.
Perhaps 2007 will see a 3-"L" competition on x86 -- Longhorn, Leopard, & Linux.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
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I would like to see some version of the virtual folders like those in Evolution in the GNOME and/or KDE desktops. It looks like that may be one handy feature coming up in Longhorn. If we start work now maybe we can beat the Longhorn release date :).
I realize that if I want all my pictures in one folder I could just put them in one folder instead of scattering them all over the machine, but for me it would be nice to have the virtual folders show files from ALL of my machines at once.
So congratulations Microsoft, I have found a feature that I would like. if I still used Windows. I wouldn't upgrade to get it mind you, but I would at least know there was something I couldn't do on XP that I could on Longhorn.
Insert pithy comment here.
You know, if this happened, they might actaully turn a profit! See this alternate-reality business page to find out what this would be like. Imagine if Apple made a device called an "ipod" and made money on it. Pretty far fetched, huh? As for me, I'm sticking to 8-tracks. This "ipod" idea is pure scifi.
'Microsoft likes to make profits. Apple only recently started following that business model.'
Yes, Apple has never turned a profit. This is why they are hardly hanging in there, and have been pretty much wiped out in the computer arena by Exidy, Commodore, and Atari.
Where were you when the voynix came?
Does this mean we will get a translucent "Screen of Death" superimposed over the crashed OS screen, instead of the solid-blue one? Just one step toward the "Invisible Screen of Death".
Where were you when the voynix came?
http://udu.wiki.ubuntu.com/XEyeCandy?highlight=(Di stroSpec)
There is one thing I can't understand: why is Windows so ugly ? Why are non-Apple computers so ugly (yes, Sony's and IBM's PCs are ugly too) ? Why are MP3 players so ugly ?
Is it really that high-tech firms are full of dorks without any taste ? Is the difference with Apple the fact that Steve Jobs decides, and the guy actually has good taste ?
I am not joking, this is really something that puzzles me.
--Go Debian!
Let's see,
minimal new features? check.
lots of hype about features that won't be included? check.
said hyped features to be included later? check.
main upgrade is fancy windowing? check.
requires more cpu/ram? check.
One big advantage Longhorn has is the addition of DRM. I say advantage because this basically gives MS rights to control what software is on your computer. The advantage is theirs, not yours. What does DRM bring for the customer?
I don't really see a reason to upgrade. Of course, most of the people that adopt new operating systems don't actually buy the new operating system, they buy a computer and get what's forced upon them. Eventually everyone will upgrade when MS DRM model decides anything older than Longhorn is an unregistered piece of software. Just wait, it's coming.
Why read the article when I can just make up a snap judgement?
Article Summary:
- Windows is catch up to Apple's OS X.
- All the features that would sell an OS upgrade have been pulled to meet the release date.
- Same as XP with a kewler user interface.
- Only advantage over Apple's OS X is the hardware support.
My Sig indicates the end of the comment I posted.
It is unfortunate that most people base their conceptions of what Apple should do on what sounds right to them, not on reality or history.
proprietary hardware.... Apple is only begining to get their head out or their ass on that one
Actually, no.
Apple tried the open platforms thing in the 90s. Tried it quite honestly. (Ever hear of CHRP/PREP?) It was a business disaster. Apple's business model since at least the late 80s has been inextricably based on their hardware sales, and an alternate business model would be hard to find. Their volume isn't enough to support themselves on software the way Microsoft does, plus lacking monopoly power they can't just set arbitrary prices on their software and expect it to be paid. In an open platform environment, this business model doesn't work anymore.
This aside, there are no indications whatsoever that Apple is dropping "proprietary hardware" now. What they are doing is dropping the PowerPC chip and Open Firmware in favor of the Intel Pentium chip and BIOS. The latter two things are absolutely not more "proprietary" than the former two. Meanwhile the "proprietary" aspects of the Macintosh are fairly certain to perservere and Apple has been indicating OS X will continue to run only on Apple hardware. Apple hasn't said they're going to an open platform. Don't assume they will.
If you want eye candy on windows, use stardock's stuff. (No, I don't work for them.) They have had their stuff out for several years.
Windowblinds allows you to skin your apps. FX allows you to do transparency and 3-D effects for min/max. And you can use their icon program to change all the icons.
It is a lot of fun, although I still use windows classic most of the time.
Every few years, MS announces a revolutionary new OS. A complete rewrite. Everything you ever wanted in an OS- an more. Breakthroughs. Security. Ease of use. Your PC will be more helpful than a correctly working NS5 in _I, Robot_. It will bear your children. Etc.
And every time, before shipping, features slowly fall away, the release date slips, and eventually we get... a new GUI to learn and a new set of bugs and security holes. The GUI is usually about all they *can* talk about safely.
But the article discusses other things as well. Such as the new way a user can install drivers without being Administrator and opening up a zillion security holes. Now that's advanced. After all, it's only been possible in *nix for a couple of decades.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
Build 5048 was 'released' at WinHEC so that the hardware manufacturers could begin writing drivers under LH's updated driver architecture. This build was not intended to showcase any particular feature of Longhorn, in fact many were removed from the build (including the new 3d interface). The purpose was to provide a shell platform where they could verify their drivers, that is all.
I wouldn't give creedence to any LH review until the upcoming Beta in late August.
Still using a 14" CRT set to 800x600, so the one thing not to waste is screen real estate. Nicely positioning half-overlapping windows makes no sense here. Maximised windows, and a fast+easy way to switch between them, does. I happen to like a Windows-style taskbar for that purpose, but that's just personal preference.
Now when I have a window maximised, I can see some uses for translucent UI elements: how about a window that stretches until the -real- bottom of the screen, and a half-transparent taskbar on top of that? Or make the 'always-present' scrollbar on the right side of a window translucent, and use the full screen width for content display? Or use a translucent window for an always-on-top app that you may run from time to time. So basically, a way of maximising the amount of info displayed on a given screen area.
But a more interesting question: are the added GUI complexity (+bugs) and system requirements a good trade-off considering that small gain in usability? My guess:
90% of users: no
another 9% of users: probably not, maybe later
remaining 1% of users: yes, perhaps
Oh wait, Longhorn does this by default and builds the whole GUI around the concept? (note questionmark, I haven't tried/seen any Longhorn stuff myself). Great! Makes as much sense to me as that 'integrate browser with desktop'-debacle.
And then there's the pounding on security issues lately. Priority #1 now? When I see MS pouring all that coding effort primarily into eye candy, I expect Longhorn to have a hard time gaining acceptance once it's released....because there is a good chance that the upcoming beta releases will look completely different. And the final release will then look completely different than the betas.
For comparison, here are some links that illustrate the evolution of the Windows XP UI:
Whistler preview
Another Whistler preview
Yet another Whistler preview
Whistler beta 1
Beta 1, another build
XP Beta 2
XP RC1
They don't need to run IE in "low rights" mode, they need to change the design of the HTML control and IE so they display pages in "no rights" mode all the time, unless the application they're embedded in explicitly extends the capabilities. That is, the HTML control by itself should have no mechanism for running ActiveX or VBscript or any "local access" features in JScript. All these would need to be added by the app (such as Windows Update), and there would be NO TIME that the IE shell would add these capabilities, no matter what "zone" it's in.
Give us a strong sandbox in the browser, and you won't need to run the browser in a weak one.
I've recently been doing some things with some older computers, ones with Windows 98 on them... and at one of the worksites I work at a number of the PCs have NT on them.
There is a LOT of difference in functionality between them and an XP box (or, for the most part a 2000 box). Not just the look and feel, but usability, ease of just plugging in devices and having them work, photo browsing in the interface, ease of networking etc. etc.
There are differences, big ones as they move up the OS tree, stop being so flippant.