Microsoft lets Longhorn out of the barn

After months of keeping its prized cow in the barn, Microsoft is beginning to let Longhorn out of the corral for public viewing.

Beginning with brief demonstrations to reporters this week, the software maker is starting to shed light on just what the next version of Windows will offer when it hits the market next year.

High on the list of features are security enhancements, improved desktop searching and organizing, and better methods for laptops to roam from one network to another.

"This is going to be a big deal," Jim Allchin, Microsoft group vice president, told silicon.com's sister site CNET News.com on Thursday. While he acknowledged that Microsoft is unlikely to get throngs of people to show up outside retail stores on launch day as happened with Windows 95, he did say the company expects Longhorn to drive PC sales. "This product has something for everybody."

After staying relatively mum on what the next version of Windows will look like, Microsoft is offering a peek at how the new OS will look, work and feel.

Windows, the OS used by more than 90 per cent of the world's computers, hasn't had a full revamp in five years. Computer makers are counting on Redmond to produce an upgrade that will make people run out to nab a new PC.

In a brief demonstration, Allchin showed off several key features that make the new OS stand out from prior versions. A "quick search pane", for example, allows users to type queries and instantly see matching files.

In both look and form, the search mechanism is similar to the Spotlight feature in Apple Computer's Mac OS X Tiger, which goes on sale later this month. Search results can be saved as virtual folders that are automatically updated to include all items that fit a particular query. Documents, pictures, music and even applications can also be given a rating or keywords to add further criteria for searching.

But while the OS bears plenty of similarities to Tiger, Allchin stressed that Microsoft has broken new ground in Longhorn. For example, document icons are no longer a hint of the type of file, but rather a small picture of the file itself. The icon for a Word document, for example, is a tiny iteration of the first page of the file. Folders, too, show glimpses of what's inside. Such images can be rather small, but they offer a visual cue that aids in the searching process, Allchin said.

Allchin added that Longhorn also goes further than Tiger when it comes to what one can do with search results, saying it offers new ways to organise and view the information. While the look of the OS hasn't been finalised, the translucent windows and other graphical tricks are expected to find their way into the finished software.

As for timing, Allchin said development is basically on track for the schedule outlined by the company last autumn. An updated developer preview version will be given out at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, WinHEC, set to take place at the end of the month in Seattle.

The company is still shooting for an initial beta around mid-year, though it could be July, as the new official schedule is "early summer". A second beta is planned, though no final date has been given, with the goal of having the OS broadly available on PCs by next Christmas. Longhorn will come in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, Allchin said.

While many details about Longhorn have been nailed down, others, including its name, are still up in the air. The company is close to deciding which different versions will be available, but it's not ready to announce that yet. It is too soon to say, for example, whether there will be separate Media Center or Tablet PC editions, Allchin said.

"We are moving features around," he said.

Allchin said his priority is making sure Longhorn meets quality standards, followed by getting the product out on schedule. Packing it full of features is a third priority, and the one most likely to give. As a result, Microsoft would delay Longhorn over quality concerns, but is unlikely to let individual features hold up its release. That could mean some further trimming around the edges if things fall behind.

As with Windows XP Service Pack 2, security remains at the forefront of Microsoft's development efforts. With Longhorn, Microsoft isn't focusing so much on building in antivirus software as it is changing the behaviours that leave computer systems vulnerable to attack. For example, most computers today are run in administrator mode, making it easy to add new programs and make other changes, but also allowing major fundamental changes to a computer to be made by malicious software.

With Longhorn, Microsoft is trying to change that, so a computer runs with the least possible permission level. Only those programs that truly need administrator privileges would run at that level. Microsoft plans a similar change to Internet Explorer that would reduce the level of access given to external websites.

If there is more than one PC in a home network, Allchin said, it will be easy to allow sharing of files and easy to get at those files. For example, a PC with Longhorn might show all the music files together, whether they are on the local PC or another machine on the network.

There are also features designed to make it easier on businesses that use large numbers of Longhorn machines. Microsoft has created a new way for companies to put their custom installation of the OS onto a group of new machines.

Allchin said those enhancements - along with a reduction in the number of times customers have to reboot their machines and other features - will mean that companies that move to Longhorn will be able to cut their operating costs. Of course, he added, "that's up to us to prove".

Microsoft is also crafting its preliminary list of which capabilities a computer will need to run Longhorn. Allchin said the company is recommending that systems have 512MB of memory, as well as "today's level" of processor. There will be different levels of display quality depending on how much graphics horsepower a computer has.

The richest view, code-named Aero Glass, sports the fanciest bells and whistles, such as translucent windows that come to life when opened or maximized. That's where the heftiest graphics requirements come in, but Allchin said recent tests show it might not require as much horsepower as originally thought.

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com.