/////AMG
05-01-2005, 03:35 PM
Computer Specifications
What kind of PC will be able to run the new version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn (http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn/)? During last year's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, Microsoft claimed (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1790776,00.asp)that the "average" PC running the new OS could have something along the lines of a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2GB of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1GB built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that "runs three times faster than those on the market". However, there was really never any solid confirmation of these specs, and we were left really wondering just what sort of machine Longhorn would expect. An even better question was just when the hell was Longhorn ever going to be released anyway?
According to a new whitepaper (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=22884)issued at the latest WinHEC (http://www.techspot.com/story17474.html)by Microsoft, the new OS will instead find itself running on a machine with "a modern CPU", 512MB of memory, and a "graphics component with a Longhorn display driver model (LDDM)". Microsoft also claims in the paper that "Longhorn will run fine" on 256MB systems but believes that "512MB or more of RAM provides really good multitasking performance". Evidently, Longhorn has turned out to not be quite the beast everyone thought it was. Perhaps some more demanding technologies have been shelved until Blackcomb, the new generation OS after Longhorn. Or perhaps Microsoft just "performance tuned" everything.
The real question I am left with is... what exactly is a "modern CPU?" 900 MHz Duron? Or dual-core Athlon? Or Celeron 64-bit? *chuckles*
Source: Tech Spot (http://www.techspot.com/story17496.html)
Screenshots
And by way of an addendum to the previous article, I was able to find some interesting Longhorn screenshots today (http://www.flexbeta.net/main/comments.php?catid=1&shownews=12884). The shots, which are from build 5048 of Longhorn, show the display properties, taskbar, control panel, device manager, some new browser which I can only assume is Internet Explorer 7, and much more. These are well worth taking a look at, since it’s what will like it or lump it wind up being on your machine some time soon. I did find the style pretty Mac inspired, and the new browser looks a lot like Firefox to me.
Source: Tech Spot (http://www.techspot.com/story17496.html)
Forget what you just saw
Microsoft cracked down Wednesday on several Web sites that had posted screenshots of the most recent build of its next-generation Windows operating system, Longhorn, telling them that they were violating the beta licensing agreements.
Enthusiast Web site Neowin (http://www.neowin.net/) pulled the images when Microsoft said that posting them violated the EULA of the preview edition distributed at the conference. The site had obtained the images at Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (http://www.techweb.com/wire/software/161502535) that wrapped Wednesday in Seattle.
Some sites, such as Paul Thurrott's SuperSite (http://www.winsupersite.com/)for Windows, initially refused to comply, but eventually bowed to Microsoft when told that patents for certain technologies in the preview had not yet been filed, including the user interface, and publishing the screenshots risked copycats.
But the move fueled an ongoing controversy among bloggers and Windows enthusiasts that Microsoft was embarrassed at the appearance of the current UI for Longhorn. And at least one long-time Windows supporter chided Microsoft. "Way to throttle back the enthusiasm even further, guys," wrote Paul Thurrott on his Web site.
Source: TechWeb News (http://www.techweb.com/wire/software/161601694)
What kind of PC will be able to run the new version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn (http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn/)? During last year's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, Microsoft claimed (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1790776,00.asp)that the "average" PC running the new OS could have something along the lines of a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2GB of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1GB built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that "runs three times faster than those on the market". However, there was really never any solid confirmation of these specs, and we were left really wondering just what sort of machine Longhorn would expect. An even better question was just when the hell was Longhorn ever going to be released anyway?
According to a new whitepaper (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=22884)issued at the latest WinHEC (http://www.techspot.com/story17474.html)by Microsoft, the new OS will instead find itself running on a machine with "a modern CPU", 512MB of memory, and a "graphics component with a Longhorn display driver model (LDDM)". Microsoft also claims in the paper that "Longhorn will run fine" on 256MB systems but believes that "512MB or more of RAM provides really good multitasking performance". Evidently, Longhorn has turned out to not be quite the beast everyone thought it was. Perhaps some more demanding technologies have been shelved until Blackcomb, the new generation OS after Longhorn. Or perhaps Microsoft just "performance tuned" everything.
The real question I am left with is... what exactly is a "modern CPU?" 900 MHz Duron? Or dual-core Athlon? Or Celeron 64-bit? *chuckles*
Source: Tech Spot (http://www.techspot.com/story17496.html)
Screenshots
And by way of an addendum to the previous article, I was able to find some interesting Longhorn screenshots today (http://www.flexbeta.net/main/comments.php?catid=1&shownews=12884). The shots, which are from build 5048 of Longhorn, show the display properties, taskbar, control panel, device manager, some new browser which I can only assume is Internet Explorer 7, and much more. These are well worth taking a look at, since it’s what will like it or lump it wind up being on your machine some time soon. I did find the style pretty Mac inspired, and the new browser looks a lot like Firefox to me.
Source: Tech Spot (http://www.techspot.com/story17496.html)
Forget what you just saw
Microsoft cracked down Wednesday on several Web sites that had posted screenshots of the most recent build of its next-generation Windows operating system, Longhorn, telling them that they were violating the beta licensing agreements.
Enthusiast Web site Neowin (http://www.neowin.net/) pulled the images when Microsoft said that posting them violated the EULA of the preview edition distributed at the conference. The site had obtained the images at Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (http://www.techweb.com/wire/software/161502535) that wrapped Wednesday in Seattle.
Some sites, such as Paul Thurrott's SuperSite (http://www.winsupersite.com/)for Windows, initially refused to comply, but eventually bowed to Microsoft when told that patents for certain technologies in the preview had not yet been filed, including the user interface, and publishing the screenshots risked copycats.
But the move fueled an ongoing controversy among bloggers and Windows enthusiasts that Microsoft was embarrassed at the appearance of the current UI for Longhorn. And at least one long-time Windows supporter chided Microsoft. "Way to throttle back the enthusiasm even further, guys," wrote Paul Thurrott on his Web site.
Source: TechWeb News (http://www.techweb.com/wire/software/161601694)