Leaner Longhorn From Microsoft
The compromise in question is the decision to take Longhorn to market sans its most heralded, new feature, WinFS (Windows File System). WinFS is a unified file system that would sport innovative search capabilities that make retrieving an array of desktop system file types much simpler. Apparently, developing WinFS is anything but simple, however, and certainly not easy enough to do by the first release of Longhorn. To soften the blow, Microsoft has promised to deliver two other key Longhorn components, the Web services/communications subsystem Indigo and the graphics subsystem Avalon, in the first iteration of the OS. In addition to that, Indigo and Avalon will also be released as individual components for use on existing Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 machines. The intent is to let developers and integrators at least get started with some elements of the technology, and it's a decision that many partners have applauded.
Meantime, partners have a slew of other products to concentrate on until Longhorn debuts, including Windows XP Service Pack 2, a forthcoming new version of Windows Server 2003 called R2, and the updated SQL Server (code-named Yukon). But most agree that while Longhorn is a far-off product, it is one of the most significant pieces of technology in the future pipeline. And to hear that its engineering has hit some potholes can be worrisome.
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