Windows Longhorn Build 5048 Review

[poretz]

Just an FYI:

It's been a long year. On May 4, 2004, Microsoft group vice president Jim Allchin provided a keynote address at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2004 (see my show report), during which he demonstrated Longhorn builds 4067 and 4069 and discussed such Longhorn features as Avalon, Indigo, and Aero. The company then provided build 4074 to show goers, and to MSDN subscribers. It looked like Longhorn was finally on track.

Not quite. Unbeknownst to those outside of Microsoft, Longhorn was about to take a major detour. The 4000-series builds that Microsoft had just shown off and handed out had already run their course and were destined for the technological dustbin. The problem, I was told recently, was that the underpinnings of Longhorn--then based on the Windows XP code base--were struggling under the weight of all of the technologies that Microsoft planed to implement in this release.

I'll make available an exclusive write-up about what happened next sometime in June 2005, but for now let's just say that Longhorn's architects went back to the drawing board. The 4000-series builds were scrapped, and the company started building Longhorn again from scratch, using the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1, see my preview) code base (as it did for the x64 version of Windows XP (see my preview). The idea is that Longhorn needed to be better componentized from the start, so that the company could offer more discrete versions of the product to customers and more easily add-on the many disparate technologies it was developing. These versions of Longhorn are identified by their 5000-series build numbers.

Late last month, Microsoft finally issued its first public build of Longhorn, build 5048. Also known cryptically as the Longhorn Developer Preview, Longhorn build 5048 was actually created on April 1, 2005 and does not reflect some of the advancements Microsoft has recently made. That was by design: Longhorn build 5048 is designed largely for device driver writers and, as such, does not include many of the user interface niceties we're expect from Longhorn. Furthermore, it actually represents a usability back-step from last year's build 4074. That's because some features, like the Sidebar and the new system-wide Contacts utility, are missing in action in 5048. There are reasons for these omissions. None of them are particularly good.

...

Um, you're joking, right?

I have to be honest here. After a year without a single new Longhorn build and very little concrete information about what was going on with the project, I had high expectations for build 5048. And a pre-WinHEC briefing with the software giant did nothing to assuage those hopes. Plus, I've seen advanced Longhorn UI work and I knew how cool this thing was going to be.

Build 5048 communicates none of that. And that's a shame, because Microsoft had a chance to ramp up the momentum of a product that, quite frankly, could use a little momentum. On the one hand, we have Windows XP with SP2, which many people describe as "good enough," a phrase that will haunt Microsoft for years to come as it tries to foist new Windows and Microsoft Office versions on them with decreasing success. On the other hand, I present the competition, Linux and Mac OS X. The Linux market may be convoluted and disjointed, but Linux, too, is "good enough," and it's free, along with "good enough" applications like OpenOffice.org and better Web browsers, like Firefox.

It gets worse. Apple's Mac OS X, recently upgrade to version 10.4 ("Tiger," see my review) is more than "good enough." In many ways, OS X is simply better than Windows, especially for experienced computer users, and Tiger rubs Microsoft's nose in the embarrassment of shipping a key Longhorn feature--instant desktop search--a full year ahead of the software giant. That's right folks. We already knew that Microsoft was facing smaller, nimbler competitors. But those competitors are now starting to outperform Microsoft in the feature department too. It's time for Redmond to stop pretending Linux and OS X don't exist.

Anyway, Longhorn build 5048 is pretty boring. That it's boring by design doesn't make me much happier. I do know that the company will add back major new functionality in time for Beta 1 (currently scheduled for June 30, 2005, but you know how those release dates have a way of slipping) and then again for Beta 2 (a nebulous release that Microsoft will not commit a date to). But sitting here in early May 2005, surveying the state of Longhorn, it's not pretty. Longhorn build 5048 is a disappointment.

...
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/longhorn_5048.asp

And so it goes. The saga continues...

 

[zoziw]

I think Microsoft is facing a big hurdle from the "good enough" crowd. I bought my WinXP box in 2001 and Office XP followed shortly after. iirc, the only money MS has made off of me since that time would be for some games and a new MS optical mouse after I wore out my original from playing Diablo II.

A lot of people I know still run Office 97, and for what most people...even most business...use it for that is more than enough.

WinXP with SP2 is a fairly decent OS and they would have to stop supporting it for me to want to upgrade...they'd have to release a patch breaking Office XP before I would upgrade.

These days I spend most of my time on my Mac and am running OS X 10.4 Tiger. The added features of Tiger (OS X in general) are really missed when I have to use XP.

 

[jamesrwright3]

I am getting my computer fixed up so I can sell it I want an IMAC..

 

[the Colonel]

Mac OS X Tiger is beautiful. I've not used it but have investigated it. It truly is an amazing OS. This may sound absolutely silly, but if Apple had more game support (and they made their good products more affordable vis a vis IBM compatible), I'd be there! (Oh, and if they had right mouse click and scroll wheel. I can't imagine not having those features).

 

[Battie]

This disappoints me. I really want to be on a good OS, but I can't possibly afford a Mac (nor do I particularly like them beyond the prettiness factor), and if I switched to Linux I wouldn't be able to run any of my graphics programs without an emulator.

I wish Windows could be cool too.

 

[FatBurger]

There's no Firefox for Windows? Then what am I using?

To me, people lose all credibility when they fail to research the facts in an article they write.

 

[rdale]

From Thursday, Apr 28, 2005 -

Jim Allchin - From starving musician to Longhorn vice president
http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=63208

downloadable interview (47 minutes, 188.1MB)
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...jim_allchin_new_longhorn_winhec_2005_500k.wmv

Yesterday morning we sat down with Vice President Jim Allchin (aka the guy who is responsible for developing Windows).

Here's an index of the questions we ask. We talk about Longhorn and the recent Winhec conference, as well as get a personal look into Jim's life.

00:00 Where are we and who are you?
00:25 What do you do?
1:10 If you wanted to change the start button to a purple color you could probably get it done, huh?
1:30 What's your average day like?
3:00 What's a Jim Allchin review like?
5:14 What don't we know about you?
7:30 You're dogfooding Longhorn?
8:41 Tell me about your press tour last week. (Discussion about what Jim's passionate about; 64-bit, peer-to-peer, stuff happening around edge).
14:35 What's going to be thrilling in Longhorn? (Reaction to Winhec reaction. Discussion of Metro. Discussion of what Winhec was for).
18:17 Why are you so passionate about 64-bit Windows?
22:13 When did you get into this industry?
22:35 Are you suprised by how far this industry has come in just your lifetime? (Discussion of where industry is heading).
24:53 So the PC is not dead?
25:17 Getting the Channel 9 guys involved. What's coming on the Tablet PC?
27:30 Any guesses on how long it'll take most mobile devices to have inking capabilities?
29:07 What's the developer story on Longhorn?
31:16 What is a business going to get out of upgrading to Longhorn?
36:09 The most exciting thing about Longhorn for me is security improvements (discussion of security improvements in Longhorn).
38:12 What kinds of new applications (or improved ones, like Notepad/Paint) will ship with Longhorn?
39:03 Will Avalon and Indigo be in Longhorn?
39:40 What is the desktop compositor?
41:33 What will Longhorn do with RSS?
43:00 What's different about search in Longhorn?
45:45 When will we get a chance to use Longhorn?

 

[zoziw]

There's no Firefox for Windows? Then what am I using?

To me, people lose all credibility when they fail to research the facts in an article they write.

I don't think that is what he meant as openoffice is also available for Windows.

I think the author meant that Linux was "good enough" compared to XP, openoffice was good enough compared to MS Office and that Firefox was good enough compared to IE (though I think Firefox is much better than "good enough").

Because these are all free (or, in the case of Firefox, not tied to an operating system purchase) and are good enough they present a problem for MS.

 

[zoziw]

This may sound absolutely silly, but if Apple had more game support

Doesn't sound silly at all. That is what kept me from buying a Mac for almost 10 years.

Only now, that I am not playing many games and could afford a Mac Mini, have I given it a try.

To spend a lot of money on an iMac or PowerMac only to get worse performance out of a game than I would from a less powerful, less expensive Windows box, doesn't make much sense (not too mention less selection).

Oh, and if they had right mouse click and scroll wheel. I can't imagine not having those features

Why Apple continues with the one button mouse is beyond pretty much everyone I have discussed this with. Fortunately, any USB 2 button mouse with scroll wheel will work with a Mac and all buttons will function as expected just by plugging one it.

 

[the Colonel]

Fortunately, any USB 2 button mouse with scroll wheel will work with a Mac and all buttons will function as expected just by plugging one it.

Cool. I did not realize this!

 

[Justin Horne]

Oh yeah.. I used my Apple mouse for about a week before I just got annoyed.. And , technicly, well, it's what Apple does, you do have 'right click' features, you just have to press the command key, then click. This is just bothersome for me, since I usually am on the computer in a reclined position...

 

[WalksWithChrist]

Longhorn? Don't need it. Don't want it.
Tiger? Don't need it, but it would be cool to have! It at least adds the features it promises and from all the reviews I've been reading, actually gives you a speed *increase*...something MS has never given us.