eWeek: Microsoft to Gut Longhorn to Make 2006 Delivery Date

August 27 2004

There's an official press release on this now, and coverage on other publications, but eWeek has to win for best headline on this story.
From eWeek:

Microsoft is expected to officially announce later on Friday its future roadmap for the desktop version of Longhorn. And while developers and customers who expected they'd be required to rewrite their applications to take advantage of Longhorn may be happy with Microsoft's roadmap changes, others who were banking on promised Longhorn features, such as the next-generation Windows File System, will be far less so.
From the press release:
Microsoft will deliver a Windows storage subsystem, code-named "WinFS," after the "Longhorn" release. The new storage system provides advanced data organization and management capabilities and will be in beta testing when the "Longhorn" client becomes available.
"We've heard loud and clear from customers that they want improved productivity, easier deployment, increased reliability and enhanced security, as well as the many innovations we've been working on. We've had to make some trade-offs to deliver the features corporate customers, consumers and OEMs are asking for in a reasonable time frame," said Jim Allchin, group vice president of the Platforms Group at Microsoft. "Our long-term vision for the Windows platform remains the same."
If there is one thing I have learned in ten years of competing with Microsoft, it's never, ever, ever panic before a product ships.  It's happened far too often that the released code doesn't match the slideware.  No software vendor is immune from this, of course... but some are more predictable than others.
(Thanks, Bob)

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Microsoft  Add/View Comments [5]

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  1. 1  David Richardson  | 8/27/2004 4:10:45 PM

    This should give Microsoft sufficient time after the release of Mac OS 10.4 to copy 'Spotlight'.

  1. 2    | 8/27/2004 6:13:48 PM

    And it's not that great anyway.

    The fact is that the only compelling reason for me to buy a new copy of Windows would be better hardware support. It already does most of what I need it to, and what it doesn't do I have apps to do for me.

    When you check the feature list of Longhorn, some of it's definitely in the "great idea" list. But not much of it seems practical. WinFS is mentioned, for instance. OK, so this is a new filesystem which allows more metadata to be put in with files, allowing better searching/sorting.

    I've used/administered Domino.Doc. I know from painful experience that no matter how easy you make that, people just aren't going to fill in the metadata. Heck, it's not very difficult to fill in the metadata in current Office applications - but nobody does. Half the world doesn't know it's there, and the other half doesn't care.

    So let's think about it for a moment. If you released WinFS as a standalone product, what would it become? A Microsoft Office, or a Microsoft Bob?

    I know where I'd put MY money if I were a betting man...

    It'll only ever succeed BECAUSE it's in the OS.

    Is this what Microsoft are reduced to? Slaving away for years at a new feature like this, only yo have to ship it half-completed and forced to use their monopoly position to get any reasonable uptake?

    Longhorn's such a huge shift that I can't help but wonder if it's not a bit too much. Maybe Microsoft are about to prove that they can bite off more than they can chew... Right in their core market...

    (Although it should be pointed out that they are, in effect, victims of their own success here...)

  1. 3  Philip Storry  | 8/27/2004 6:16:32 PM

    (That last comment being mine, by the way. I could have sworn that this thing normally remembers my details... Ah well. It's late here in the UK - I've probably just deleted the wrong cookie or something...)

  1. 4  Duffbert http://www.twduff.com | 8/27/2004 7:32:09 PM

    I was going to post about this after reading the stories today, but it seems like you beat me to it!

  1. 5  Randall Shimizu  | 8/27/2004 8:25:32 PM

    This news about Longhorn and WinFS is typical Microsoft tactics. First Microsoft talks about all these futuristic features that Longhorn will have and then they take away features. I wonder how long it will be before Microsoft announces that WinFX won't be included in Longhorn as well..