megamanXplosion Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 (edited) I have started to work on a complete list of changes that will be in Longhorn and I wish for others to help if they can. I am having a hard time remembering all of the changes (and finding new changes) that I can add to the list. Here is my list as it is today... Deployment/Servicing: Monad Deployment/Servicing: Faster Installation Deployment/Servicing: ClickOnce Deployment/Servicing: Hot Patching Deployment/Servicing: Error Data Transmission Deployment/Servicing: Driver Protection Deployment/Servicing: Language Independence Filesystem: Transactional File Transfers Filesystem: File Virtualization Hardware: Built-in DVD Recording Hardware: Auxiliary Devices Hardware: Microphone Arrays Hardware: Hybrid Hard-drive support Hardware: Stealth Modding Interface: Faster Search Engine Interface: Start Menu Program Searching Interface: Virtual Folders Interface: Word Document Thumbnails Interface: Excel Document Thumbnails Interface: RAW Image Thumbnails Interface: Avalon Interface: Device Manager Improvements Interface: Theming Unlocked Interface: Native RSS Support Interface: Help and Support Headlines Interface: Aero - Aero Diamond (Media Center Edition) - Aero Glass - Aero Express - Aero To-Go - Aero Classic Internet Explorer: Tabs Internet Explorer: RSS Internet Explorer: Search Bar Kernel: Improved Hardware Scalability Kernel: Application Resource Management Kernel: Graphics Display Driver Model Improvements Kernel: TCP/IP Offloading Maintenance: Windows Assessment Tool Media: Glitch-free Audio and Video Playback Miscellaneous: Metro Miscellaneous: Instant On Miscellaneous: ICC v4 support Networking: Indigo Networking: Castle Networking: Meeting Spaces Programming: WinFX (ties to Avalon, Indigo, WinFS when released, and XAML) Programming: Extensible Imaging Codec Registry: Transactional Registry Handling Registry: Registry Virtualization Security: full-volume encryption Security: Full NX (No Execute) Support Security: Least-privilege User Access Security: Protected Administrator Security: Parental Controls Security: Proactive Firewall Security: Secure Startup Security: Optional Automation of Anti-Virus Subscription Renewals. ----------------------------------------------- Question 1: Is there any information available about Windows Media Player 11? Question 2: Will Microsoft OneCare be included by default? Question 3: Are there any new additions to Longhorn that aren't on my list? Edited July 13, 2005 by megamanXplosion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSoul Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 can you give a 1 line sentence explanation inlayman terms what each feature does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTD Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 (edited) I have started to work on a complete list of changes that will be in Longhorn and I wish for others to help if they can. So far, I have come up with 42 major changes (44 if you include the media center edition and a *possible* feature for desktop users) and I can't think of anything else that will be appearing in Longhorn. Here is my list... THANK YOU! Finally you can bring some sanity to all this talk about what's "cut out", what isn't, and what's merely delayed. Awesome. :happy: By the way, if you can, plesae give WinFS greater emphasis in your list. I know you've already covered it, quite generously I might add, but for the purposes of gathering all features in one place, it would be nice if users can understand what kind of power it will really give them. Also, please deal with the idea of comparing WinFS to desktop search utlities and Spotlight. Edited July 12, 2005 by LTD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmostripe Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I would like to contribute :) Interface/Designers: Proper ICC v4 Colour Support (Higher than 8 bits per channel, up to 32 i think) for screen, print, etc. Media Interface: Extensible imaging codec architecture (Used for RAW images, developers can also add their own codecs so you can preview and work with more image formats on the system) http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winhec/Pres05.mspx#toc8 ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megamanXplosion Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 I guess I could do that while waiting for responses... Deployment/Servicing: Monad Object-oriented command-line tool that will eventually replace DOS. Deployment/Servicing: Faster Installation Installations will take 15-20 minutes instead of an hour. Deployment/Servicing: ClickOnce Applications can be stored on central server and network users can launch the application on their own computers. Filesystem: Transactional File Transfers When updating, for just one example, the process can fail half-way and leave a half-upgraded system. Transactional file transfers means that if one change doesn't go through then all of the other changes are undone so you want have a half-upgraded system with stability issues. Filesystem: File Virtualization Longhorn can automatically create virtual copies of files and folders when programs need to use those files under limited accounts. This means that using limited user accounts will no longer cause applications to crash and burn and this will also mean it will protect from damages made by viruses and such. Hardware: Built-in DVD Recording The same the built-in CD recording in XP except with DVDs. Hardware: Auxiliary Devices Laptops will have small displays on their cases that give you access to emails, calendar, etc. and Longhorn will take advantage of these. Hardware: Microphone Arrays Several microphones can be used on a single system and the noise (read: a static-like sound) can effectively be filtered out of the recordings. The noise on one microphone may not be present on another so Longhorn will know what sounds the noise is causing and effectively remove them - giving you a very clear and well-recorded sounds. Hardware: Touch-screen support (maybe?) Already explained in the post above. Hardware: Hybrid Hard-drive support Hard-drives that utilize flash memory (hence, hybrids) will be used in Longhorn for caching purposes, "instant on" (hey! I forgot to list that feature!), etc. The flash memory reduces the amount of spinning the hard drive has to do and can deliver data faster so the computer will run faster, produce less heat, the hard drive will last longer, and laptop users will experience longer battery life. Hardware: Stealth Modding Currently, you have to start your system from scratch if you replace the motherboard or something in the computer. Stealth modding allows the user to just use different drivers when hardware is replaced so the upgrade process is much simpler. This effectively means that you CAN throw hardware at a problem. Interface: Faster Search Engine If you know what Apple's SpotLight is then you will know what this does. Interface: Start Menu Program Searching The search field in the Start menu can instantly filter the programs on the computer when you type. Thus, type "D" and it would only list programs that start with "D", type "De" and it will only show you results that start with those letters, etc. Interface: Virtual Folders You can create virtual folders that behave like file organizers. For example, you could create a virtual folder about "Longhorn" and it will pull ALL of the files related to Longhorn on your computer to that central location for you to easily browse by. Effectively removing the need to stay organized. Interface: Word Document Thumbnails Interface: Excel Document Thumbnails Interface: RAW Image Thumbnails These should be self-explanatory. Interface: Avalon New programming API for developers to utilize to create rich applications. Interface: Theming Unlocked Unlike Windows XP, the theming capabilities will not be limited to Microsoft-only themes so we will no longer need to patch our system to enjoy a wide variety of themes. Interface: Native RSS Support RSS feeds will be available to every application on the computer and they can all save the feeds to the same location. This means that subscribing to a feed in Internet Explorer will also result in the Opera browser seeing the same feed (of course, Opera would have to utilize the feature themselves for this to work, its just an example.) Interface: Aero - Aero Diamond (Media Center Edition) - Aero Glass - Aero Express - Aero To-Go - Aero Classic Aero Diamond is the most beautiful Aero interface and will only be available to users of the Media Center Edition of Longhorn (perhaps it could be backported now that theming capabilities are unlocked?) Aero Glass is the interface most of us see in the Longhorn screenshots. Aero Express is similar to the Aero Glass theme except toned down a little for slower hardware. Aero To-Go is for laptops and other battery-powered devices and will have an XP-like interface. Aero Classic is the 2000-style theme. Internet: Indigo Programming framework for creating powerful Internet-based applications and web services. Internet Explorer: Tabs Self-explanatory. The only thing about this that might not be self-explanatory is the "empty tab" at the end of the tab toolbar that essentially removes the need to create a new tab, there will always be one available so you can just switch to it. Internet Explorer: RSS Self-explanatory. Internet Explorer: Search Bar Internet Explorer is following the searching trends that other browsers have created/followed by placing a search field to the right of the address field. I'm assuming it will use MSN search. Kernel: Improved Hardware Scalability Single-core processor with 512mb of RAM can easily be upgraded to a multi-core multi-processor rig with several gigabytes of RAM. Combine the better hardware scalability with the "Stealth Modding" capability, you will be able to throw hardware at problems. Kernel: Application Resource Management Applications can tell Longhorn how much CPU time, memory space, etc. they need to run glitch free. This will mainly benefit Audio and Video playback under heavy loads because they will remain glitch-free. Kernel: Graphics Display Driver Model Improvements Moves the screen-drawing work from the CPU to the graphics card so the screen will always be drawn like it should be (you'll never see things repaint themselves, windows will no longer turn into white boxes, you'll no longer see artifacts, etc.) and effectively reduces the amount of work the CPU has to do. Kernel: TCP/IP Offloading The buffering of TCP/IP packets and the handling of the TCP/IP protocol is moved from the CPU and main system memory to the network interface card. Currently it takes a 2ghz processor to fully utilize a gigabit ethernet connection and have the computer remain fast, this will no longer be a problem because you can simply upgrade your NIC instead of your processor AND NIC to utilize faster speeds. Maintenance: Windows Assessment Tool This will help you tweak your system to run to its full potential. Miscellaneous: Metro A technology that is meant to compete with Adobe PostScript (NOT PDF! I repeat, NOT PDF!). It is essentially an easier way for applications to communicate with printers. We will no longer need to write directly to the printer line-by-line (I know this sounds weird to those who haven't done much programming, just bare with me) or having to learn PostScript. Anyone who can create an HTML file will be able to create rich printable documents. Programming: WinFX (ties to Avalon, Indigo, WinFS when released, and XAML) Programmers currently utilize 72,000 (not a typo!) APIs to create applications for Windows. A lot of the work in Longhorn so far has been to reduce the amount of APIs that programmers have to deal with, and the current number is around 500 APIs (I can't remember the exact number from the top of my head.) Avalon, Indigo, and WinFS are all a part of WinFX, XAML is a way to describe interfaces to program compilers so we no longer need to work with an API to create interfaces. This is one of my favorite changes in Longhorn, as someone who likes to write programs in their spare time I know this will allow me to get a lot more done! (thus, it will be cheaper for programmers to create software and they can updated much quicker.) Registry: Transactional Registry Handling This is the same as the transactional filesystem handling except for the registry. Registry: Registry Virtualization This is the same as the filesystem virtualization except for the registry. Security: full-volume encryption Instead of allowing the user to encrypt particular folders and worry about locking people out of their accounts and other various problems associated with NTFS encryption, Longhorn will ease this process by encrypting everything for the user so potentially locking people out of their accounts is no longer a problem and encryption is there by default. Security: Full NX (No Execute) Support Processors support the ability to tag data memory as non-executable if the memory does not include executable data. This reduces the possibilities of arbitrary code execution exploits from occuring. Security: Least-privilege User Access All programs will run with the least amount of privileges they require to work. This will reduce the amount of potential security problems because email programs, for example, will not be able to launch executables found in attachments (essentially keeping viruses in the e-mail attachment instead of spreading on the user's computer.) Security: Protected Administrator Remember how I said that all programs will run with the least amount of privileges they require to run? This is also true for administrator accounts! If a program needs the ability to write to sensitive files, folders, or registry sections then they will not succeed (due to file/registry virtualization they will work as intended until they are closed but no changes are saved.) The user will need to "bless" programs, like their anti-virus solution, to give them access to administrative privileges if they are to actually save changes to mission-critical data. This is quite possibly the biggest security enhancement in any version of Windows! It is also my favorite addition to Longhorn thus far. Security: Secure Startup This is a hardware-based security improvement that Longhorn takes advantage of. Essentially, it will know if the system has been tampered with while it was online. This means that someone can't just buy an old computer, put a new hard drive in, load an operating system on the old hard drive, and try to recover files that were placed on the old hard drive. Security: Optional Automation of Anti-Virus Subscription Renewals. Self-explanatory. I realized just now that I forgot to mention another security feature called Proactive Firewall (I will update the first post with this entry and the "Instant On" entry.) Security: Proactive Firewall The firewall in Longhorn will communicate with Windows Update at a regular interval to learn of new internet-based attacks. If there is an attack like Sasser again, for example, it will know of this attack and automatically close the port the attack occurs on so the user is protected. Once a patch has been installed the port is returned to its original state. Miscellaneous: Instant On Due to the support of hybrid hard drives, Longhorn enables the computer to instantly come on by pulling data from the flash memory. Unlike coming out of standby, it will no longer need to pull the data from the spinning hard drive platters. This means that going into the standby-like state and coming out of it will be much quicker and easier on battery life. @gizmostripe, thank you! I never even heard about the ICC v4 support, that will be nice! I had a general idea of the RAW image thumbnailing support but I wasn't aware that it was an architecture that developers could utilize. I will include those entries in my list above with the two that I forgot about :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megamanXplosion Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 By the way, if you can, plesae give WinFS greater emphasis in your list. I know you've already covered it, quite generously I might add, but for the purposes of gathering all features in one place, it would be nice if users can understand what kind of power it will really give them. Also, please deal with the idea of comparing WinFS to desktop search utlities and Spotlight. WinFS doesn't really deserve emphasis in the list since it has been delayed and will not be shipped as part of Longhorn. I may create a footnote on the web page about WinFS though because the WinFS=Spotlight comments really get under my skin. Since I'm creating this list not only as a reference peice but also as a tool to combat ignorance so it seems natural to include information about WinFS :) As for the post above, it is riddled with typos ("DOS" is supposed to say "Command Prompt" because DOS doesn't really exist anymore, "while it was online" under Secure Startup was supposed to say "offline", etc. I can't be bothered to fix all of them, just work with me, I'll try to make the web page itself - my main focus - as accurate as possible ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarStorm Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Nice an interesting read too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTD Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 WinFS doesn't really deserve emphasis in the list since it has been delayed and will not be shipped as part of Longhorn. I may create a footnote on the web page about WinFS though because the WinFS=Spotlight comments really get under my skin. Since I'm creating this list not only as a reference peice but also as a tool to combat ignorance so it seems natural to include information about WinFS :)As for the post above, it is riddled with typos ("DOS" is supposed to say "Command Prompt" because DOS doesn't really exist anymore, "while it was online" under Secure Startup was supposed to say "offline", etc. I can't be bothered to fix all of them, just work with me, I'll try to make the web page itself - my main focus - as accurate as possible ;) 586202467[/snapback] Thanks, megaman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BajiRav Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I've a hard time believing that longhorn will install in 15-20 minutes. is it seriously possible ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madnuke Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Yeah thats a lie, good work megaman :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmostripe Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 If youve ever used a ghosting program, it *should*. Instead of copying a set of OS files and then running things like registry population, and all that "saving settings" stuff. The OS is already "installed" in an image file, which is extracted; this is a bit slower than just flat out copying the files. Inside the image is all the configuration data the OS needs & all the essential files. Once thats done, Windows boots and it checks your hardware. The tricky part is trying to figure out where the install process ends though (as hardware detection could really be included, which would extend it beyond 20 minutes) Another feature (i think): For installing & setup - The OS is now language neutral (no US english etc.) the language files are bolted on when an OEM configures the image, or you can choose which language bolt-ons to include with your own install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcsays Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Great post megaman, I thought it was really interesting reading all the features you had plus the short descriptions. Sorry I don't have anything to add to the list. :( Good work though! :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y_notm Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 This should give you somewhat of an idea of what to expect :) features.doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megamanXplosion Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 I've a hard time believing that longhorn will install in 15-20 minutes. is it seriously possible ? 586202792[/snapback] Previous versions of Windows would create the filesystem, copy each and every file to the hard drive, then copy the files over to their correct location on the drive, etc. and the same goes for registry entires, saving the configuration, etc. Longhorn's installer essentially works like a ghosting program (like Norton Ghost, for an example,) like mentioned earlier, where it holds a disk-image of what a complete installation would be like on the hard drive and simply extracts it to the hard drive. There is a lot less processing, no registry population process, no saving configurations, etc., it puts about 90% of the data on the computer in one swoop. Like mentioned earlier, the hardware detection and installation will require a bit of time but that is only ~5 minutes (hence the "15-20 minutes" comment under the "Faster Installation" entry, and this makes up about 9% of the installation process and 1% goes toward configuring an Internet connection if applicable). This is the way the installation should've been done a long time ago ;) I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the list! I thought that people would like it, since it is almost impossible to find a single source of information (I think this plays a large part in why nobody seems to know what's going on in Longhorn and makes it easier for those that do to spread FUD about it.) If anyone has any corrections/additions to make to the list, please reply :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowPHP Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 No mention of that Castle Networking thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y_notm Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I've a hard time believing that longhorn will install in 15-20 minutes. is it seriously possible ? 586202792[/snapback] I can install XP in under 30 on this computer, so with the improvements that are being made to Longhorn's installer, I don't see why not. And this is on a year old laptop, without the advantage of having a high speed hard drive capable of SATA or other speedy HD technologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megamanXplosion Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 Thanks for the document y_notm. I will give it a read over in just a few minutes and add everything my list is missing (except for the unimportant details that are not worth mentioning.) Thanks for contributing :) I've added another entry to my list above - Deployment/Servicing: Hot Patching. Hot Patching is simply the newer upgrade process that eliminates ~75% of the rebooting that is associated with upgrading. Only updates to the kernel and really low level utilities will require rebooting now :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chroniq Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 great work megaman .. cant wait for longhorn :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klop Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Thanks very interesting! Very good summary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I guess I could do that while waiting for responses...Deployment/Servicing: Monad Object-oriented command-line tool that will eventually replace DOS. No such thing as DOS in NT OS's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megamanXplosion Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 No such thing as DOS in NT OS's I know. I've already explained that was a silly mistake/typo :) I have finished reading through the document that y_notm attached to his post and I found a link that described the Castle networking feature ShadowPHP mentioned and it included a list of other changes in Longhorn. Here are some more goodies that I will add to the first post in a couple of minutes (Indigo is being put in the "Networking" category so I can eliminate the seemingly empty "Internet" category)... Media: Glitch-free Audio and Video Playback Windows Media Player 11 will take advantage of the improved resource management in the kernel to ensure glitch-free audio and video playback. Networking: Castle A mini-domain system where users on the same network or subnetwork can join a domain to share information with others. This is different from the traditional domain approach because it doesn't require a dedicated machine (domain controller) to maintain the trust and identity relationship. Security: Parental controls Parents can now prevents children from playing adult-rated games or accessing the computer at a time they should not be (like 2am in the morning while you're asleep.) Deployment/Servicing: Error Data Transmission Error data can now be sent to the master computer of a network so it is easy to service any problems that may be experienced on computers in a network. This means that the network administrator or technician will have the ability to fix a lot of problems before the user of the networked computer even realizes there is a problem. Interface: Device Manager Improvements The device manager in Longhorn has been massively improved. Instead of being the junk-heap for hardware information like it is in current versions of Windows, it will be much more robust and more user-oriented. The device manager will allow you to easily configure hardware, easily update hardware drivers, provide a better interface for troubleshooting, and provides the ability to print a document containing a list of the hardware in the computer. The Device manager also provides a dialog ("Get help for my hardware device") that allows the user to find common problems associated with a particular peice of hardware. Deployment/Servicing: Driver Protection Longhorn will have a list of the driver versions of different devices that are known to cause stability problems and will avoid loading those particular drivers. Interface: Help and Support Headlines The user can visit the Help and Support document to find answers to their problems. Longhorn takes this a step further by providing dynamic content that provides help to the newest (or most popular) support problem and provide news about security bulletins, updates, and newer help documentation. Deployment/Servicing: Language Independence Longhorn is installed in a language-independant manner and extra languages can be easily installed. This allows multiple users on the same computer to use the language they prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phedot Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 And what about that new filetype that MSFT were going to introduce with Longhorn arrival. I can't remember it's name :pinch: but it was meant to "replace" PDF's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowPHP Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I know. I've already explained that was a silly mistake/typo :)I have finished reading through the document that y_notm attached to his post and I found a link that described the Castle networking feature ShadowPHP mentioned and it included a list of other changes in Longhorn. Here are some more goodies that I will add to the first post in a couple of minutes (Indigo is being put in the "Networking" category so I can eliminate the seemingly empty "Internet" category)... Media: Glitch-free Audio and Video Playback Windows Media Player 11 will take advantage of the improved resource management in the kernel to ensure glitch-free audio and video playback. Networking: Castle A mini-domain system where users on the same network or subnetwork can join a domain to share information with others. This is different from the traditional domain approach because it doesn't require a dedicated machine (domain controller) to maintain the trust and identity relationship. Security: Parental controls Parents can now prevents children from playing adult-rated games or accessing the computer at a time they should not be (like 2am in the morning while you're asleep.) Deployment/Servicing: Error Data Transmission Error data can now be sent to the master computer of a network so it is easy to service any problems that may be experienced on computers in a network. This means that the network administrator or technician will have the ability to fix a lot of problems before the user of the networked computer even realizes there is a problem. Interface: Device Manager Improvements The device manager in Longhorn has been massively improved. Instead of being the junk-heap for hardware information like it is in current versions of Windows, it will be much more robust and more user-oriented. The device manager will allow you to easily configure hardware, easily update hardware drivers, provide a better interface for troubleshooting, and provides the ability to print a document containing a list of the hardware in the computer. The Device manager also provides a dialog ("Get help for my hardware device") that allows the user to find common problems associated with a particular peice of hardware. Deployment/Servicing: Driver Protection Longhorn will have a list of the driver versions of different devices that are known to cause stability problems and will avoid loading those particular drivers. Interface: Help and Support Headlines The user can visit the Help and Support document to find answers to their problems. Longhorn takes this a step further by providing dynamic content that provides help to the newest (or most popular) support problem and provide news about security bulletins, updates, and newer help documentation. Deployment/Servicing: Language Independence Longhorn is installed in a language-independant manner and extra languages can be easily installed. This allows multiple users on the same computer to use the language they prefer. 586203628[/snapback] Those Parental Controls sound... interesting. Good Idea. And what about that new filetype that MSFT were going to introduce with Longhorn arrival. I can't remember it's name :pinch: but it was meant to "replace" PDF's. 586203630[/snapback] Metro. Mentioned in the first post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phedot Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 ^ :blush: Ooops... Sorry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berger Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Great list, but that doc y_notm showed us shows some of these features only being present in only some of the several thousand Longhorn versions. What's up with this, and are that version list even legitimate? "Dual processor support" not in every Longhorn version? I mean doesn't XP have that now? I'm curious where that doc got their information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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