shockz Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 Next Windows appears two years early An early version of Microsoft's next version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn, may have appeared on the internet. The leaked build, which is numbered 3683, appears to be from late September and sports quite a few new feature concepts, although many are not yet functional. Commentators believe the leak is similar to what happened during the alpha stages of Windows XP, codenamed Whistler at the time. Microsoft has tried to play down the leak, saying the build is likely to undergo many revisions before officially entering the public domain. According to Beta News, information about a leaked Longhorn build cropped up late last month when screenshots posted to Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net purported to showcase the next-generation operating system. However, a few with access to the code initially opted to keep it under wraps rather than risk incurring the wrath of Redmond, until someone sent a copy to BetaNews. The build, which other commentators believe to be an in-development Windows XP update, has had a slight interface makeover from Windows XP and includes a very rough new Visual Style, dubbed "Plex". It has a Longhorn sidebar that uses extensible markup language (XML) to display customisable tiles such as a clock, virtual desktop manager and internet search. The Start Menu can also be docked within the sidebar. Microsoft has replaced the standard Display Properties dialogue with an XML-based configuration panel that uses a new API framework codenamed Avalon. The new operating system identifies itself as Windows Version 6.0, a long way from Windows XP's 5.1 handle. A spokeswoman for Microsoft said it was "unfortunate that sometimes these things make their way onto the internet". She could neither confirm nor deny that the screenshots displayed on Neowin.net were leaked from current development work. But she said it was unlikely that user interfaces in development versions would be seen in the final release. "With Windows XP there were six different user interfaces in the development versions. I wouldn't be confident that what was shown would appear in the final versions," she said. Longhorn is expected to be in the shops early in 2005. source: ieXbeta who got it from: Vnunet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timan Veteran Posted November 24, 2002 Veteran Share Posted November 24, 2002 eww nice news :) i actually read that one :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercuryx013 Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 Interesting. Nice post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessterw Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 I was kinda hoping for something new :( A nice point was made though, that even with Windows XP there were several themes/GUI's in development that would never make it into the final product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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