Jordan Shropshire MIS Seminar Spring 2005 Technology Presentation: Microsoft Longhorn

Trivia: Where did they get the codename “Longhorn” from? Answer: As with XP’s codename “Whistler”, codenames come from ski areas around British Columbia, not too far from Microsoft headquarters. “Longhorn is the name of a saloon on the foot of the “whistler” ski slope.

What is Longhorn? Longhorn is the codename for Microsoft’s next generation operating system. Longhorn is slated to replace Microsoft’s current operating system XP.

Longhorn Basics There will be several different versions of Longhorn: Professional version Home version Tablet PC Media Center 64-bit Professional (Itanium) Professional Edition x64 Embedded Edition

Longhorn timeline: June : Longhorn is revealed November 1, 2001: Longhorn is mentioned in Microsoft Anti-Trust Settlement August 19, 2002: Longhorn Alpha is released internally March 2003: Private Longhorn developers preview August 19, 2003: Windows unveils Longhorn UI

Longhorn Timeline – Anticipated Dates First Half 2005: Longhorn Beta 1 Late 2005: Longhorn Beta 2 Mid 2006: Longhorn Final Release

System Features Longhorn will differ from previous operating systems in two dimensions: 1. Operating System features Interface Security Technology File System Storage 2. How Applications are built

Part 1: Differences and features in Longhorn Operating System

Interface Microsoft is calling Longhorn’s new user interface or “user experience” codename “Aero”. Aero is based on “Avalon”, Microsoft’s.net graphics application program interface.

Interface Microsoft is trying to step away from the desktop metaphor. “Aero” is a variation of the task-based interface found in the XP operating system.

Interface The “Aero” task bar and start menu will feature an XAML-based sidebar that can appear locked to the side of the desktop. (More on XAML later…) The sidebar will link to local and remote resources.

New Feature: Indigo “Indigo” is the codename for a new subsystem which allows for collaboration and communications. Indigo is based on a.net API known as “WinFX”

New Feature: winFS WinFS (windows Future Storage) is a relational database which includes a natural search engine. This is not a replacement for NTFS, but an add-on. Unfortunately, winFS will not be ready to ship with longhorn. WinFS will be available to longhorn for free in 2007.

Security A subscription-based anti-virus feature will use the traditional “AutoUpdate” feature to keep users up to date. The error reporting tool, which reported OS errors in XP, will periodically report system diagnostics, and report viruses and bugs. (This will be optional.)

Security One of longhorn’s greatest features is it’s optional integration with Palladium. Palladium is Microsoft’s attempt to create a secure run time environment for the operating system and the software which it supports.

Security To make Palladium a true integration, Microsoft partnered with Intel and AMD to create special hardware, such as security chips and processors, which won’t interfere with normal computing. Palladium based PCs will be able to run both legacy software and managed software.

Security Palladium-PCs running applications managed specifically for Palladium will offer a range of features not found in XP, such as: Protection from privacy invasion Outside hacking Spam

Security Microsoft designed Palladium to do the following: Tell you who you are dealing with online, and what they are doing. Information which comes across will be verified. Protect information by using encryption to seal sensitive data and ensure document security.

Security Palladium also controls information using digital rights technology. s and documents marked private can not be forwarded shared, or printed. It would be possible to create Word documents which cannot be read until next week, no matter which computer they are on.

Part 2: Differences in How Applications are Built

Changes in How Applications Are Built Longhorn makes it possible to write an application once, and deploy X times. Longhorn applications are object oriented, All applications are based on the Application object, which provides the key services needed for running the application.

Application Object All longhorn applications are based on the single root object “Application”. The Application object has a set of properties and events, around which a collection of markup pages are arranged. The markup pages are written in XAML, (eXtensible Application Markup Language)

XAML Example XAML “hello Longhorn!” example: <Canvas xmlns= Background="LightCyan" Width="100%" Height="100%"> Hello, Longhorn!

The Output

OS Control A given Longhorn application is a set of pages scripted with a procedural code. Application Object controls the program’s execution & raises events to the user object. The XAML will control the layout of each window, including text, images, and buttons.

XAML or VB.net? Any combination of XAML or procedural code can be used to write longhorn applications.