The highly anticipated Beta 1 of Windows “Longhorn” will be released pretty soon to testers and MSDN subscribers. Subscribers can now even request product key(s) for it.

A little flashback: Windows Code Name: “Longhorn” has been developed for the last 4 years, and Microsoft switched to the Windows Server 2003 SP1 code base in September 2004. Some of the features to be implemented and which are already implemented are:

• Windows Image Deployment Features fast installation and upgrade of Windows OS using a disk image (WIM file) created with the Windows Imaging Utility, also known as xImage, an internal tool that is expected to be released to OEM partners regarding unattended installations.
• Faster Application Starting Using the more advanced ‘Pre-Fetch’, called ‘SuperFetch’.
• New User Experience, and Graphic engine The new User Experience is called Aero, and the shell - AERO. Aero has 4 tiers, which can be enabled depending on the GPU’s capabilities. Aero is bult on Avalon and will use graphics hardware acceleration where available. Requirements are: DirectX 9 GPU, at least 64MB of Video memory, drivers must be designed for the Longhorn logo, i.e. are LDDM compatible. The new graphic engine is called Avalon and is managed code API, built on MIL, for XAML Applications. Avalon graphics are resolution-independent, because they are vector, and this is a pro for users with high-DPI computer screens.

  The AERO shell, which is rumoured to be the project Code Name: “M”, as well as the Aero UX, will debut in Beta 2, which is expected to be released late 2005, or early 2006.

  Aero Glass Support for 3D graphics, animaton transitions and special effects which are made possible by the MIL

  Aero Express Comparing to Aero Glass, the Express tier presents only basic effects for the UI. Amongst the publicly released builds, only 4074.idx2 and 5048.winmain contain Aero Express, although only 5048.winmain has developed LDDM (see below).

  To Go To Go is intented for mobile computers primarily because it doesn’t take much resources, presents no special effects (legacy UX support in Windows Vista).

  Aero Diamond Diamond is a tier intented for the Media Center Edition of Windows Vista.

  The Windows Graphics Foundation draft document, as well as Caps requirements for Aero, can be found here, thanks to funny_bala for the link.

• The Indigo Services Indigo, also known as the Microsoft Message Bus, is a set of services for
• Palladium The Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) which presents the enhanced ways for client data protection and the Digital Rights Management, built in Windows “Longhorn”.
• Longhorn Display Driver Model LDDM allows the visual effects seen on a user’s desktop to scale relative to the available graphics hardware. The Aero Experience will need LDDM compatible drivers for best performance. The XP model, which has been used in Windows since 1996, is still supported in “Longhorn”, though, only for compatibility. 5048.winmain is the only public build to date to contain a workable LDDM, 4074.idx2 has drivers for Intel controllers, but cannot be used.

It is known that Windows Vista will also present the next (11th) version of the Media Player, Office 12 and have built-in support for writing data to DVD discs. The server version will be out in 2007, having WinFS in it — the new file storage system (not file system) which uses the SQL Server 2005 “Yukon” technology for fast desktop search and file organisation.

–Stanimir