what is Microsofts next OS?

[jeffr]

What will be Microsofts next OS? Besides the consistent security issues with XP, overall it's a pretty good OS.

My overall question is why can't they make a 100% rock solid OS platform without ever having to release SP packs etc...is it just the enormously huge size of the code, or is it the compatibility issues with different hardware, software, etc...

[tomster2300]

The next Windows OS will be Windows Longhorn which is due to be out in late 2005 I believe. It'll be the first OS to take advantage of the new 64 processors, thus finally your purchase of a 64 bit processor worth it since all regular processors are 32 bit (which is what XP is).

[ric449]

Actually, the first Windows OS to take advantage of 64 bit technology will be Windows XP 64, which will be out before Longhorn.

As for security issues, thats just the way it is. Nobody can code programs perfectly, there is always some way to screw things up. So, when someone finds a way to screw things up Microsoft have to get their programmers to write some new code to fix the mistake which was coded in the first place.

Anyway, aren't service packs a good thing? They always add some useful features, look at SP2 for XP. Enhanced security all round, can't be bad in anyones book.

[spyder003]

Originally Posted by jeffr My overall question is why can't they make a 100% rock solid OS platform without ever having to release SP packs etc...is it just the enormously huge size of the code, or is it the compatibility issues with different hardware, software, etc...

There are 40 million some odd lines of code in XP, that's quite a bit to get right.

[Force Flow]

The O/S is worked on in sections by different people, or groups of people. Who's to say that a conflict may pop up between one group's code and another group's code. They're only human, so the code is not perfect.

There are people always looking for weak spots in security, but if nobody was doing that, there would never be an issue with it. And since MS software is so widely available, it's a huge target.

As for complexity issues with different hardware/software, the code has to be able to work with the thousands of different combinations that people can come up with for custom builds. As for software...if it's not MS software or an affiliate, they're pretty much on their own.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by ric449 Actually, the first Windows OS to take advantage of 64 bit technology will be Windows XP 64, which will be out before Longhorn.

When is it due out?

[jeffr]

After reading up on Longhorn, it's not due out until 2006.

[rave]

Longhorrn is not due out till 2006 by the earliest and mabye even 2007 because they can't get their file system right. they scrapped WinFX and WinFS and are trying to build a new one

[tomster2300]

Well I was wrong, I thought I had heard 2005. So I dont have to upgrade for awhile When is the 64 Windows coming out though?

[digitalfreedom64]

Longhorn cmes out in 2006, XP64 comes out early 2005. Myself i think they should just use ntfs or they'll end up moving longhor back again. I thought they had given up on releasing a new file system umtil Blackcomb is released.

[Cricket]

A trial version of the WinXP Pro 64 Bit Edition is available for download now. You can check it out here.

Cricket

[tomster2300]

Does anybody have the trial version? If so , how does it run -- can you see a significant performance boost?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Force Flow The O/S is worked on in sections by different people, or groups of people. Who's to say that a conflict may pop up between one group's code and another group's code. They're only human, so the code is not perfect.

What's interesting is that when you take a bunch of programmers who code in the same language and ask them to write a simple program, you'll get a program that works but if you take a look at the each programmers code it's probably written differently from every other programmer. So getting something as complex as an operating system to work flawlessly seems like an almost impossible task to me.

Cricket

[enhanced08]

what is Blackcomb, WinFX and WinFS? i have never heard of them....

[spyder003]

Originally Posted by enhanced08dotcom what is Blackcomb, WinFX and WinFS? i have never heard of them....

I'm not sure about the other two, but WinFS was a new filesystem that M$ was working on. I believe it was mostly to speed up searches. Seems funny that you can search billions of webpages with google in under a second, but it takes minutes to search your own computer. Last I had heard, it was scrapped in order to make their targeted release date.

[jeffr]

Though I'm not an Apple fan...I wonder if their OS systems are as stable?

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by jeffr Though I'm not an Apple fan...I wonder if their OS systems are as stable?

Absolutely. I have yet to have a stability issue with OSX

[csp]

Originally Posted by jeffr Though I'm not an Apple fan...I wonder if their OS systems are as stable?

OSx is very stable. My ibook has only crashed once in 2 and a half years. The prgram that killed it was AOL.

[rave]

Never had a failure with an Apple, i've use G3 iMacs, G4 iMacs, eMacs and G4 PowerMacs and NEVER have i had a crash

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by jeffr Though I'm not an Apple fan...I wonder if their OS systems are as stable?

To me, the good thing with Apple that makes them stable is that they are simple and easy - with Windows, it's all about tweaking and configuring settings and drivers and everything. I like OSX because it is less migrane-causing than almost every MS OS up to WinXP - even so in WinXP.

kram

[Mac Medic]

I have had many kernel panics with Mac OS X, it is stable but it's not infallible.

[JTH]

Is WinFX a new proposed new file system like WinFS?

Would I be right in saying that Blackcomb is the OS designed on a totally new kernal that will follow Longhorn?

[digitalfreedom64]

I don't have any links for this, but supposedly Blackcomb is the codename for the OS to come after longhorn in which Winfs is supposed to be introduced.. Not sure on how reliable this is though.

[RayH]

If I had the bucks, I'd get an iMac. My sister got one with a 20" widescreen. The thing is smooth and quiet. I think if her 9 year old daughter can jump between a Mac and Windows machine with no problem, I can figure it out!

In a test drive of it, the only thing that didn't work was when I was checking out the Open Office site in IE for Mac and wanted to see some screenshots. IE didn't know how to open it. I wonder why? Anyway, Surfari did OK.

[rave]

This has very little to do with the subject but where I come from, Malaysia is extremely big on piracy(mainly because of the huge price difference)

So EVERYTHING is pirated from watches to perfumes to software.

When windows released its Longhorn Beta for the Press to try out , people got their hands on them and a lot of them screwed up their computers.

[jeffr]

Wow! I didn't even know that Microsoft had already released a beta!

[enhanced08]

its not a Beta yet, its still in Pre-Alpha!! i got a copy from my I-Tech class (some deal with msdn.com) and its very unstable. on my 1.6 P4 @ 2.1Ghz with 512MB PC2700 RAM it takes 10min to load! and used 700MB+ of RAM on idle, i had 2 webpages and messenger open and it was using 1.15GB of RAM!

[ric449]

Thats not instability, thats just resource hogging. Did it crash at all?

You can expect it to take a long time to load. Think about it, by the time its out MS will expect most people to have a decent system compared to what we have now, and will probably run reasonably well.

[enhanced08]

actually yes it did crash, a few times then the last time i just wiped the drive and havn't re-installed it yet.

EDIT: some programs don't even work at all! at one point i was going to send an email on hotmail.com and it wouldn't let my type! another time half the screen just turned black then showed the desktop while the other half still had the page i was viewing! weird stuff!

and i realize that in 06-07 or whenever its released that the normal home computer will be the fastest out now, or faster. its just a big jump from XP loading in 20-30 sec tops to hitting the power button and laving to make a sandwitch. lol i also think that if i had more ram it would boot a little faster, at idle its already using virtual mem, so that slows it down some.

[ric449]

Well, as someone said, its not even alpha yet. I'm sure it will be nothing like what you previewed when it is finally released.