Longhorn beta will emerge this year
vnunet.com | at | by Mike
Microsoft has confirmed that a beta version of its delayed Longhorn operating system will be available before the end of the year. The successor to Windows XP, originally scheduled for release late this year, will now only be available in beta version during 2004 - with Microsoft unwilling to commit to a commercial rollout date.
In 2001, Microsoft spoke about releasing Longhorn in late 2004, but then said it was likely to delay the release until the second half of 2005, according to Gartner.
But at Microsoft's developer conference in October 2003, the implication was that Longhorn would be more likely to ship in 2006, the analyst said. The delay may be longer, with Longhorn not shipping until 2007, it predicted.