Microsoft begins Longhorn Beta

[bishop40k]

Microsoft has officially sent invitations to their best beta testers and to the WinHEC participants for their Windows Code Name Longhorn beta program. They also unveiled a new Beta Client which promises to be better than the current beta management systems, and will replace other means of beta distribution, including WindowsBeta and BetaPlace all in one fell swoop.


While the new highly anticipated operating system is not up for download, Beta 1 is expected to be up for grabs later this month. Unfortunately, it seems that the preliminary invitation codes are unique per user. Microsoft is expected to allow the public to apply for the beta program later this summer, and as usual, Longhorn will be a part of the CTP (Community Technology Preview) program.

AeroXP has some new screenshots of Longhorn.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Bob7317496]

So, it's Windows XP, except... pretty.

I personally think that Longhorn is going to be a hard sell for most people... Like many other things in the tech industry these days, the number of *theoretical* improvements greatly outweigh the *practical* improvements at this point, and I think it's becoming hard for the consumer to see the point in shelling out $300 for such small differences.

Just sharing an opinion. Thanks for the news!

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

So, it's Windows XP, except... pretty.

I personally think that Longhorn is going to be a hard sell for most people... Like many other things in the tech industry these days, the number of *theoretical* improvements greatly outweigh the *practical* improvements at this point, and I think it's becoming hard for the consumer to see the point in shelling out $300 for such small differences.

Just sharing an opinion. Thanks for the news!

just like windows xp... itll be shunned... dell will start shipping it... everyone will be forced to upgrade..

 

[Bob7317496]

Yeah... Another point against Longhorn is that I think Microsoft is releasing a lot of the new technology as XP patches at/after launch... It'll be interesting to see what Longhorn actually ships with that will make people want to upgrade without buying a new PC. They seem to keep removing new features as they push the launch date back, so who knows?

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

Yeah... Another point against Longhorn is that I think Microsoft is releasing a lot of the new technology as XP patches at/after launch... It'll be interesting to see what Longhorn actually ships with that will make people want to upgrade without buying a new PC. They seem to keep removing new features as they push the launch date back, so who knows?

supposed to be a 3d accelerated version of explorer... that ones gonna be interesting.. cant wait to see how bloaty that one is

 

[wazzledoozle]

supposed to be a 3d accelerated version of explorer... that ones gonna be interesting.. cant wait to see how bloaty that one is

I bet it is damn unstable.

Ill try it out when a 32-bit beta comes out.