• Illustration: Longhorn Graphics Subsystem

Focusing almost exclusively on 64-bit computing and the next Windows client release, code-named Longhorn, Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2005 painted a rosy future for hardware vendors, even if some of the dates for that future remain uncertain. The conference also marked the debut of a new document exchange format, a logo program for Longhorn-compatible PCs, and a contest for innovative computer designs.

The 64-Bit Opportunity

WinHEC 2005 coincided with the release of new versions of Windows for clients and servers that use x64 chips. Designed by AMD and subsequently adopted by Intel, this alternative to Intel's Itanium 64-bit chips offers better 32-bit software performance and already outsells Itanium even though no 64-bit version of Windows was available for x64 chips until now.

Launched without fanfare on the first day of WinHEC 2005, the x64 versions of Windows promise extraordinary performance gains, said Gates, who called 64-bit systems "the biggest thing happening in the computing space." The main benefit of 64-bit systems is their ability to access an almost limitless amount of memory. (The 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition supports up to 1 terabyte, or 1024GB, of physical memory, compared with the 64GB maximum for Windows Datacenter 32-bit versions.) This increase in memory significantly reduces the amount of time some large applications (such as SQL Server) spend retrieving data from disk and allows data retrieval to be several orders of magnitude faster than with 32-bit systems, which are normally limited to 4GB of memory and must swap data between memory and the disk.

For applications that can benefit from keeping large amounts of information in memory—Gates specifically mentioned databases, Web servers, and Windows Terminal Services—64-bit systems typically double overall system performance, and Microsoft itself has found that some applications are faster by a factor of 10. A keynote demo by NewTek, a firm whose LightWave 3D application is used for creating and rendering video animations, asserted that a three-month rendering process can be reduced to seven days by upgrading to 64-bit systems and adding more memory.

Visually, the four versions—an x64-bit version of Windows XP for workstations and desktops, and versions for Windows Server 2003 Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter Editions—have the same user interface (UI) as 32-bit versions and also run 32-bit software. This means that migration to these new versions could be speedy, subject to the availability of 64-bit hardware drivers. Much of Microsoft's x64 promotional effort at WinHEC was aimed at encouraging OEMs and device manufacturers to make their hardware x64 compatible.

Longhorn

In spite of the major performance gains that they offer, the new x64-bit Windows versions have received a remarkably low-key rollout by Microsoft standards, marked only by a press release and a few demos in front of audiences, such as at WinHEC. In contrast, Gates promised "more marketing behind Longhorn than we have behind anything we've had in the past." This marketing may be necessary for a product that, in spite of numerous delays, still has numerous unfinished edges and uncertain payoffs.

Display Changes

At WinHEC, much of the focus was on the new Longhorn graphics subsystem, which is capable of supporting high-resolution displays and semitransparent dialog boxes with advanced shading and rendering. In current UIs, icons and fonts get smaller as screen resolution increases, and high-resolution displays will make that worse. But Longhorn's graphics subsystem, code-named Avalon, can arbitrarily scale any window up on a high-resolution screen to make it more readable. Avalon can also be extended to Web site elements, creating Web sites with greater visual appeal and interactivity. However, to take full advantage of these features hardware vendors must update their video drivers to conform to the Longhorn Display Driver Model (LDDM), and Web designers might be required to make Longhorn-specific Web pages and interface elements. (For more details on Avalon, see the illustration"Longhorn Graphics Subsystem".)

Although Microsoft has delayed its plans for a new Windows File System (WinFS) to a later version of Windows, better file organization remains a key Longhorn goal. To this end, Microsoft demonstrated several such features at WinHEC, including features that permit users to organize and locate files based on parameters such as document author or keywords (an improvement over today's Windows file search, which uses only basic file attributes such as name, date, or size). A preliminary version of the Longhorn UI seen at WinHEC includes a search entry window that brings up lists of files that meet the current search criteria, narrowing the list as the user enters more information. Files that meet specific criteria can be collected in virtual folders that are dynamically refreshed as files that meet the specifications are added to or deleted from the file system. Files that the user wants to arbitrarily associate in some way, such as all the files associated with a specific project, can be dropped into a "list" pane that contains only links to the files and does not move the files themselves. Some of these features resemble those in MSN's Desktop Search today and are enabled by the same underlying technology.

Although the version of Longhorn distributed at WinHEC will undergo changes prior to its release, most of the UI touches demonstrated at WinHEC resemble the UI already shipping in Apple's Macintosh OS X. Semitransparent interface elements have been part of the Mac's UI for several years, and during the week of WinHEC Apple rolled out a new version of its OS X, code-named Tiger (OS X 10.4), with a Spotlight feature and Smart Folders that have most of the file search and organization features Microsoft is promising for Longhorn.

Metro Document and Printing Format

One surprise at WinHEC was the announcement of a new document format, code-named Metro, that seems aimed directly at Adobe's Acrobat, which is widely used to distribute documents while preserving their exact layout and appearance. Like Acrobat, Metro files use scalable fonts, enabling them to retain readability at any level of magnification. A free reader will be available for viewing Metro documents without the application that created them.

Metro is more than a new document format, however. It will be Longhorn's default print spool format, and Microsoft expects printer manufacturers to equip printers with Metro drivers to optimize printing with the technology. Metro will be released as a royalty-free, cross-platform technology that does not require Windows.

Deployment, Security, and Performance

Microsoft has long emphasized how deployment will be easier with Longhorn, and Gates cited several deployment features, including hot patches that don't require reboots, better migration from older to new machines, and a single binary for all languages that will simplify patch management for global organizations. OS imaging (in which new machines are provisioned by copying a default Windows installation) will be improved to allow images to be patched, thus eliminating the requirement to constantly rebuild images or to immediately patch every new machine because the source image is outdated.

Although security issues have a very high profile at Microsoft, the topic is less of an issue at the hardware-oriented WinHEC, and Gates devoted three sentences to it, quickly listing a better experience for ordinary users, who should no longer need administrator privileges to use Windows; a two-way firewall (filtering outbound as well as inbound communications); and a network quarantine feature for isolating devices that might not be secure. Nothing was clarified about hardware security technologies that were once major themes of WinHEC, such as the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB), although Microsoft says that Longhorn will implement some parts of NGSCB, such as a secure startup mode that uses a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). This TPM will secure a computer as it boots and will encrypt all data on the hard drive, protecting it from theft; because the encryption key is not stored on the disk, data on TPM-protected disks cannot be recovered if the disk is separated from the encryption key, even by advanced recovery tools. This allows such disks to be reused or recycled without risking unauthorized access to the data.

Performance improvements in Longhorn will rise primarily from I/O improvements, Gates suggested. For example, combining better implementations of power-saving "suspend" modes with non-volatile memory will help computers resume work more quickly after being suspended, and consume less power. A "super fetch" function in Longhorn will speed application start times.

A new driver model integrated with the WS-Discovery Web services protocol will offer storage and networking improvements and make hardware more visible to the OS. Although all Windows drivers currently run in kernel mode, Longhorn drivers will be capable of running in user mode as well. Under some circumstances this will permit users to install drivers without being administrators, and when a user-mode driver crashes, it will not affect the kernel, removing a major source of instability in Windows. (For more details about the driver changes, see"Framework Aims to Increase Driver Reliability".)

Logo Program

To help vendors and customers get ready for Longhorn, Microsoft unveiled a logo program for PC and peripheral manufacturers. As evidence, perhaps, of how much work remains before Longhorn is ready to ship, this is the first Windows logo program to use the code name rather than the official name of the product (whose current official name, in the logo documents, is the Microsoft Windows Code Named "Longhorn" OS). The program will have Silver and Gold logos, with the latter providing a more complete implementation of Longhorn capabilities.

A "Longhorn"-Ready PC program, commencing in late 2005, will help consumers and corporate customers identify Windows XP computers that will be able to run Longhorn.

Logo documents, such as a 172-page specification released at WinHEC, provide detailed information about Longhorn hardware requirements, although some important specifications, such as memory requirements, are still undefined. (In other documents, the company says that the OS will run in as little as 128MB of memory, but 512MB is advised for customers who want to fully utilize the OS.)

When Will It Ship?

Although Microsoft has been saying that Longhorn will be ready for the winter holiday season at the end of 2006, some uncertainty remains. Gates's roadmap slides at the keynote address were missing critical dates for both the Longhorn client and server.

For example, Beta 1 of the client is expected to ship in summer 2005, but no date was supplied for Beta 2. In an interview with the Seattle Times, published during WinHEC (which was held in Seattle), Gates indicated that the 2006 ship date is not firm, stating that "we think we'll get out in '06, but our top priority is that it be a breakthrough, super-high-quality release."

The roadmap slide for Windows Longhorn Server lacked any dates at all, although another slide included it with other 64-bit products planned for release in 2007.

Other Hardware

In contrast with some past shows, WinHEC 2005 lacked a "concept PC"—a prototype PC designed to show future capabilities enabled by Windows and forthcoming hardware—but Gates did show off a couple of laptop and Tablet PC technologies.

Microsoft will encourage development of instant-on technologies that use non-volatile memory on hard disks, and Gates showed off a mockup of an "Ultra Mobile 2007 companion device" that could weigh less than two pounds, run all day on one battery charge, and cost less than US$800. He also demonstrated an auxiliary window on the outside of a portable PC that, like the external window found on many clamshell cell phones, displays a subset of the information on the PC, such as the location of a meeting or an alarm or alert.

In place of coming up with its own concept PC, Microsoft announced a Next-Generation Windows OS PC Design competition with prizes up to US$50,000 in categories such as personal productivity, entertainment, communication and mobility, and living and lifestyle. One award will be judged by a panel of experts from the PC and industrial design community, another will be personally selected by Gates, and a third will be voted on by the public. Winners of the competition will be announced at the International Consumer Electronics Show in 2006.

Resources

The Windows Longhorn Logo Program system and device requirements are available at go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=40629.

The Trusted Platform Module is described at www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.

Information about the PC design competition is at www.startsomethingpc.com/LearnMore.aspx.