Longhorn may not be until 2007
July 12, 2005 by Mike Wendland
Microsoft just keeps pushing back the planned release of Longhorn. Now, the launch date is sometime in the fall of 2006, but officials concede it could be 2007. Longhorn To Ship next year or later. That means WIndows XP, already outdated by most measurements, is going to be mighty long in the tooth before Longhorn comes out.
Not a big shocker. Microsoft has billions in the bank and financially can afford to wait.
With SP2, XP has proven to be more secure and stable than all past Windows versions combined, yet it doesn’t bring much new to the table.
Microsoft really is between a rock and hard place. On one hand, problems with security and stability with Longhorn would batter their already tarnished image. At the same time, a long wait hurts, too. I would rather they take the time to release Longhorn when it’s really ready, rather than rushing it out the door.
In my opinion, this sort of a window (no pun intended) is a big boon for MacOS X. If Apple is to grab a bigger chunk of market share, the next 12-18 months is crucial.