[Tech] Microsoft: prima di Longhorn distribuira' Windows 'XP Reloaded'

Per lungo tempo la casa di Redmond aveva escluso di avere intenzione di distribuire ulteriori evoluzioni di Windows XP: ora, invece, pare molto probabile che Microsoft, prima di lanciare sul mercato il suo prossimo sistema operativo - nome in codice Longhorn - distribuirà una nuova versione di Windows XP chiamata per ora semplicemente "XP Reloaded" dagli sviluppatori.



XP Reloaded, comunque, arriverà sul mercato solo dopo il tanto atteso Windows XP Service Pack 2, un upgrade che dovrebbe contribuire a risolvere tutta una serie di problemi legati alla sicurezza - e quindi presumibilmente non prima della (tarda) estate.



Secondo alcuni analisti XP Reloaded potrebbe anche essere una sorta di sistema operativo-ponte fra l'attuale Windows XP e il futuro Longhorn; secondo quasi tutti, comunque, il rilascio di una nuova versione di Windows non potrà che ritardare, inevitabilmente, l'arrivo sul mercato di Longhorn, inizialmente previsto per il 2005 e ora già slittato "a data da destinarsi":

Executives have said for some time that there was no major release of Windows planned before Longhorn. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in May, Senior Vice President Will Poole said: "Don't expect an interim release."



Poole said at that time that Longhorn would ship in 2005. Microsoft later backed away from that date, saying only that it would ship when it is ready. However, until now, Microsoft has reiterated that no new versions of Windows were planned before Longhorn.



Microsoft had been planning to update to its two specialized versions of Windows--Media Center and Tablet PC--before Longhorn. Those updates, which are now in testing, will include service pack security enhancements and new features.



Delaying Longhorn could further benefit Linux, considered the chief threat to the dominance of Windows, said RedMonk analyst Stephen O'Grady.



"With any delay of Longhorn, Linux desktop advocates have potentially gained an extension to the window for getting their respective offerings established within enterprises," O'Grady said. Already, analysts had cautioned that the long time frame between Windows XP's debut and the arrival of Longhorn represented perhaps the best opportunity for Linux to make headway on the desktop.



"While Longhorn's promise of an overhauled user interface and database/file system blend will undoubtedly set the bar for desktops when it's ultimately released, the longer it's delayed the more time Linux has to get a foothold in the desktop market."



The release of Longhorn is seen as critical for Microsoft, with the company having tied new versions of Office and much of its server software to coincide with the new OS, which Chairman Bill Gates has called the biggest advance since Windows 95.

Staremo a vedere... mi auguro solo che il futuro Longhorn alla fine non si riveli, mutatis mutandis, una chiavica come il vecchio '95 - notoriamente, da zio Bill ci si può aspettare di tutto, oramai.



Fonte: News.com.