eWeek's Peter Galli interviewed Greg Sullivan, lead program manager for Windows, to get a preview of Gates' presentation. According to Galli, Gates will use his opening keynote to talk about the three decades of Windows computing. "The first decade (1985-1995) was all about 16-bit computing, while the second decade (1995-2005) was all about 32-bit computing, the rise of the Internet, the creation of digital media and the fact that the way people use the PC and devices has changed significantly," says Galli.
The third decade of Windows computing begins this year with 64-bit computing as one of its core attributes. Gates will demonstrate what can now be done with 64-bit computing and the new scenarios that come with it, according to Sullivan.
Gates is also expected to demonstrate some of the key attributes of
Longhorn and the hardware that will exploit it, especially in the mobile and device space.
Galli's interview with Sullivan goes on to look at some of the issues surrounding
WinFS, the advanced file system that was to have been part of Longhorn, but has been
delayed beyond the expected 2006 Longhorn release.
Read the extensive
eWeek interview here:
Gates to Roll Out 64-Bit WindowsLonghorn pre-beta build releasedWinHEC attendees will receive a DVD with Longhorn pre-beta build 5048. According to a review posted at WinBeta.org, 5048 should be considered a "baseline platform" without a lot of bells and whistles. Except for a number of "missing and broken pieces," 5048 "hums along nicely" and is "very well behaved," according to the reviewer. Read the review
here.
XP64 ReviewedPCMag.com has published a review of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (XP64). According to reviewers Rich Fisco and Neil J. Rubenking, we now have the first two "pillars" of the 64-bit infrastructure -- the processors and the operating system. Now all we need are 64-bit applications. Most 32-bit apps work fine under XP64 and may get a small performance boost, but some programs, particularly low-level system utilities and drivers, just aren't compatible, they report. Read the full review
here.
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