Longhorn question

[Python1564]

One of my friends told me that longhorn is going to require a special processor designed just for it, but if you ask me, thats a stupid idea cuz microsoft would lose a lot of money and customers. i just want to know if its true.

 

[Ropponmatsu]

I haven't followed up on Longhorn too closely. I would doubt Microsoft would do something as foolish as that. 64-bit processors are just now becoming mainstream but only enthusiasts are investing in them. The majority of casual users will be using 32-bit processors for a few more years and MS depends on casual and they wouldn't risk losing that outlet.

 

[Simon]

yea i doubt that microsoft would do that

 

[ShoobieRat]

One of my friends told me that longhorn is going to require a special processor designed just for it, but if you ask me, thats a stupid idea cuz microsoft would lose a lot of money and customers. i just want to know if its true.

Well, first off, this isn't stupid because Longhorn is designed for 64bit processors.

64bit processors are out in the market, and in use. If you don't have a 64bit processor, why would you buy a 64bit OS? Microsoft isn't going to drop XP when Longhorn hits the market. THAT would be the stupid thing. No, until 64bit becomes the defacto standard for the computer market, XP will still be used and updated by Microsoft, alongside their 64bit solution (Longhorn).

As with most new technology, you should always try reading the information provided. Such as the sales info on the MS website, the white-papers, the specs and tech notes, etc.. Longhorn will incorporate a 32bit conversion tool to allow you to continue to run 32bit applications on Longhorn. So even if you switch to Longhorn, yer not out for all your old programs.

 

[tribalsun]

Though these plans could change, Microsoft is currently planning to ship an amazing array of product editions, or SKUs, in the Windows Longhorn family. These are the currently-scheduled versions that will ship in May 2006:

Longhorn Starter Edition Analogous to Windows XP Starter Edition.

Longhorn Home Edition Analogous to Windows XP Home Edition.

Longhorn Media Center Edition A superset of Home Edition that includes the Media Center functionality. Analogous to XP Media Center Edition.

Longhorn Professional Edition Analogous to Windows XP Professional Edition.

Longhorn Small Business Edition A new product edition aimed at the small business market. Currently very similar to XP Professional Edition.

Longhorn Mobility/Tablet PC Edition Analogous to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

Longhorn Premium Edition A new product edition that bridges the consumer and business versions and includes all of the features from the Home, Premium, Pro, Small Business, and Tablet PC Editions (but not Starter Edition).

The new Premium edition will also add value to Microsoft's business-oriented Software Assurance (SA) customers. None of these product names are final, of course, and all versions except Starter Edition will ship in both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) variants. One of the problems with this approach is that Microsoft will have a hard time communicating the differences between each SKU, in my opinion. It will be interesting to see how this develops. My advice would be to cut back on the SKUs and offer only consumer and business versions. The consumer version should include everything from Home and Premium/Media Center Editions, while the business version should include the features from Pro, Small Business, and Tablet PC Editions.

Here are Microsoft's Longhorn hardware recommendations: Desktop CPU: 3 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor with HyperThreading Technology 530 (or higher) or 3 GHz Intel Xeon processor with 2 MB L2 cache, or AMD Athlon 64, Sempron, or Opteron 100, 200, or 800 processor, single or dual-core versions.

Mobile CPU: 1.86 GHz Intel Pentium M processor 750 (or higher), or AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology, Mobile Sempron, or Mobile Athlon 64 processor.

RAM: 512 MB of RAM or more, all platforms.

Source: Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows