Microsoft Corporation announced Friday that the forthcoming release of its Windows operating systems, codenamed "Longhorn" will be named "Windows Vista." The company also announced that the first beta test version of Windows Vista will be made available to IT professionals and developers on August 3, 2005, with more information to be released at a developer’s conference in September.
Microsoft representatives said the name is meant to convey clarity, enabling users to immediately concentrate on things they need without intervening layers of complexity.
Windows Vista is scheduled for release in the second half of 2006, and promises numerous enhancements to the company’s flagship software product, including enhanced graphics, a streamlined user interface, even stronger Internet integration, and—of course—improved security. Windows Vista’s scheduled release will come five years after Microsoft first released Windows XP, the longest lag between major revisions of Windows in the company’s history. Microsoft appears to have been seriously considering the Windows Vista name since at least March of this year, when it began registering Internet domains using the term.
