Longhorn faces rivals

The two open-source organisations behind the Mozilla browser and Gnome Linux desktop held a meeting last week to plot their strategy in the face of predicted threats from Longhorn, the update to Microsoft Windows due in 2006.

In a frank exchange recorded on an internet posting site, developers from both movements offered proposals to take account of Microsoft's plan to create a combined desktop and web browser.

With the release of Longhorn, Microsoft intends to stop further development of Internet Explorer and focus on its enhanced user interface, Avalon, and its new language for writing Avalon apps, Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML).

Gnome co-founder Nat Friedman suggested open-source vendors look into the possibilities of cloning XAML, and building an Avalon competitor consisting of open-source components. Candidates for this collection include the Gimp-based GTK+, a library for creating graphical user interfaces for the X Window System, and the XML User Interface Language (XUL) developed by Mozilla. A contributor commented, "We don't want Mozilla to become a legacy content engine, so we need to evolve web standards to be competitive and meet the requirements of content authors."

In a separate move, Microsoft last week delayed the launch of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which will contain key upgrades to enhance security.

A spokeswoman said, "Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been scheduled for release in the first half of this year and it now looks as though it will ship some time this summer."

See also:

Microsoft redrafts Windows roadmap

Operating system releases are to be made more regular - but Longhorn is now further off than ever  17 May 2004

Microsoft promises better server schedule

Redmond provides estimates of server releases to 2008  17 May 2004

The Open Debate

The pros and cons of Windows and Linux in enterprise IT  12 May 2004

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