Platform, push off

However, I still prefer that all these technologies should be introduced and made exclusive into Longhorn, because of the enormous benefits a comprehensive base platform provides. By requiring an upgrade, Longhorn would cause a mass shift to a new platform and offer developers a new minimum level of operating system functionality, a la Windows 95.

From .Net Undocumented

Riiiiight… I’ll remember to tell all of my clients who are only just finishing moving from NT 4 that they’ll need to move everyone again real soon now because it’ll be more convenient for developers…

Breaking the individual pieces of hype into seperate deliverables is a good idea, IMHO. Not only does it decouple the delivery of the more realistic elements from the vapour-ware but it also gives developers a potentially larger installed base. Sure it makes things a little more complex but it means that developers that write Avalon stuff can get it on the desk in front of real users faster.

Anyone who seriously believes that keeping all this new functionality in Longhorn will cause a mass migration of the userbase to this new wonder OS should lay off the Koolaid…