The Future Computer

InformationWeek reported Microsoft chairman calls 64-bit memory a 'huge' boost for demanding PC and server applications, but says most business desktop users can probably wait for Longhorn before upgrading.

The new Windows x64 will allow customers to run existing 32-bit applications and newer 64-bit application on the same PCs or servers, providing a bridge between Microsoft's 32-bit software environment of the past decade and its emerging 64-bit software environment for the future.

eWeek reported Microsoft on Monday announced the start of a design competition to rethink the desktop computer. The company thinks it is time to move beyond the big beige box, offering a top prize of $125,000 to the group or person with the best PC design. Microsoft hopes that the contest will challenge participants to think outside the box while using Longhorn as a guide.

Details of the contest appeared on the StartSomethingPC.com, a site that appeared about a week ago with a vague description and teaser video on the front page.

EarthTimes reported Apple Computer Chief Executive Steve Jobs thinks the long-awaited operating system from Microsoft – Longhorn – is all mouth and no trousers. He told company shareholders at an annual general meeting: "They are shamelessly copying us. They can't even copy fast." Microsoft's group vice president for platforms Jim Allchin had charged last week that it is Apple which is copying Microsoft.

MSNBC reported It's Steve Jobs's plan to make this the Week of the Tiger. But Bill Gates and his minions at Microsoft are crying bull—specifically, a Longhorn steer. Both companies seem to understand what's really necessary and really cool for the next stop in desktop computing: support for the powerful new generation of 64-bit chips that are coming online; search capabilities built in, so you can mine your own documents as smoothly as Google scans the Web; a suite of persistent, constantly updated tiny applications that keep track of stuff like weather and stock quotes. A way to take advantage of the hot RSS technology that lets you "subscribe" to Web sites instead of visiting them every day or two. And a sleek appearance that relegates the traditional file-and-folder metaphor to the antique shop. Both new systems go a long ways toward making that big step. But Apple's is here now, and Jobs sees it as indicative of Apple's agility and drive. "Microsoft has followed our taillights for a long time," he says. "Maybe [in the '90s] we stopped innovating for a while, but now they've been copying OS X the same way they copied Mac."

Apple is here now, and Microsoft's Longhorn won't be here till late next year, but I still suspect Microsoft will come out on top.