Longhorn gets a brand new Vista

It's official! At last the news is out. The next generation of Microsoft Windows operating system which we've all been referring to as 'Longhorn' for what seems like forever will be called 'Windows Vista' . Microsoft has been demoing a lot of the cool functionality of the new OS over the last couple of days at their Global Briefing in Atlanta GA, USA and I've had a play. This is one very lush piece of software. Beta 1 is expected in just a few weeks and we'll all get a chance to discover the amazing improvements that Windows Vista will bring to our lives. Cool than a penguin's backside!

Check out the announcement page to see how the naming took place yesterday evening in Atlanta.

Also, if you're a keen graphic designer or visual communicator like me, check out the new Acrylic Beta which has just been released at https://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/. Expect to see a load of major advances for designers in the coming months as Microsoft unveils more of the new Expression product range.

Oh, and I didn't even mention Office 12, the next generation fo the world's favourite set of office applications. This new suite, expected to launch in around 18 months, looks like it could deliver the greatest advances to information worker productivity that I've seen in many years. Think your PowerPoint or Excel are 'good enough'? Well, get ready to think again. This new version will blow you away!