The upcoming version of Windows will be more secure and easier to use, and will respond better to users wanting to connect numerous devices to their PC, Windows Client Group product manager Neil Charney told vnunet.com.

Comparing the release to the unveiling of Windows 95 and XP, Charney said that Longhorn will form the foundation of Microsoft operating systems for the next decade.

"We provide a development platform for our partners out there that takes the next decade into account," he explained.

"We want to deliver innovation on top of the [platform] without requiring our partners to do code rewrites."

Microsoft first started talking about Longhorn in 2003 at an event for developers. But the company since has pulled several features to enable a release by the end of 2006.

Most notably, the next generation WinFS file system will now be delivered through an update after the operating system's release.

Microsoft has also changed the architecture of Longhorn's Next Generation Secure Computing Base security system after feedback from developers.

Charney maintained that, in the past, Longhorn has been defined "more by what isn't in it than what is in it".

In an effort to shift this focus the company last week undertook a seven-day media tour across the US showing off some features and generally talking up the operating system.

Laptop owners will benefit from a feature that prevents thieves from installing a new operating system or from bypassing the operating system to access the laptop's hard drive.

Longhorn will enable IT administrators to maintain only one image for provisioning new and updating existing systems, rather than separate images for each language and hardware configuration.

Charney claimed that the cost of maintaining one image is about $100,000 a year, and that the new software will considerably lower this figure.

Users will no longer have to navigate through root structures and file folders, creating virtual folders instead that run queries against the file system.

Such a query would, for instance, display all Word documents on the hard drive, but can also use meta data that is added to files.

When the computer reminds the user of an upcoming client meeting, the system could automatically show an overview of all the emails and documents from the previous three months related to that customer.

The ability to create relationships between documents based on the subject or file format will be further refined with the release of the WinFS file system.

With the advent of virtual folders, the visual presentation of the folder will also change. Instead of the current icon, the system will show a thumbnail preview of all files inside the folder.

Likewise, the icon for files containing images, text or a spreadsheet will display a miniature version of the contents.

Microsoft will provide further details on Longhorn at WinHEC 2005 in Seattle on 25-27 April, an annual event for hardware manufacturers. The first beta of the software is expected this summer.