In 2004, they were still releasing alpha builds to developers, and shortly after the WinHEC conference where they handed out the most well known build 4074 the project was reset, the code dismantled and what was working reused and worked in to what eventually became Vista. It was supposed to RTM and see release in 2003, but missed that date badly. Intended to be the successor to Windows XP, the project grew from a minor update (Longhorn is a bar between the Whistler (XP codename) and Blackcomb (post-Longhorn-Windows codename) ski slopes) to an enormous project which wanted to rewrite almost everything, envisioning a highly connected future where the power of modern hardware could be used to its full advantage. Really then, Longhorn is sort of at the root of everything that is “me”, and so I still keep mountains of discs containing all the leaked builds and all the tools to make them run.īut let’s backtrack a tad: I should quickly explain Longhorn for the uninitiated. This project really accompanied my first experiences with an online community and led to numerous friendships that I still maintain almost ten years on, as well as exposing me to programming. Nostalgia is awesome sometimes, and for me nothing is more fondly remembered than the Longhorn project from the early ’00s.
