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Microsoft Considering WinFS for Windows XP

WinFS, the Windows future storage subsystem, could end up in Windows XP as well as Windows "Longhorn" when the technology ships, Microsoft officials said.

"We are currently evaluating making the WinFS storage subsystem available on this platform [Windows XP] as well," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

WinFS is designed to provide advanced data organization and management capabilities, for better capturing and searching the relationships among data. Originally billed as one of the key enhancements in Windows "Longhorn," Microsoft decided in August to pull WinFS from the operating system. Instead the company plans to release a beta of WinFS when the Longhorn client becomes generally available. The Longhorn client is supposed to ship in 2006, the Longhorn server is scheduled for 2007.

If Microsoft succeeds in delivering WinFS and makes it available for Windows XP, it will join the "Avalon" presentation subsystem and the "Indigo" communications subsystem as technologies originally intended exclusively for Longhorn that were ported to Windows XP. Avalon and Indigo, both available now as Community Technology Previews, are also available for Windows Server 2003.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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