Windows Longhorn is one of Microsoft's most infamous canceled releases. This was meant to be the next release to follow up Windows XP, with a release date set for 2005. By 2004, the team working on Longhorn encountered several challenges, with huge ambitions bottlenecking its development. So much so, that work on this release was scrapped, and we ended up with Windows Vista, which launched in 2006 for the best laptops at the time.
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But Longhorn is still remembered by many who recall Microsoft promising so much of what this operating system was capable of. There was talk of a new user interface, an innovative sidebar, and a new way of managing files via a new file system that would have replaced File Explorer. With this in mind, we've dug through the archives of Longhorn and drawn up three features that we'd like to see return in a future release of Windows 11.
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3 WinFS (Windows Future Storage)
File Explorer has been a Windows staple since its inception -- but Microsoft wanted to replace it entirely in Longhorn. WinFS was the company's attempt to create a new way of browsing your files and folders via a database approach. WinFS would have required applications to give information about the files it contained, allowing the new file system in Longhorn to have detailed information based on the metadata given. This would have made it possible for users to search for files and folders by typing in simple queries, and WinFS would generate a list of matching results. For example, if you wanted to find a photo of your dog from June 2023, you'd simply type 'photos of dog from June 2023', and WinFS would list every photo featuring your dog.
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Despite its promises, WinFS proved too much for the Longhorn team, and it was eventually scrapped. Bringing WinFS to Windows 11 could transform its search capabilities, as well as enhance privacy features thanks to the database capabilities the file system was built on.
2 Advanced Windows Sidebar
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While the Sidebar made its debut with Windows Vista in 2006, it originally appeared in Longhorn. This would stay to the right of your Windows Desktop, allowing you to add 'Gadgets', Microsoft's term for widgets at the time. These would display glanceable info about the news, display random photos from albums, access system controls like brightness and media playback, and more. Eventually, the sidebar was deprecated after Windows 8, with widgets being redesigned and moved to its own section in Windows 11. But the Windows sidebar in Longhorn showcased how quick bits of information and settings could be accessed in one place, and quickly.
Currently, in Windows 11, widgets are hidden away in a separate section, with little incentive for developers to make new ones, unlike Apple's approach for the best iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Bringing back the sidebar would be a great way for Microsoft to differentiate how it treats widgets on its operating system, making them more accessible in everyday workflows.
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1 Task-focused interface
The Ribbon interface introduced a tabbed approach that grouped many features into a toolbar, but Longhorn's approach aimed to go even further. The task-focused interface would have dynamically changed on the fly as you would use certain parts of Longhorn -- such as File Explorer or when writing a school report. While the Ribbon interface would show options laid across a bunch of tabs, Longhorn's approach would have adapted to your current tasks, tailoring its options to what you were currently working on. For example, frequently used files and folders could appear with options on the fly to send these as an email attachment to someone if you've done this before. Longhorn would learn your habits and workflow to adapt to its apps, making it easier for you to find certain options and files in an instant.
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Unfortunately, the ambition for this was too great for the team working on Longhorn, resulting in the scrapping of this feature. But with the advent of helpful AI features that Windows 11 offers, such as removing objects from photos and planning vacation trips with the family, a task-focused interface that changes instantly could work great with those AI tools, especially Copilot, making task management smarter and easier than ever before.
Microsoft had some great ideas back in the day
Longhorn has become something of a legend among Windows fans. Microsoft promised so much with this ambitious successor to Windows XP, yet it ended up delivering so little by the time Vista arrived in 2006. However, some features, like WinFS and the Task-focused Interface held great potential, and still do all these years later, so we're hopeful that Microsoft will revisit these someday. Over the years, the company has also been known to scrap fully-developed apps that made it to users' desktops, only to be discontinued after several years. Some of these products would be great to have again.
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