Can Longhorn improve laptops??

Microsoft plans to address some of these shortcomings in Longhorn, the new version of Windows that's scheduled for release next year. To address the power issue, Microsoft is pushing laptop makers to add features such as flash memory-equipped drives, reducing the number of times a computer must spin a power-hungry hard drive.

Other planned changes include the addition of a "mobility center" that will serve as a single control panel for all manner of laptop-related settings. The concept is similar to the Security Center Microsoft added to Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Microsoft showed off its ideas for the mobility center last year, but Mitchell said the idea has advanced much further.

"Mobility Center is (now) much more real," Mitchell said in an interview. "It has to be real because it has to be in the beta, right?"

Mitchell wouldn't say for certain that the laptop-related features would be in the initial beta version that ships this summer, but he did say that "the mobility group is one of the most schedule-conscious groups in the whole Windows development team."

This week Microsoft also detailed a broader effort to add touch-screen abilities to Longhorn-era laptops. Mitchell demonstrated the way that finger-based input could be added to traditional laptops as well as to Tablet PC machines that allow for stylus input.

Inspired by the clamshell
Yet another Longhorn feature was, in fact, inspired by the cell phone. For years, clamshell-style phones have had a second, smaller screen on the outside so basic information, such as a clock and caller ID, can be viewed without opening the phone. Microsoft, along with Intel, has been working to translate the same capability to the laptop.
With Longhorn, Microsoft is adding support for such devices, although the approach is somewhat inelegant. Either the PC will be off, and the calendar or e-mail information on the secondary display risks being out of date, or, when accessing functions such as playing music, the laptop will be fully turned on. Down the road, Mitchell hopes to do the engineering work so information can remain updated with only needed parts of the computer being powered up. The company also hopes laptops will someday even be able to use a nearby watch or cell phone as an additional display.



Source:news.com

Interesting read! The outside screen thing is very cosmetic but it still sounds interesting. I mean the whole point of the LCD on the front of a cell is so you can check the time or who is calling quickly, I fail to see why you would need the same function on a bulky laptop that is either opened in front of you or closed and tucked away in a bag most of the time.

I just hope the laptop manufacturers continue to develop a more viable battery. Even now they say the fuel cell battery or whatever it is only lasts about 8 hours and is also nearly the same size as the laptop itself. I want a nuclear-powered battery that lasts indefinitely!!

Speaking of Longhorn, does anyone know if they are pushing for a quick release of the 64 bit version?