After months of speculation, Microsoft plans to give developers their first hard look at the next version of Windows in October.
The Redmond, Wash., company expects to release a "developers preview" of the new operating system, code-named Longhorn, at its professional developers conference in Los Angeles. Although it won't be a full beta, or test, version, Microsoft executives have promised it will be more than just "slideware," software that companies haven't been using and don't know when it will be coming.
The company is expected to hand out a development kit that will give developers their first look at the inner workings of the much-heralded new operating system. Longhorn will usher in a raft of changes from previous versions of Windows.
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