I've heard a couple of times that people - especially who have not been to the PDC - are a bit confused about all the new codenames and the technologies behind them. While it seems easy to google for more information about each it is also important to know which technology wave they belong to.
The first upcoming technology wave is made up of Yukon, the next version of SQL Server and Whidbey, the 2.0 version of the .NET Framework and Visual Studio (currently the version number is still 1.2 which is expected to be changed prior to the release). They are supposed to ship simultaneously in late 2004 (I think that's what I've heard at PDC - correct me if I'm wrong).
The second one is the "Longhorn wave", where Longhorn is the codename for the next version of the Windows operating system. The .NET FX is then included in the OS and the whole set of APIs is called WinFX. According to the Microsoft Developer Roadmap a new version of Visual Studio, code-named Orcas will be released at the same time (Currently, you can use the Whidbey version to develop Longhorn applications). A server version of Windows called "Longhorn Server" is expected to be shipped shortly after the client.
Yukon/Whidbey wave:
Longhorn/WinFX/Orcas wave:
Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway.
© Copyright 2010, Denis Bauer