What was Windows Blackcomb?

[mkbea1985]

There isn't much information on the internet about it but from what I've seen it was a revolutionary os with a complete UI redesign no longer having the taskbar at the bottom or having a start menu. What happened to it and why did it never come to be?

[sagem]

where did you look? The code name was changed from Blackcomb in early 2006 to Windows Vienna.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Windows+Bl ... &form=QBRE

[Melcher]

There isn't much information on the internet about it but from what I've seen it was a revolutionary os with a complete UI redesign no longer having the taskbar at the bottom or having a start menu. What happened to it and why did it never come to be?

Blackomb was to be the succesor of Longhorn. Take in mind that at this time Longhorn was scheduled as a minor release. Eventually Longhorn kind of became Blackomb as Longhorn became a major release with much of the features planned for Blackcomb.

Edit: In 2001 during the internal 'BPR demo' a concept of what Blackcomb should look like was demoed by Steve Guggenheimer. A video of this demo found its way to the internet. This demo was all about merging the Windows & MSN UI together and service integration.

[DiskingRound]

There isn't much information on the internet about it but from what I've seen it was a revolutionary os with a complete UI redesign no longer having the taskbar at the bottom or having a start menu. What happened to it and why did it never come to be?

Blackomb was to be the succesor of Longhorn. Take in mind that at this time Longhorn was scheduled as a minor release. Eventually Longhorn kind of became Blackomb as Longhorn became a major release with much of the features planned for Blackcomb.

Edit: In 2001 during the internal 'BPR demo' a concept of what Blackcomb should look like was demoed by Steve Guggenheimer. A video of this demo found its way to the internet. This demo was all about merging the Windows & MSN UI together and service integration.

I believe this is the video:

[betaluva]

i have watched this video a thousand times, they should have released this thing..

[Beta2.1Collector]

Since all of the searches for Blackcomb lead to Windows 7. i think it was Released as Windows 7

[wasabilee]

the end sums it all
MS always has ideas but suck at making them implemented right or on time

all these demos and concepts including Mars, Longhorn,Blackcomb shows it

[bckf]

I explained pretty much everything is publicly known about Blackcomb in previous thread several months ago.
http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewto ... 83#p361083
You'll also find why the posted video is not strictly about Blackcomb.

[Nashville]

Windows Blackcomb --> Windows Vienna --> Windows Codename ''Seven'' --> Windows 7

[Overdoze]

People think Blackcomb is 7 simply because Blackcomb was suppose to come after Longhorn. Longhorn is Vista, and 7 came (surprise, surprise) after Vista. And IMHO, that's about as much as Blackcomb and 7 are related.

[hounsell]

Yeh, Blackcomb as a concept was pretty much dead by the reset, but that completely ended it. They reset their plans for Windows, and that included Blackcomb.

But as I said, it was almost a non-thing even before then, because it was only ever to be the next major release - Longhorn was originally just to be a stop gap between Whistler and Blackcomb (Whistler and Blackcomb being two mountains in British Colombia, and Longhorn being the name of the bar that sits between them).

[Nashville]

I have Windows Vienna CD somewhere, I think it's just Windows XP with Vienna mod, but I need to check it.

[Archenemy]

The reason why people call windows 7 beta windows blackcomb alongside windows vienna is because windows blackcomb was meant to be the successor of windows longhorn and windows 7 is the successor of longhorn.

[mkbea1985]

Windows for the longest time since Windows 95 has been essentially the same with the UI layout except for features and graphical enhancements. It would have been nice to see something completely different such as the original Blackcomb. I don't count Windows 8 as something different since it still included the same desktop as previous versions. I guess from this point on all future versions of Windows will be the same taskbar at the bottom with the start menu and the icons on the left. I guess if Microsoft decided to completely change the desktop everyone would complain but I don't know why people didn't complain when Windows 95 came out.

[Overdoze]

UI-wise, even 95 wasn't extremely super duper revolutionary as people tend to portray it. Windows 3.x before it had a desktop, icons and windows. 95 added a taskbar and upgraded the rest of the shell a bit. The result is merely an updated version of the desktop metaphor, not something completely new nor different from what people used before. And yet, people did complain, because apparently it was too difficult for some to double- or even right-click and use the start menu for quick access.

[Nashville]

I have Windows Vienna CD somewhere, I think it's just Windows XP with Vienna mod, but I need to check it.

EDIT: Just checked, it's just a modded Windows XP SP3, nothing special.