Microsoft Windows is currently BETA testing the new Microsoft Windows Vista, due to be released sometime between July and December this year. Windows Vista, codenamed ''Longhorn'' will be the successor to Windows XP, which was codenamed ''Luna''. The arrival of Windows Live Messenger will clash with the look of Windows XP. Alex Kara, a trusted BETA tester of this software had predicted that a new Windows Operating System was in the pipeline due to the extraordinary difference in features between MSN Messenger 7.5 and 8.0. Live Messenger 8.0 seemed to be too ''fat'' to look good in a standard Luna (XP) desktop. Windows Vista will run on computers with screen sizes 15% more than what are currently available.

Officials say Microsoft Windows Vista is just the beginning. Windows Vienna, codenamed ''Blackcomb'' will be released after that. The estimated release date of Vienna is around 2011. Internal sources pitch Vienna as being not just a major revision of Windows, but a complete departure from the way we have typically thought about interacting with a computer. While Windows Vista is intended to be a technology-based release, Vienna is targeted directly at revolutionizing the way we interact with our home and office PCs.

For instance, the "Start" philosophy, introduced in Windows 95, may be completely replaced by the "new interface" which was said in 1999 to be scheduled for "Vienna", before being moved to the Longhorn project, and then back to "Vienna". The Explorer shell will be replaced in its entirety, with features such as the taskbar being replaced by a new concept based on the last 10 years of research and development at the Microsoft "VIBE" research lab.

Microsoft Windows Vista and Vienna will use a new graphical interface called Aeroglass, where the Windows are transparent, and are able to tilt to allow viewing of the Window behind it. Alex Kara has taken screenshots that can be found in the Photo Album under ''Windows Vista''. The ''My'' prefix in ''My Documents'' and other folders will be dropped, and ''Music'', ''Images'' and ''Video'' will not be located in the ''Documents'' folder. Along with the arrival of Windows Vista will come new products such as Microsoft Office ''12'', Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (which will include tabbed browsing by default), Windows Live Messenger 8.0, and Windows Media Player 11 (Codenamed ''Aurora'').

Laptops will be made Vista ready before Christmas, and new models will include a screen on the front cover of the laptop, as Windows Vista supports ''Sideview'', which allows you to browse things such as your contacts without starting up the computer. A new way of launching applications is expected - among other ideas, Microsoft is investigating a pie menu-type circular interface, similar in function to the dock in Mac OS X. They will all support the new generation of Hi-Definition monitors, and will exploit the transparency effect of the Windows to the max.

Alex Kara says the experience has been more than fantastic, and he warns that people may not like Windows Live Messenger 8.0 at first, however they will get used to it in a while. Windows Vista is also fantastic!

Alex Kara (Kara Media Corporation)