Is Microsoft's new version of Windows a radical innovation or a return to the company's winner-take-all software strategy from a decade ago?
The next operating system, code-named Longhorn, promises a huge leap forward from current versions of Windows, with better graphics, storage, search and security features, according to analysts and others familiar with the technology. But those features come at a price: Most can be used only through client software that's designed specifically for the new system.

Longhorn, which had its official coming-out party last week, marks Microsoft's return to "fat client" application development--software that resides largely on desktop or portable PCs rather than on a shared server or network. The company is even considering phasing out the development of a stand-alone browser, instead building Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Web-based applications that would run directly in Longhorn as "native" Windows code.

More details here.