Sunday night saw the release of several screenshots of "Longhorn" Build 5203. Many questions arose, in particular on Microsoft's "Longhorn" newsgroups. Mike Brannigan from Microsoft has taken the liberty to have tried to answer everyone's questions, questions often repeatedly asked. So I though maybe I could help by putting together a little FAQ concerning this particular build and the current news regarding "Longhorn" Beta 1. Is "Longhorn" Build 5203 considered Beta 1? No. Build 5203 is a daily build. Each day, Microsoft develops a new build of Longhorn as they progress and move forward. Build 5203 is just another one of those builds. Is it true Beta Invites for the "Longhorn" Beta 1 Test phase are going out at this time? Yes. Invites have been sent out and continue to be sent out as each day goes by. Just because you do not have an invite now does not mean you won't tomorrow or a few weeks from now. Is Beta 1 finished? Beta 1 is being finalized and worked on as of now (7/11) will a hopeful release to tester's hands "late summer". No exact day has been given. Microsoft wants to make sure Beta 1 is worth testing and stable to run. Has "Longhorn" Build 5203 been "leaked" from Microsoft? No. The only thing "leaked" are just screenshots of the build. That's it. If someone claims to have the download, be cautious as its probably not it. There has been no confirmation of any leak what-so-ever. Can I download the current Build? No. There is not Build online for downloading legally through Microsoft. "Longhorn" Beta 1 will be released to invited testers as well as MSDN Subscribers this summer. How can I become a Beta tester for "Longhorn" Beta 1? You can go to beta.microsoft.com and fill out a survey there entering yourself into Microsoft's Beta testing pool. By the looks of the screenshots, you can see Microsoft has definitely made some major improvements to the user interface in "Longhorn". But we that's just the beginning! The best is yet to come! Source: MSNTechToday
