Longhorn was the codename for Windows Vista when it was being developed started on May 2001. Its prior 5 months before the Windows XP released. It was originally expected to ship sometime late in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and Blackcomb, which was planned to be the company’s next major operating system release.

Gradually, “Longhorn” assimilated many of the important new features and technologies slated for Blackcomb, resulting in the release date being pushed back several times. Many of Microsoft’s developers were also re-tasked to build updates to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 to strengthen security.

Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft announced on August 27, 2004 that it had revised its plans. The original Longhorn, based on the Windows XP source code, was scrapped, and Longhorn’s development started anew, building on the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 codebase, and re-incorporating only the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release.

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