Microsoft has brought back veteran product closer, Chris Jones to run the Longhorn beta. Chris Jones was one of the primary forces behind getting Whistler (Windows XP) out the door. He replaces Joe Peterson in managing Longhorn"s day to day movement towards release.
"Chris Jones...was brought back from COSD to save the (Longhorn) product," said one source. Longhorn has seen a number of features removed during its beta journey including WinFS, the Business Framework, the Side bar, the scripted shell, and other elements. Longhorn is currently scheduled for release in mid-2006. The first public beta is due out this Summer.