Windows Upgrade Will Include Security Advances

SEATTLE, April 25 -- Microsoft Corp.'s ambitious plan to keep data safe on PCs could make a scaled-down debut in the next release of Windows, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said Monday during a presentation on the new computer operating system.

The long-delayed Windows upgrade, code-named Longhorn and expected to be released in December 2006, has been touted as the most significant update to the operating system since 1995.

On Monday, Gates demonstrated Longhorn's new graphics and other features, which include better ways to visualize data, such as seeing through windows stacked atop one another, more natural file organization and faster searching.

He also promised better performance and reliability -- but hinted the final release could be delayed further.

"Our key goal in terms of Longhorn is that it be the highest-quality release we've ever done," Gates told the audience at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference. "At every stage of the way, we're going to listen to feedback."

Longhorn is the first Windows version to implement Microsoft's vision of boosting security by putting cryptographic keys in special silicon chips that would be built into PCs. Currently, such encryption locks are stored as data on a hard drive.

The security chip in computers running Longhorn would render sensitive files inaccessible if someone tried to boot the machine from a portable hard drive or floppy disk.

Some privacy advocates said the new chip could enable strict copyright protection schemes and restrict the tinkering that has helped drive computer industry innovation.