As first reported in the Tablet PC Buzz forums, Microsoft will announce on Friday morning that Longhorn will be officially named as Windows Vista. I first published information about this new name on my Internet Nexus blog. Later in the day, Activewin corroborated the story, noting that a Windows executive had mistakenly referred to the name during "a sales conference in Atlanta." Steven Bink (of Bink.nu) and some folks from Neowin.net also discovered that Microsoft had acquired the windowsvista.us domain name.
I'll be talking with Microsoft about this Friday morning, so I should have more information in time for newsletter version of Short Takes. But the official press release about the new naming will be available Friday morning at 9:00 am, I was told today.
Vista: Noun
1 - A view, especially a splendid view from a high position.
2 - A possible future action or event that you can imagine.
UPDATE: Microsoft has declined to comment on the "speculative stories" on the Internet. We'll see what Friday brings.