If you want us to improve, now we're getting someplace. Take a deep breath. Relax. Feel better?

See, next week we're doing something different. We're asking you to help us improve Longhorn so it's an operating system that you can't hate.

Why is this a massive change? Everytime we've released a version of Windows before we kept it secret. We made anyone who saw it sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Even many of those of you who signed NDAs weren't really given full access to the development teams and often if you were, it was too late to really help improve the product.

Let me explain. I've only been a Microsoft employee for five months. Back in the good old days I was a beta tester. First with Windows 95 and NT, later with 98, ME, 2000, and XP.

I never really got to work with the development teams while the software was in a “pre-beta” state. I never had a weblog where I could tell them “I hate the UI” years before the software will ship. Yeah, we had secret newsgroups back in the good old days. Some of us even got invited to meet with the development teams. But, never did Microsoft ask me to write on my public weblog all of its dirty laundry so that it could improve.

Next week, that's exactly what we're asking for. Tear into Longhorn and tell us what you think.

We're giving our developers open access to a very recent build of Longhorn. Just days old at this point. And we want you to hate it. Openly. On your weblog. Tell us what's wrong with it. What can be improved about it.