New technology called Metro, which is reliant on graphics technology and APIs that will ship with Longhorn, will preserve the formatting of documents created in Microsoft Office apps and print them faster, and with better fidelity, on compatible printers.

Microsoft plans to ship Longhorn in time for Christmas 2006, and the next version of Windows for PCs will include new technology code-named Metro for reading and printing documents without the software program that created them, Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, said at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle on Monday. Microsoft plans to release a beta, or public test version of Longhorn--an operating system in the works for PCs and servers that includes new technologies for finding, viewing, and collaborating on documents and electronic media--this summer, Gates said during a keynote speech at the conference, an annual event Microsoft uses to disclose technical requirements for its software to makers of PCs and other computer hardware. A second beta edition is due before the final release, planned to be out in time for the holiday season next year.