Jo Best from Silicon.com, a sister CNET Networks property to ZDNet, reports that Microsoft still intends to ship Longhorn in 2006 and that the Redmond-based company doesn't think that the next version of its desktop operating system is going to suffer from any halo effect being introduced into the market by Apple's iPod. The halo effect to which Best refers has to do with the recently reported boost in sales and marketshare that Apple's desktop systems are apparently enjoying as they ride the coattails of iPod's success. The timing of renewed interest in Apple's systems, along with the fact that a new version of the OS X operating system (code-named Tiger) is on the way, may at first appear to be the sort of double-whammy that Microsoft needs least as questions about Longhorn's timing and upgrade-worthiness continue to get raised.
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