Microsoft decided to release a test version of its next-generation file system, WinFS, well ahead of schedule.The company made the first beta of the new file system available to Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. Developers had not expected to see a test version of WinFS until next year, under Microsoft’s previous timeline, IDG News Service reported.WinFS will not be a part of the next version of Windows, Windows Vista, when it ships at the end of next year, but will be available to the operating system as an add-on release sometime in 2007, said Quentin Clark, director of program management for WinFS at Microsoft. The technology originally was scheduled to be part of Windows Vista but Microsoft cancelled that plan in August 2004. WinFS promises to make it easier for users to search and organize their files on the Windows operating system, Clark said. “There are some exciting things with this beta including Windows XP support,” Tom Rizzo, Microsoft’s direcotr of product managment for SQL Server, wrote in his blog. “The end game for WinFS stays the same which is that WinFS will be in beta when Windows Vista ships. You’ll learn a lot more about WinFS at PDC (Professional Developers Conference 2005).“There is also a new WinFS Blog available up on MSDN for you to learn more about the product,” he said. “We took some people by surprise by releasing our beta early but we wanted to make sure we get it out there before PDC so developers have some time to try it out and provide feedback,” Rizzo added.When Microsoft first introduced WinFS in 2003, the company said it would include a new synchronization engine that could index a host of disparate Windows files – such as photos, e-mails, MP3s and documents – in a way that would en-able users to more easily search and catalog these files on their PC, said Joe Wilcox, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. “Originally there were capabilities around synchronization and search – among others – that looked very promising,” he said. However, with the changes Microsoft has made to the availability of WinFS since then, it has been unclear what features will be available in the final version. The test version may answer some of these questions, Wilcox said. The beta of WinFS includes a set of APIs and schemas that allow developers to start working with the new file system and get accustomed to the new data model, Clark said. Microsoft is putting a lot of thought and care into WinFS because it is the file system that will drive Windows for a whole new generation of users, he said. “As a file system technology, it’s important we get it right,” Clark said. Technology Industry