FATx/NTFS is dead, hello WinFS

Microsoft has made available Windows Future System (WinFS) beta through msdn (80'2MB), the new Windows filesystem is intended to be introduced with the recently named Windows Vista.

At first glance it wil allow upgrade the previous file systems bringing a better handling of structured and unstructured data, allowing symbolic links, removing the 26 drives limitation, ... However there are several comments that point that it makes almost impossible the coexistance of different operating systems in the same volume.

This beta is focused to developers, who will be able to use its unified Item Data Model across applications, present new relational organization constructs for data, and create applications that exploit data more powerfully. WinFS is a development platform that will improve developer productivity and reduce organizations' time to market. It requires Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed. WinFS Beta 1 will install on other editions of Windows XP such as Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition, but is only supported on Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition though it only provides local access if installed in home ed .

You can watch a 58 minute video with a WinFS demonstration at Channel9.