Microsoft plans to drop the "Home" and "Pro" tags with its next release of Windows, code-named Longhorn.

While the two streams of the product will remain, the company is also considering making the features found in today's Windows XP Media Center and Tablet PC editions part of Longhorn’s core.

Although it is staying mum on many Longhorn packaging details, Microsoft representatives are willing to reveal a certain set of details about the product now that a first beta release is set to ship in the coming months and the decisions about key operating system components have been made.

For one, Microsoft has decided that the Home and Pro monikers it introduced with Windows XP to distinguish versions of the operating system meant for home and office use are not descriptive enough. There will be versions of Longhorn specifically meant for consumer and business use, but the naming will be changed.

"Having more friendly names that more accurately describe what the products are is going to be a big focus for us," said Brad Brooks, director of Windows client consumer marketing at Microsoft. "You will see very clear distinctions between what we are doing on the consumer side versus the business side."

However, in an interview at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week, Brooks declined to further discuss Microsoft's plans for Longhorn naming, except to confirm that the product will be called Windows. "There are lots of thoughts, but we're not ready to talk about it," he said.

As it works on packaging for Longhorn, Microsoft is considering adding the Media Center and Tablet PC features to the core operating system package. Today Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition are distinct products.

Building Media Center and Tablet PC capabilities into the basic operating system would allow for a rich and flexible user experience, Brooks said. For example, a high-end laptop could be set to function as a Media Center PC when it is docked and as a Tablet PC when out of the docking station, he said.

This means that all manufacturers should make sure that their Tablet PC runs the Longhorn product. Otherwise, don't waste your money.

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