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{{dablink|This article is about the political process. For the film directed by [[Alexander Payne]], see [[Election (movie)]]. For the [[Theology|theological concept]], see [[Predestination]].}}
'''Longhorn''' is [[Microsoft]]'s [[codename]] (for a full list see ''[[Microsoft codenames]]'') for the next version of its [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] [[operating system]], to follow on from [[Windows XP#Service Pack 3 (pending)|Windows XP SP3]] [http://news.com.com/Reversal+Next+IE+update+divorced+from+Windows/2100-1032_3-5577263.html?tag=nl] and [[Windows Server 2003]]. It was originally expected to ship sometime early in [[2006]] as a minor step between [[Windows XP|Whistler]] and [[Windows Blackcomb]] (Longhorn is a name of a [[sports bar]] at the [[Whistler-Blackcomb]] [[ski resort]]).
{{political parties}}
Gradually, Longhorn assimilated many important new features and technologies of Blackcomb. On [[August 27]], [[2004]], Microsoft announced that they are delaying release of [[WinFS]] so that Longhorn could be released in "a reasonable timeframe" (officially marked as [[December]] of [[2006]]). Two [[beta version]]s have been planned, the first expected to debut in Q2 2005 and the second in Q4 2005, with [[release candidate]]s to be released throughout 2006.
An '''election''' is a process in which a [[vote]] is held to choose amongst candidates to fill an office, or amongst [[political party|political parties]] offering a slate of potential office holders for a house of representatives. It is the most used mechanism by which a [[democracy]] fills offices in the [[legislature]], and sometimes in the [[executive]], [[judiciary]], [[regional government|regional]] or [[local government]]. Elections are held in many other settings from [[club]]s and societies to [[business]].
Longhorn is currently available as a preview release available to [[MSDN|Microsoft Developer Network]] (MSDN) subscribers, and at select Microsoft developer conferences. The preview release is classified as an [[Alpha version|alpha]] version at the moment, and as such its performance and feature sets are not necessarily representative of the release product. As with many products (including all Windows releases since 98) it has since been leaked onto popular [[file sharing]] networks.
[[Electoral reform]] describes work to introduce fair and democratic [[electoral system]]s where they are not in place, or to improve the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. [[Psephology]] is the study of results and other [[statistics]] relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results).
==Technologies==
==Definitions of democratic elections==
Microsoft labels the key new technologies as "The Pillars of Longhorn", which are:
In theory, the authority of the [[government]] in democracies derives solely from the consent of the governed. The principal mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority is the holding of free and fair elections.
* '''Fundamentals''': new developments to the basic structure of the operating system including the [[Microsoft .NET|.NET]] framework, further support for [[digital rights management]] (DRM), an application deployment engine ("[[ClickOnce]]"), improvements to the installation of applications (Windows Installer/MSI 4.0), and the Trustworthy Computing initiative, previously known as Pallidium, see also ([[trusted computing]]).
* '''[[Avalon (API) | Avalon]]''': a new [[user interface]] subsystem and [[Application programming interface|API]] based on [[XML]], .NET, and [[vector graphics]], which will make use of [[3D computer graphics]] hardware and [[Direct3D]] technologies. See [[Windows Graphics Foundation]].
* '''[[Indigo (messaging system) | Indigo]]''': a service-oriented messaging system to allow programs to interoperate as part of the .NET framework.
* '''[[WinFX]]''': a new API to allow access to these new features, replacing the current "Win32" API (see [[Windows API]]).
It is worth noting that Avalon, Indigo, and WinFX are technologies that will be made available to [[Windows XP]] and [[Windows Server 2003]] as well, and are therefore not technologies to be exclusive to Longhorn, but rather developed in time for the Longhorn release, to be incorporated in that operating system. This doesn't imply coming visual changes to these operating systems though, as Aero will still be exclusive to Longhorn. The reason for [[backporting]] these technologies is to allow an easier introduction to these technologies to developers and end users.
March 26th Microsoft released a Community Preview featuring both Avalon and Indigo to enable developers to experiment with the new technologies without running the Alpha version of Longhorn. Due to many requests it was released to the general public and is available at Microsoft's website [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=85ab132b-f1aa-4422-b053-272d79863013&DisplayLang=en].
[[Image:Hustings20050204 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|240px|left|A pre-election [[hustings]] at the [[Oxford West and Abingdon]] constituency, England.]]
[[Image:ElezioneBrunate.jpg|thumb|right|A poster for the European Parliament election 2004 in Italy, showing party lists]]
There is a broad consensus as to what kind of elections can be considered free and fair. [[Jeane Kirkpatrick]], scholar and former [[United States]] [[ambassador]] to the [[United Nations]], has offered this definition: "Democratic elections are not merely symbolic....They are competitive, periodic, inclusive, definitive elections in which the chief decision-makers in a government are selected by [[citizenship|citizens]] who enjoy broad freedom to criticize government, to publish their criticism and to present alternatives."
==Features==
The [[Democracy Watch (International)]] website, further defines fair democratic elections as, "Elections in which great care is taken to prevent any explicit or hidden structural bias towards any one candidate, aside from those beneficial biases that naturally result from an [[electorate]] that is equally well informed about the various assets and liabilities of each candidate". This was more formally stated in 2000 by Chief Justice [[Murray Gleeson]] of the [[High Court of Australia|Australian High Court]] as "The democratic and lawful means of securing change, if change be necessary, is an expression of the will of an informed electorate."
Additionally, Longhorn will include many other new features.
===Aero===
The apparently simple requirement of an informed electorate is difficult to achieve in modern electorates with thousands of voters, most of whom have no prospects of knowing candidates other than by information published by third parties. The party with the most immediate interest in having structural biases is the government conducting the election. One possible result is the 'show' elections described below.
Longhorn will include a completely re-designed user interface, code-named ''Aero''. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than previous Windows interfaces. The most visible addition to the interface is the ''sidebar'', an area at the side of the screen consisting of ''tiles'' which display dynamic information about whatever window is currently in the foreground, which is essentially an extension of the "system tray" on the Windows [[task bar]]. Note that the sidebar had been removed as part of the WinHEC 2005 release (Build 5048).
===Search===
Some other scholars argue that elections are at most secondary to a functioning democracy. They argue that the [[rule of law]] is more important. An example would be pre-unification [[Hong Kong]], which was ruled by an unelected British administrator but was generally considered to be a free and open society due to its strong legal institutions.
Longhorn will feature a new search engine which will allow for instant display of results for a given search. This is in contrast to the search engine of Windows XP, which can take several minutes to display results. The Longhorn search will allow you to add multiple filters to continually refine your search (Such as "File contains the word 'example'"). There will also be saved searches which will act as [[Virtual Folders]], where opening a folder will execute a specific search automatically and display the results as a normal folder. The search will also feature other usability improvements. The Longhorn search is actually built on an expanded and improved version of the indexing service for the search in Windows XP.
===Metro===
==Characteristics of elections==
Metro is the codename for Microsoft's next generation document format, which is based on XML. It is similar in many ways to [[Adobe Systems]]' [[PDF]]. Metro is intended to allow users to view, print, and archive files without the original program that created it. The name Metro also refers to the print path in Longhorn. With Metro, documents can remain in the same format from the time they are created to the time they are printed. Microsoft states that Metro will provide better fidelity to the original document by using a consistent format for both screen and print output.
===Who can vote===
[[Image:ElezioneMilano.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004]]
A crucial issue in elections is the question of [[suffrage]]—who is allowed to vote—whether the electorate comprises the entire citizenry or some subset of it. The democracy of ancient Athens did not allow women, children, foreigners and slaves from voting—thus disenfranchising the majority of the population. Over the last few centuries since elections began to be held there has been a long struggle to expand the franchise to excluded groups.
While many analysts suspect Metro is intended to be a "PDF-killer," Microsoft insists that they are not attempting to duplicate all the functionality of the PDF. For example, at the time of this writing, Metro is not planned to have the capabilities for dynamic documents.
Originally in the U.S., for example, only white male property holders enjoyed the right to elect and be elected when the Constitution was signed in [[1787]]. The property qualification disappeared by the early 19th century, and women won the right to vote in [[1920]]. [[African American]]s, however, did not enjoy full voting rights in the southern United States until the civil rights movement of the [[1960s]]. And finally, in [[1971]], younger citizens were given the right to vote when the United States lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. In Canada [[First Nations]] were long denied the vote.
===Other Features===
There are still many restrictions in place. Many countries do not allow those judged mentally incapable to vote, and some deny the vote to serving [[prisoner]]s as well. In some cases, such as some U.S. states, convicted [[felon]]s are also barred from voting upon release. Children are not permitted to vote in any country; however, the minimum voting age varies.
* Full support for the "[[NX bit|NX]]" (No-Execute) feature of processors. This feature, present in [[AMD]]'s [[AMD64]] architecture, as well as [[Intel]]'s [[EM64T]] Architecture, can flag certain parts of memory as containing data instead of executable code, which prevents overflow errors from resulting in arbitrary code execution. This should not be confused with [[trusted computing]] facilities provided by a so-called ''[[Fritz-chip]]''.
* Built-in [[DVD]] recording capabilities, including [[Mount Rainier (packet writing)|Mt. Rainier]] support.
* A new installation program that will install Longhorn in about 15 minutes (which is present in alpha build 4074 of Windows Longhorn).
* Native Raw Image support (As used by most digital cameras).
* Native, embedded RSS support, with developer API.
* Some level of file encryption support, which will prevent unauthorized viewing of files on stolen laptops/hard drives.
* The "My" prefixes will be dropped, so "My Documents" will just be "Documents", "My Computer" will just be "Computer", etc.
==Technologies/Features Delayed until future release==
In some countries, [[Compulsory voting|voting is compulsory]]. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, they may be subject to punitive measures such as a small fine.
* '''[[WinFS]]''' (short for either ''Windows Future Storage'' or ''Windows File System''): a combined [[relational database]] and [[filesystem]], based on the next version of [[Microsoft SQL Server|SQL Server]] (codenamed ''Yukon''). Working on top of [[NTFS]], it will provide abilities to represent objects and their relationships, rather than just a hierarchy of files and folders. The removal of WinFS from Windows Longhorn was announced in August 2004, and is expected to be released as an update to Longhorn, entering beta stages at about the same time as Longhorn is released, but also will be ported to Windows XP to help end users along with the transition phase to Longhorn. Microsoft's promotion of this technology has spurred the recent trend towards [[desktop search]] tools.
* '''[[MSH (shell)|Monad]]''' A new [[command-line interface]] called ''[[MSH (shell)|MSH]]'', and codenamed ''Monad'' will not be fully implemented in Longhorn, but will exist in it to some extent. It plans to combine the Unix [[pipes and filters]] philosophy with that of [[object-oriented programming]].
===Who is voted for===
[[Image:Geoffrey 2002 001 Taipei Election.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Campaign flags in Taipei during a city council election 2002]]
In some states far more positions are filled through election than others.
==Graphics hardware requirements==
In all democracies it is often the case that some powerful figures are not elected. Those institutions that were designed to not be too closely swayed by public opinion are often not elected. For instance judges are usually appointed for life, or until a specific age, to insulate them against popular pressure and help ensure their impartiality. This is often seen as an integral part of the [[separation of powers]].
Longhorn's graphics requirements are defined in relation to the different desktop experiences.
===Aero Glass===
However, there are some counterexamples. In the United States some judges are elected, and in ancient Athens military generals were elected.
This graphics mode adds support for 3D graphics, animation and visual special effects in addition to the features offered by Aero Express.
*Intended for mainstream and high-end graphics cards.
*At least 64 MB of graphics memory, 128 MB recommended, or 256 MB for 1600x1200+.
*At least 32 [[bits per pixel]].
*3D hardware acceleration with capabilities equal to [[DirectX]] 9.
*A memory bandwidth of 2 GB / second.
*Capable of drawing ~1.5M triangles / second, one window being ~150 triangles.
*A graphics card that uses AGP 4X or PCI Express 8-lane bus.
Although this may appear expensive by today's standards, it is likely that such a configuration will be entry-level or lower by Longhorn's release.
===Aero Diamond===
Also frequent is the erecting of an intermediate tier of [[elector]]s between the people and the elected figure. For example, the [[President of the United States]] is not elected directly by the people but by the [[U.S. Electoral College]], and [[United States Senate|U.S. Senators]] were originally chosen by the state legislatures. Also, in the [[Westminster System]] the [[Prime Minister]], who holds the most power, is formally chosen by the [[head of state]] and in reality by the legislature or by their party.
A graphics mode customized for the Longhorn Media Center Edition, and will not be made available in the other editions.
===TypesAero of electionExpress===
The lesser Aero visual experience offering only the basic visual improvements introduced by Longhorn, such as composition based DPI scaling.
In most democratic political systems, there are a range of different types of election, corresponding to different layers of public governance or geographical jurisdiction. Some common types of election are:
*Intended for mainstream or lower-end graphics cards.
*[[Presidential election]]
*Uses the Avalon Desktop Composition window manager.
*[[General election]]
*A Longhorn Driver Display Model (LDDM) driver is a requirement.
*[[Primary election]]
*[[By-election]]
*[[Local election]]
*[[Co-option]]
===To Go===
Closely related to elections are [[referendum]]s (or referenda) in which citizens can vote on specific laws and policies. Referendums are often added to an election ballot. Some areas have methods by which individuals can add measures to a ballot by petitions, but in most districts they are called by governments. Referendums are particularly prevalent and important in a [[direct democracy]] such as [[Switzerland]].
The new Longhorn look & feel without any visual special effects, similar to the visual style Luna of Windows XP in that it resembles merely an application [[skin (computing)|skin]]. As with Luna, no additional hardware requirements compared to the classic Windows interface.
*A simple option for consumer upgrades, and mobile / low-cost devices.
*No additional requirements compared to the lesser Classic mode.
*Fallback mode in case the hardware requirements for Aero aren't met.
===Electoral systemsClassic===
The most basic user interface offered by Longhorn, which is also seen in [[Windows 2000]], or [[Windows XP]] with its visual style Luna deactivated.
[[Electoral system]]s refer to the detailed constitutional arrangements and [[voting system]]s which convert the vote into a determination of which individuals and political parties are elected to positions of power.
* An option for corporate deployments and upgrades.
* Requires Windows XP Display Driver Model (XPDM) or LDDM drivers.
* No graphics card hardware requirements exceeding those of Windows XP.
==References==
The first step is to tally the votes, for which various different [[vote counting systems]] and [[ballot]] types are used. Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either [[Proportional representation|proportional]] or [[majoritarianism|majoritarian]]. Among the former are [[party-list proportional representation]] and [[additional member system]]. Among the latter are [[First Past the Post electoral system|First Past the Post (FPP)]] (relative majority) and [[absolute majority]]. Many countries have growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as [[approval voting]], [[single transferable vote]], [[instant runoff voting]] or a [[Condorcet method]].
*[http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/graphics-reqs.mspx Graphics Hardware and Drivers for "Longhorn"] – Version as of April, 2004; retrieved June 10, 2004
*Microsoft (August 27, 2004). [http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/Aug04/08-27Target2006PR.asp Microsoft Announces 2006 Target Date for Availability Of "Longhorn"]. Press Release. Retrieved November 30, 2004.
While openness and [[accountability]] are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of voting itself is usually an important exception. The [[secret ballot]] is a relatively modern development, but it is now considered crucial in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation.
(See [[Electoral system#National electoral systems|National electoral systems]] for individual electoral systems)
===Scheduling===
The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In most states elections are held between every three and six years. There are exceptions to this; the U.S. [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representives]] stands for election every two years, while the [[President of Ireland]] holds a largely ceremonial position for seven years.
Some nations have pre-determined and fixed election dates (e.g., the U.S.). This has the advantage of fairness and predictability. However, it tends to greatly lengthen campaigns, and makes dissolving the legislature more problematic if the date should happen to fall at time when dissolution is inconvenient. Other states (e.g., the [[United Kingdom]]) only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will actually go to the polls.
==Difficulties with elections==
===Show elections===
While all modern democracies hold regular elections, the converse is not true—not all elections are held by true democracies. Some governments employ other 'behind-the-scenes' means of candidate selection but organise a sham process that appears to be a genuine electoral contest, in order to present the facade of popular consent and support.
[[Dictatorship]]s, such as the former [[Soviet Union]], have been known to hold such ''[[show election]]s''. In the 'single candidate' type of show-election, there may only be one candidate for any one given position, with no alternative choices for voters beyong voting yes or no to this candidate. In the 'fixed vote' type of show-election such elections may offer several candidates for each office. In both cases, the government uses intimidation or [[vote-rigging]] to ensure a high yes vote or that only the government-approved candidates are chosen.
Another model is the 'false diversity' type of show-election in which there may be several choices, all of which support the status quo. In theory, 'false diversity' elections would be recognised by a truly informed electorate but as noted above this may be impossible, for example where a government conducting elections also controls the media by which most voters are informed. Examples of this are given below.
===Bias and limited options===
Similar to the false diversity elections are those in which candidates are limited by undemocratic forces and biases. The Iranian form of government is an example of this. In the [[2004 Iranian parliamentary elections]] almost all of the reformist candidates were ruled unfit by the [[Guardian Council]] of religious leaders. According to the Iranian constitution this was fully within the Council's constitutional rights, and designed to prevent enemies of the [[Islamic Revolution]] from coming to power.
Simply permitting the opposition access to the ballot is not enough. In order for democratic elections to be fair and competitive, opposition parties and candidates must enjoy the rights to [[freedom of speech]], assembly, and movement as necessary to voice their criticisms of the government openly and to bring alternative policies and candidates to the voters. In states where these freedoms are not granted or where opposition party politicians are harassed and their events disrupted, elections will not reflect the legitimate views of the populace. A current example of such a state is [[Zimbabwe]]. In states with fragile democracies where there has been a history of political violence or blatantly unfair elections, international [[election observer]]s are often called in by external bodies like the United Nations, and protected by foreign forces, to guarantee fairness.
In addition, elections in which opposition candidates are not given access to radio, newspaper and television coverage are also likely to be biased. An example of this kind of structural bias was the [[2004]] re-election of [[Russia]]n president [[Vladimir Putin]], in which the state controlled media consistently supported his election run, consistently condemned his opponents, provided virtually unlimited free advertising to Putin's campaign, and barred attempts by his opponents to run campaign advertisements. For this reason, many countries ensure equal air time to election ads from all sizeable parties and have systems that help pay for election advertising.
Some allege that beyond the examples given here, there are more subtle and systemic forms of 'false-diversity' in elections which are not generally recognised. [[Noam Chomsky]] and other progressives argue that in the West, and especially the U.S., powerful corporate interests behind the [[media]] act as a filter that only lets preordained views be heard by the public and excludes [[third party|third parties]] and alternative viewpoints.
===Corruption of democracies===
The very openness of a democracy means that in many states it is possible for voters to vote to get rid of democracy itself.
Democracies have failed many times in history from [[ancient Greece]] to 18th and 19th century [[France]] (see [[Second Empire]] under [[Napoleon III]]), and perhaps most famously in 20th century [[Germany]], when the [[National Socialist German Workers Party|Nazis]] initially came to power by democratic means (albeit by [[plurality]] vote). Throughout most of the developing world today democracies remain unstable, often collapsing to military [[coup]] or other forms of dictatorship. Thinkers such as [[Aristotle]] and many others long believed democracy to be inherently unstable and to always quickly collapse.
Most democracies have some form of [[separation of powers]] so that even if a tyrant is elected the [[constitution]] would still have to be obeyed, in theory at least. Of course, an elected government can change the constitution, but this can be made difficult by, in some cases, requiring a 2/3 majority in two consecutive elected governments—the actual requirements vary by each constitutional system.
To limit this danger the system used in many states indirectly places limits on how easily new parties can form. The "first past the post" electoral system makes it hard for new parties to quickly gain power. In states using proportional representation systems, there is a determined proportion of the popular vote that must be won before a party can be admitted to parliament.
==Elections around the world==
:''See [[List of election results]] for an overview by country''.
==List of election advertising techniques==
*[[Attack ad]]
*[[Canvassing]]
*[[Direct marketing]]
*[[Election promise]]
*[[Get out the vote]]
*[[Lawn sign]]
*[[Negative campaigning]]
*[[Opposition research]]
*[[PIG (elections)|PIG]]
*[[Push poll]]
==See also==
*[[List of politics-related topics]]
*[[Demarchy]] — "Democracy without Elections"
*[[Garrat Elections]]
*[[Gerontocracy]]
*[[Meritocracy]]
*[[Pluralism]]
*[[Political campaigning]]
*[[Political science]]
*[[Polling station]]
*[[Sortition]]
*[[Voter turnout]]
==External links==
*[http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn Microsoft Longhorn Developer Center] -- Developer information on Longhorn at [[MSDN]].
*[http://www.angus-reid.com/tracker/ Angus Reid Consultants: Election Tracker]
**[http://wwwmsdn.cnnmicrosoft.com/WORLDLonghorn/election.watchunderstanding/ CNNpillars/default.comaspx WorldThe News:Pillars Electionof WatchLonghorn]
**[http://longhorn.msdn.microsoft.com Microsoft Longhorn SDK] -- Documentation of the Longhorn APIs made public so far at [[MSDN]].
*[http://www.democracywatch.org#great_care Democracy Watch (International)'s Definition of Democracy]
*[http://www.winsupersite.com/longhorn/ Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows] -- Detailed information regarding Longhorn, including screenshots.
*[http://www.electionworld.org Electionworld.org]
**[http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/pdc2003.asp PDC 2003 Section] -- Information regarding Longhorn build 4051, released at PDC 2003.
*[http://www.vgt2004.org Voter Guide Toolkit]
*[http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/guidebook/interfaces/windows/longhorn GUIdebook: Windows Longhorn Gallery] - A website dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces
*[http://www.longhornblogs.com/ Longhorn Blogs] -- Non-corporate, community-based initiative of Microsoft's next version of Windows
*[http://www.longhornbuzz.com/ Longhorn Buzz] -- Non-corporate, community-based forums dedicated to Microsoft's next version of Windows
[[Category:Elections]]
*[http://www.windowslonghorn.net/ Longhorn News] -- Non-corporate, community-based news site, dedicated to Longhorn news.
[[Category:Ethics]]
**[http://www.windowslonghorn.net/modules.php?set_albumName=WindowsBetas&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php Gallery Section] -- Screenshots from development versions of Longhorn.
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