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PCWorld has a less than flattering take on the beta of Longhorn:

The most recent build of Longhorn–Microsoft’s next Windows–has some impressive visual touches, including the kinds of translucent objects found now in Apple’s OS X, and more powerful ways of finding files. But it doesn’t yet exhibit any breakthroughs in productivity, or promised features such as security improvements and smarter connections to handheld devices.

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Buyers of new 64-bit computers will undoubtedly opt for Longhorn’s enchanting interface and new device support–especially if security improves. It remains to be seen, though, whether additional innovations will give Windows XP users more reason to upgrade.

The fact that the review focuses primarily on the graphics effects bodes poorly for my opinion of Longhorn so far. All the graphics “enhancements” in XP are the first thing I turn off when I install it. Let’s hope there are more improvements under the hood. The indexing/virtual folders stuff looks good.