Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      A Windows Release by Any Other Name

      By
      eWEEK EDITORS
      -
      April 14, 2004
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        Is Microsoft poised to deliver a new version of Windows client before Longhorn? Or isnt it?

        It all depends how you define the word “release.” And Microsoft, for its part, seems to be consistently and consciously maintaining a shroud of vagueness around the term.

        According to a recent BusinessWeek story based on an alleged internal Microsoft memo, Microsoft last month officially killed a long-rumored interim Windows release code-named “Oasis” (which we and others called “Shorthorn.”) This interim release was set to be a stopgap between XP, released in 2001, and Longhorn, due out in 2006 or later.

        Greg Sullivan, a lead product manager with Windows client, finally acknowledged this week that a full-fledged interim Windows release had been under consideration. (Getting anyone on the client team to say that much was like pulling teeth.) But such a release is definitely off the table. “It was a contingency plan. We were evaluating it,” Sullivan conceded.

        On the heels of word of Oasis demise, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told eWEEK in a recent interview point-blank: “Theres no plan to have an interim version other than the ones you know about: XP SP2, which is very important. It may not have the sexiest name in the world, but that is a tremendously important release.”

        But does that mean there will be no Windows releases between now and then? Hardly.

        As Ballmer noted, first well have XP Service Pack 2. Sometimes the Microsoft brass refer to this as a “release,” and sometimes as a “mere” update. But SP2 meets a lot of the criteria that typically define an operating-system release. It includes a raft of brand-new features. Microsoft has warned that it will likely break some existing applications and thus requires some substantial testing. And its going to be preloaded on new PCs.

        There also are several other XP variants in the wings that Microsoft has acknowledged publicly. The next version of the Windows XP Tablet PC operating system, code-named “Lonestar,” is due to ship in June, right alongside Windows XP SP2. And Microsoft is set to release Windows XP 64-bit Extended Edition in the latter half of this year, simultaneous with the delivery of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

        Another new Windows release—the Windows XP Media Center PC update, code-named “Symphony”—also is under development. Due to debut this fall, Symphony is now in beta test. It is the operating-system release that will be required by the Windows Media Extenders that Microsoft is readying for a holiday 2004 launch. There will be media extenders for set-top boxes, TVs and Xboxes. These units will allow customers to run Media Center content on a variety of home-entertainment devices—not just on Media Center PCs.

        On top of all this, theres a still publicly unacknowledged version of Windows XP that could debut this year, as well. BusinessWeek identified this bundle of Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10 as “Windows XP Premium.” Our sources say some kind of a bundle like this is definitely in the works, as PC makers want and need a refreshed platform to better compete with Apples iTunes.

        Ive said it before and Ill say it again: The Windows client team needs to stop the waffling and the doublespeak. Its just not true that there are no Windows releases between now and Longhorn. In fact, there are at least five or six new versions on tap.

        To read the full story,

        click here.

        Avatar
        eWEEK EDITORS

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Android

        Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

        Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
        Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
        Read more
        Cloud

        Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

        Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
        Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
        Read more
        Cybersecurity

        How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

        eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
        Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
        Read more
        Big Data and Analytics

        How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

        Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
        There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
        Read more
        Apple

        Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

        Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
        If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
        Read more
        eWeek


        Contact Us | About | Sitemap

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

        © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×