The next version of Microsoft's Windows operating system for
enterprise servers dropped its code name yesterday in exchange for
a more marketable one. The software maker announced its server
software code-named "Whistler", would sell under the moniker
Windows 2002.
The announcement was made at technology research firm Gartner
Group's annual Windows conference. Gartner analysts, including John
Enck, research director of server strategy, said they expected
Microsoft to release the product at the end of 2001, in line with
the software maker's earlier predictions.
Gartner analyst Tom Bittman, who followed the announcement with a
session on Microsoft's future plans for all its core business
segments from the Xbox gaming console to Windows circa 2006, called
Windows 2002 a "minor release".
Windows 2002, the software that Microsoft will offer to business
customers to run large servers and datacentres, shared the same
code name as Windows XP, the operating system that Microsoft is
developing for desktop computers. Both were previously known as
Whistler.
Much of the buzz at Gartner's conference focused on what Windows
2002 will mean for corporate customers, but the research group
predicted that by the end of 2002, more than 40% of the operating
systems running on the Windows NT kernel -- which is the same code
base used in Windows XP -- will be aimed at consumers.
Windows XP, which formally earned its name (shorthand for
"experience") in February, is also slated for a late-2001 release.
Media reports that the company would be late on the release
surfaced yesterday after a Giga Information Group analyst was
quoted as being sceptical about a 2001 release.
Bittman said Gartner was sticking to its estimate of an
end-of-the-year release. "We don't think they're slipping," he
said.
He added that while the packaged, retail version of Windows XP
could face delays, Microsoft is committed to shipping the software
to manufacturers to be pre-installed on PCs in time for the holiday
shopping season.
"If it does slip into the first quarter 2002, that would be
dramatically bad," he said. "But it won't."
Microsoft will try to time the release of Windows 2002 with new
servers running Intel's forthcoming 64-bit processor, Itanium.
"If Microsoft plays it smart they will be right there when Intel is
ready with its Itanium," Bittman said.
Gartner's annual Microsoft conference, this year titled "Windows
and Beyond: Riding the Microsoft Roller Coaster," began yesterday
with presentations about life beyond Microsoft Windows as it is
currently known, including the much-anticipated .Net initiative,
which aims to provide a framework for delivering services over the
Internet to multiple devices.
Matt Berger
Visit Gartner Group at
http://www.gartner.com
.