Microsoft is considering ways to add functionality to
Windows XP after the release of Service Pack 2 later this year. The
discussions, under the project name Windows XP Reloaded, could
result in an interim release of Windows before
Longhorn.
Such a release would represent a strategy change for Microsoft,
but not an entirely unexpected one. Analysts at Gartner have
predicted that Microsoft would offer an interim release of Windows
to placate customers who signed up for its Software Assurance
licensing programme, which provides three-year contracts for
software maintenance and upgrades.
Microsoft is weighing its options to deliver updates to Windows
XP, but it is too early to draw any conclusions, said Microsoft
lead product manager for Windows Greg Sullivan.
"We're looking at what our options are in terms of delivering
what our development team creates in terms of new technologies to
our customers," Sullivan said. "This is not an announcement of a
second edition of Windows XP. There is a range of options."
Microsoft has said repeatedly that it has no plans for an
interim Windows release to fill the gap between Windows XP, which
appeared in late 2001, and Longhorn, the codename for a major new
operating system release expected in about 2006.
"That is still true," Sullivan said. "We're exploring our
options."
Microsoft may not have decided how it will package further
updates to Windows XP, but it has come up with a name for its
discussions about those updates: Windows XP Reloaded.
"The term Windows XP Reloaded refers to current thinking about
the ways we can add value to Windows XP," Sullivan said. "To say
that it is an interim release is premature."
While Sullivan maintains that Microsoft has no plans for an
interim Windows release, one publication in the US reported that
the interim XP version will ship as a new retail product that
replaces existing Windows XP boxes and be offered as an update to
users.
The interim Windows release would include all features of
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and a host of other updates, including a
new Windows Media Player.
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service