Security patches and paid support for Windows NT 4.0 Server have been extended for 12 months, through Dec. 31, 2004. Microsoft's decision to maintain NT 4 Server beyond its original Jan. 1, 2004, deadline will be welcome news to companies who are delaying hardware purchases during the economic downturn, or who might otherwise consider migrating to NT 4 workalikes such as Samba on Linux. The decision does not affect the life cycles of other Microsoft business products, which generally enter an "extended" phase (security patches and pay-per-incident support only) of support after five years of general availability. (See "New Support Life-Cycle Policy" on page 23 of the Nov. 2002 Update.)