Windows

Section covers Windows client and server OSs including Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Longhorn client, and Windows Longhorn Server

The next major Windows releases will be Windows Vista and a major refresh to Windows XP SP2 to add some Windows Vista features, both due in late 2006. The next major Windows Server release will not come until 2007, but an interim release named Windows Server 2003 R2 shipped in late 2005 with some new features. (See the illustration “Windows Client and Server Overview“.) Also shipped in 2005 were Windows editions that support the new x64 processor architecture, a 64-bit architecture developed by AMD and now adopted by Intel. (See the chart “64-Bit Software and Processor Roadmap“.)

Microsoft hopes to deliver new OS versions roughly every two years, alternating between updates (such as Windows Server 2003 R2) and full platform releases (such as Longhorn Server). The company hopes to ship each server release 9 to 12 months after the corresponding client release. For older versions of the OS, Microsoft will probably issue fewer service packs than it has historically; instead, issuing update rollups that contain selections of high-priority bug fixes, like the June 2005 update rollup for Windows 2000.