Windows

Three product lines from the Windows and Windows Live Division are of primary interest to enterprise customers: the Windows client OS, which includes Windows 7; the Windows Server OS, which includes Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows HPC Server 2008 R2; and Internet Explorer (IE). Customers need to track the status of these Windows products in order to plan for the deployment and maintenance of both desktops and servers and the deployment of other server products, such as SQL Server and Exchange, which have dependencies on specific Windows versions and service packs.

Windows Client

The Windows client is Microsoft’s primary OS for desktop, laptop, netbook, and tablet computers (collectively, clients). Steve Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division, demonstrated a “re-imagined” Windows client at Microsoft’s Build conference in Sept. 2011. The Windows team has confirmed that a public beta of Windows 8 will be available in Feb. 2012, and it will be the first chance for developers and others to see any changes. Directions on Microsoft estimates of when Windows 8 might be generally available will change depending upon the completeness and stability of the beta software, but release in late 2012 or early 2013 is likely.