Windows Two-Year Plan Outlined

Even though Microsoft is still working on Windows .NET Server, a major follow-on Windows release is tentatively scheduled for 2004 and could bring Microsoft’s client and server operating systems back together, according to Platforms Group Vice President Jim Allchin. Speaking at the eleventh annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), Allchin laid out the immediate future for the Windows line, including a first service pack for Windows XP in 2002 and the general availability in 2003 for the oft-delayed Windows .NET Server. The announcements offer IT customers some welcome insight into the Platforms Group’s plans for the next two years, but they also highlight the difficulties customers face in deciding what to deploy now. (For a summary of the schedule, see “Anticipated Windows General Availability Dates“.)

XP Service Pack 1 and Windows .NET

The first service pack for Windows XP will be available in the second half of 2002. Like most Windows service packs, this one will contain a mix of integration-tested fixes to bugs in the original code, as well as new features such as support for the Bluetooth wireless protocol, which will allow customers to connect peripherals to their computer without cables.