Rasheed
From: http://www.computerworld.com/home/news.nsf/CWFlash/9810272nt
(Online News, 10/27/98 05:25 PM)
A new name for NT 5.0
By Sharon Gaudin
SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft Corp., in a move to meld its consumer-oriented
Windows operating system with its corporate-focused Windows NT platform,
today renamed the upcoming NT 5.0 version Windows 2000.
NT, a more industrial-strength operating system designed for corporate
use, will now carry the Windows name. Microsoft's upcoming platform will
mean the end of the DOS-based, consumer-oriented Windows dynasty that put
the company's name on the map.
"While we plan to ship the product in the Year 1999, the year 2000 is a
big issue for our customers," said Brad Chase, Microsoft's vice president
of Windows marketing and developer relations. "We want to signify that
it's ready in a way that shows our customers that we're ready for Y2K. And
we want to show that we're ready for the new millennium."
Microsoft made the announcement at a news conference here today.
Microsoft had long said that Windows 98 would be the last iteration of the
DOS-based platform as company executives have said they simply want to
focus on NT.
Chase said the name change will affect NT both on the workstation and on
the server side.
NT Workstation 5.0 will become Windows 2000 Professional and will be
designed for notebooks and desktops. NT 5.0 server will become Windows
2000 Server and will have features such as Active Directory and Kerberos
security, which provides a secure mechanism for verifying the identity of
E-mail users. NT 5.0 Enterprise Edition will be dubbed Windows 2000
Advanced Server and will include clustering technology and TCP load
balancing.
"It's not a big surprise," said Karen Boucher, an analyst at The Standish
Group International Inc. in Dennis, Mass. "They obviously want people to
move straight from Windows 95 or Windows 98 to NT technology. That's a lot
heavier technology to deal with. It's more complicated. I'm surprised they
didn't want to maintain a lighter version."
Chase said Windows 2000 is due out next year. A more specific date hasn't
been announced.