Microsoft syncs Server OS, Development Tools
ENT News | at | by Mike
It's all about timing. Microsoft formally synchronized the release of the next version of Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework with Windows .NET Server. Microsoft first shipped Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework in February of 2002. The timing meant the framework had to be individually loaded onto Windows 2000 servers and Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP desktops for those operating systems to run .NET applications.
Microsoft plans to finalize the Windows .NET Server code by the end of this year, and the company had informally disclosed plans to release new versions of Visual Studio .NET, code-named "Everett," and the next version of the .NET Framework around the same time.