Customers could spur interim Windows XP version
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Microsoft will slip out an interim desktop version of its Windows operating system before 2004 under pressure from some customers who signed up for its new enterprise licensing plan, several analysts predict. Microsoft's current roadmap calls for the next release of Windows for the desktop to appear in the second half of 2004, officials say. That release is code-named Longhorn, and Microsoft has promised to pack a number of new technologies into the operating system that coincide with its Web-based .NET initiative.
Other factors could pressure Microsoft to release a desktop Windows upgrade in the next year or two before Longhorn reaches customers. Enderle noted that Microsoft typically readies a release of Windows to coincide with updates to its Office software. Microsoft plans to release Office 11 next year. "New versions of Office don't move particularly well unless there is a new operating system," Enderle said. Additionally, OEMs typically pressure Microsoft to release new software either for the holiday shopping season or for the back-to-school rush, according to Bittman.