Microsoft Acknowledges the Windows NT 5.0 Will Be A 1998 ProductPRNewswire Microsoft Corp. officials have informed a core group of developers that Windows NT 5.0 will not ship until the first quarter of 1998, according to a report by Mary Jo Foley and Stuart Glascock that is posted on the Computer Reseller News Web site at http://www.crn/com. In a nondisclosure briefing held this week at the Redmond, Wash., corporate headquarters, Microsoft operating systems experts told a group of about 50 developers that the initial beta for Windows NT 5.0 will not be ready until late this summer, at the earliest, said attendees, who requested anonymity. The final versions of Windows NT Workstation and Server 5.0 are now slated for early next year, rather than late 1997, as Microsoft had said previously, officials said. This is the first time Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows NT 5.0 will be a 1998 product. "I'll be surprised if they make (the first quarter of 1998)," said one developer. "I think (the second quarter) is a more likely bet." Microsoft officials did not return calls for comment by press time. In an interview with CRN earlier this week, a top operating system official hinted at the forthcoming delays but suggested they were still on track for a beta of Windows NT 5.0 in the first half of 97. He would not predict, however, when the beta would stabilize enough to build a release candidate. "We never know how fast the beta stabilizes, so it's difficult to predict when we'll release the RC," said Enzo Schiano, group product manager in the business system division. News of delays arrives at a delicate time, when it is clear Microsoft is struggling with key decisions on how to package Windows NT 5.0. Microsoft officials will not publicly acknowledge the status of Windows NT 5.0 packaging discussions, but the company seems to be moving ahead with plans for two versions of 5.0, an enterprise version loaded with features and a lightweight model for small businesses. Microsoft's top operating system managers have been floating plans and questioning the nation's top OS analysts about two different versions of Windows NT 5.0, CRN has learned. "We are very much engaged in (Windows) NT 5 and figuring out how we are going to release this thing, what types of technologies will be part of it," said Schiano. He downplayed the suggestion that a "light" version is being released first because of unexpected delays in the enterprise server. "Many ideas have been thrown around, but it is very, very premature right now," he said. Sources said the enterprise server will contain server clustering, the Microsoft Transaction Server and SNA Server. The lower-end model will not have all that. "It is a good idea that they come out with an enterprise model of (Windows) NT," said John Olstik, an analysts at Forrester Research Inc, Boston. He was recently briefed by Microsoft on designs for Windows NT 5.0. "Microsoft needs to break the stigma that (Windows) NT is a NetWare or OS/2 replacement and a way to do that is to segment the market." Many people who use Windows NT now have no need for some of the higher-end technologies, such as Viper, the code-name for Transaction Server, or Falcon, Microsoft's message queuing product, Olstik said. "There are features that Microsoft can deliver now in a (scaled down) '(Windows) NT for Workgroups' or '(Windows) NT Departmental' Server.' Things like clustering and transaction capability -- they can hold off on that and come out with that in an enterprise version." Another advantage of segmentation is that it will allows Microsoft to focus their marketing efforts, Olstik said. Packaging the product for different markets is a good idea, he said, adding that it appears to be an issue of bundling and readiness. Microsoft operating system software engineers are probably still discussing what to bundle in Windows NT 5.0, and they may not have all the technologies available to put the higher-end product together. Published by CMP Media Inc., Computer Reseller News has a circulation of more than 115,000 and reaches influential readers from Wall Street to Silicon Valley with the product trends and industry news needed to sell comprehensive technology solutions. CMP Media Inc. provides publishing, marketing and information services to the entire high-technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology -- through print and electronic media. All of CMP's publications and online products can be accessed through the company's TechWeb site on the World Wide Web (http://www.techweb.com/). Print titles include EE Times, Computer Retail Week, InformationWeek, and Windows Magazine. -0- 2/28/97 SOURCE: CMP Media, Inc. CONTACT: Mary Jo Foley, 206-523-5465 or 64, or Robert Faletra, |