Windows millennium may finally be drawing near

Beta-tester and Windows-user sites are abuzz with reports that the final code for Microsoft's consumer operating system Microsoft Windows Me (short for Millennium Edition) will be ready sometime in May.

Microsoft plans to release Windows Me on May 26, according to Paul Thurrott's WinInfo Windows News and Information Site. But Thurrott doesn't indicate the source of his information, nor any confirmation by Microsoft.

Microsoft officials will not confirm any release dates, nor will they comment on the information reported.

`At this point, we are not sure when Beta 3 will be available,' is the official word from a Microsoft spokesperson. `Microsoft is committed to delivering Windows Millennium Edition later this year, [but] we have no specific date to announce.'

Despite Microsoft's silence, another site, Beta Test, says Microsoft's Windows Me code will go gold in May. (This means Microsoft will produce final code, ready to be stamped onto CDs and packaged for retail sale and preloaded onto PCs.) The site says you can expect to find Windows Me in stores in late June or early July.