Microsoft outlines changes in Virtual Server plans
Microsoft has disclosed that the initial service pack of bug fixes planned for its Virtual Server 2005 software will be replaced by a for-fee R2 upgrade by year's end.
Microsoft has disclosed that the initial service pack of bug fixes planned for its Virtual Server 2005 software will be replaced by a for-fee R2 upgrade by year's end.
Top Microsoft executives have outlined sketchy plans to introduce premium versions of products such as Windows and Office in the hopes of driving more revenue growth.
Following the success of its software package aimed at small businesses, Microsoft Thursday made its first concerted effort to court midsize companies with a Windows Server System promotion.
Microsoft has fleshed out the details of a plan to build virtualisation capabilities directly into Windows as part of its effort to catch up to virtualization software market leader VMware.
Jim Allchin, group vice president of platforms at Microsoft, wants to dispel the notion that 64-bit computing is helpful only for big database servers and computer-assisted design (CAD) applications. Allchin last week extolled the benefits of 64-bit computing during an interview with Computerworld. Microsoft is expected to release 64-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 this month.
Just days before the kickoff of Novell's annual BrainShare user conference, its chief technology officer this week disclosed plans to leave the company at the end of the month to become the general manager of a software business unit at another IT vendor.
Support for open-source software that provides server virtualization capabilities is due to be added to a future version of the Linux kernel, sources familiar with the technology said last week.
Microsoft officials last year highlighted three new subsystems as the key pillars for the next major release of Windows -- WinFS for data storage, Avalon for 3-D graphics and Indigo for building advanced Web services. The company disclosed in August that WinFS won't be part of the next release, which is code-named Longhorn. But Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows Server division, told Computerworld during an interview this month that role-based configuration tools "were always the most important feature set that I thought was going into" the server version of Longhorn, which is due in 2007. Excerpts from the interview follow.
Windows users who are anxious to get their hands on the first beta release of the Longhorn server will have to wait a bit longer than expected.
Microsoft will offer custom support options on a flat-fee basis to users of Windows NT 4.0 Server and Exchange Server 5.5 when the standard support phases for those products end.
Microsoft and Sun Microsystems said Wednesday that they're pleased with the progress they have made in the early stages of the 10-year alliance they forged in April. But major pronouncements by the two vendors at the eight-month mark were missing during a conference call Wednesday in which officials discussed their plans.
A Microsoft vice president this week confirmed that the company intends to continue its track record of shipping a new version of its Office System software every two to three years. That would place the release date for the new product suite, referred to within Microsoft as "Office 12," between October 2005 and October 2006, since the last version shipped in October 2003. But Chris Capossela, vice president of Microsoft's information worker product management group, said he isn't ready to discuss any specific dates.
Microsoft Friday announced a significant change in plans for the next major release of Windows, code-named Longhorn. The new Windows storage subsystem code-named WinFS will not be part of the Longhorn operating system, as had been previously planned.
Novell earlier this month bundled the open-source, J2EE-compliant JBoss Application Server with its SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, giving application developers a built-in deployment option.
Microsoft announced on Friday the release to manufacturing of the security-focused Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).