Windows XP Reloaded May Debut Before Longhorn
February 27, 2004 (5:11 p.m. EST)
By Paula Rooney, CRN
Microsoft plans to release significant enhancements to Windows XP after Service Pack 2 and before Longhorn as part of a project known as Windows XP Reloaded.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant confirmed a published report that there is a Windows XP Reloaded project under way, but the company has not decided how the functionality will be packaged or priced--if at all.
While details remain scant, analysts and observers say Microsoft is under pressure to ship something before the next major upgrade of Windows, code-named Longhorn, arrives to drive more Windows sales through the OEM channel and get more customers to sign up for Software Assurance.
Microsoft recently ended free support for Windows 98 and plans to stop selling Windows 2000 client and server through the channel at the end of March.
Windows XP shipped in 2001. Microsoft, which said last year that it would not ship an interim version before Longhorn, handed out early bits of the next Windows upgrade at its Professional Developers Conference last fall but isn\'t expecting Longhorn to ship until 2006 at the earliest.
Microsoft on Friday insisted it has no current plans to do an interim release of Windows XP similar to the way the company shipped a second edition of Windows 98 four years ago, but it\'s clear that channel partners and OEMs should get ready for a Windows update before Longhorn.
The functionality under discussion will be released sometime after the security-enhanced Windows XP Service Pack 2 is released, currently scheduled for midyear, a Microsoft executive said.
"There are no current plans to do a new version of Windows or a [Windows XP] Second Edition, but we\'re looking at all of our options," said Greg Sullivan, lead product manager for Windows client, confirming that that Windows XP Reloaded is the working name for the project. "There\'s an effort under way to look at all work being done on Windows and how we add value and bring that to market. We\'re discussing all the options. We\'re trying to get SP2 in the can."
The company is evaluating how to deliver updates for Tablet PC, Windows Media Center Edition and the next version of Windows Media Player. "Those are among the things being looked at for customers," he said.
One partner briefed on the update said it will integrate all the new security features and fixes in the upcoming service pack and new multimedia features.
"We think it was a good decision given the time frame of the next major release," the partner said. "It will help consumers the most since they can buy XP with all the updates and not have to spend hours updating the current out-of-the-box version. The XP refresh edition will essentially be XP with SP 2 and will also include Windows Media Player 10."
Gartner Group recently published a report indicating that Longhorn would be delayed until 2007 and predicted that Microsoft would ship an interim version of Windows.
"Microsoft has a track record of being late on major releases," said Mike Silver, vice president at Gartner Group. "Enterprises need to chart their course, some have Windows 2000 and are trying to skip XP and go directly to Longhorn, but if there is an interim release, they need to know. From a budgeting standpoint, it\'s a huge issue."
One channel source said Microsoft is under pressure to update Windows before Longhorn given the increasing threat of Linux on the desktop. But the company should not rush to market, the channel source said.
"The refresh of Windows XP sounds eerily like the release of Windows Millennium [that] Microsoft did in 2000 when they realized Windows XP was delayed and Windows 98 was growing stale," the channel partner said. "It turned out to be the most bug-ridden operating system ever produced by Microsoft.
Observers acknowledge that they don\'t know the specifics of the release and Windows XP Reloaded might end up being a downloadable feature pack or a new package like Windows XP Second Edition that will require a new OS image for OEMs and packaging update.
"It\'s possibly a marketing campaign, like Windows 98 Second Edition," Silver said. "It would be a new load for OEMs and at retail but for people with XP it could be a download."
He predicted Microsoft would work to integrate in some realtime communications capability, make searching faster and possibly include a wireless feature like Apple\'s Rendezvous. "These are holes they could fill and Longhorn is two to three years away," Silver said.
Another observer said a Windows refresh would be a windfall for OEMs and hardware vendors looking to drive an upgrade cycle.
"It\'s a bundle. They\'re talking about throwing a bunch of stuff together on top of the product and releasing it as a kit," said Rob Enderle, owner and principal of The Enderle Group. "OEMs are looking at Longhorn, but it won\'t be here for a long time."
Sullivan said Microsoft would provide more detail about Windows XP Reloaded after Windows XP SP2 ships. The company has not yet flushed out the details of how the new functionality will be delivered and will inform the channel only when the final decisions are made, he said.
Solution providers applauded the idea of a Windows desktop refresh but said it had better include some significant value-add to make it worth their clients\' time and effort.
"I\'d have to wait and see what the value-add was with the incremental functionality. If we look back at Windows ME as the bridge between Windows 98 and Windows XP for consumers, I think that was a waste. If Win XP Reloaded is similar to that, then I\'d say let\'s just wait for Longhorn, especially given the delta that SP2 is supposed to represent," said Michael Cocanower, president of ITSynergy, a solution provider in Phoenix. "If there is significant value-add in Reloaded, then I say bring it on. Although they are floating the idea of Reloaded, they haven\'t defined what it would be yet. That\'s where my wait-and-see attitude comes from."
Article appears courtesy of CRN.
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