Windows NT 5.0 Beta Delivered to Over 200,000 Developers

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 23, 1997 — Today at the Microsoft® Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft Corp. announced the release of the first beta version of the Microsoft Windows NT® Server version 5.0 and Windows NT Workstation 5.0 operating systems. Beta code will be handed out to the 6,200 developers in attendance and will also be distributed to key corporate customers and 200,000 developers via the Microsoft Developer Network. The record PDC attendance this year is an increase of over 50 percent from last year, demonstrating strong developer support for the future of Windows NT, the premier business operating system for desktops, servers and back-end services.

“We are pleased to officially kick off testing of Windows NT 5.0 with this beta release,” said Jim Allchin, senior vice president, personal business systems group at Microsoft. “We are eager to get developer feedback so we can build the highest-quality product upon which they can base their business.”

“Windows NT 5.0 is the most significant operating system release ever for us as developers,” said SAP Vice President Karl Heinz Hess. “With all of the rich services that it delivers, from transactioning to scalable directory services, we can build more powerful applications much more quickly. Our customers will benefit from getting new application functionality, together with reduced cost of ownership, at the earliest possible time.”

At the PDC, Microsoft also plans to release an update to the Designed for Windows® Logo Handbook that includes a draft of the technical requirements for software to carry the “Designed for Windows NT 5.0 & Windows 98” logo. More information can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatible/AboutLogo.asp .

Strong Growth Continues for Windows NT

Windows NT Workstation continues to show explosive growth, with shipments increasing by 177 percent annually (source: International Data Corp.). In addition, in the past six months, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have more than doubled the number of machines on which they preinstall Windows NT Workstation. As a result, Windows NT Workstation is rapidly becoming the compelling choice for all new business desktops. Windows NT Server 4.0 has become the leading network operating system. In the first 13 months of availability, Windows NT Server 4.0 has licensed three times as many copies as Windows NT Server 3.51 did in its first 13 months and is outpacing new shipments of NetWare and all versions of UNIX combined. The release of the Windows NT 5.0 beta software will further accelerate the momentum behind Windows NT, making it a standard both on the server and on the desktop.

Product Milestones

The Windows NT 5.0 beta 1 is one of many milestones in the development process. Microsoft is eager to receive customer feedback from this first beta release. The next beta version is scheduled to include enhancements in many areas such as IntelliMirror
™
PC management technology, broader device support and better migration tools, and will address customer feedback from beta 1. The final release date for Windows NT 5.0 has not been set. System requirements, pricing and packaging also have not yet been determined.

Windows NT Server 5.0

Building on the strengths of the world’s leading server operating system, planned features and functionality in version 5.0 of Windows NT Server will help deliver the following benefits:

  • Dramatically reduce the cost of ownership of managing enterprise computing resources. To achieve this, Windows NT Server 5.0 includes Active Directory, which benefits end users, developers and administrators by providing a platform that unifies the access and management of network and operating system resources. Windows NT Server 5.0 includes centralized configuration management, unified instrumentation, integrated console management and the server components of IntelliMirror.

  • Be the ultimate platform for developing and deploying distributed applications. Windows NT Server 5.0 is the platform that enables the next generation of distributed Internet applications. Integrated services, such as Active Directory, message queuing, transactioning and Web serving, provide developers with the infrastructure to rapidly develop richer, more reliable enterprise applications.

  • Be designed for the enterprise. Windows NT Server 5.0 enhanced scalability, higher availability, hierarchical storage management and distributed security to build mission-critical enterprise environments. Windows NT Server 5.0 will offer substantial improvements in scalability via further SMP optimizations, Intelligent I/O, and support for larger memory capacity on 64-bit processors. Also included are new storage management features such as disk quotas, encrypted file system, and two-tier hierarchy, including support for optical media. Distributed security services, integrated with Active Directory, offer fine-grain access control and delegation of administration, as well as integrated Internet security technology based on public-key cryptography for higher levels of data integrity and privacy across public networks.

Windows NT Workstation 5.0

As the premier desktop operating system for businesses of all sizes, planned features and functionality in Windows NT Workstation 5.0 will help deliver the following benefits:

  • Offer the lowest TCO of any Windows-based desktop. Utilizing IntelliMirror management technologies, IS managers will be able to automatically deploy and maintain applications without “touching” the desktop as well as mirror users’ environments to quickly “replace” a PC.

  • Provide a “superset” of Windows 98. Windows NT Workstation 5.0 will have some key ease-of-use features found in Windows 98, such as full Internet integration and Plug and Play, and innovative advancements such as support for the latest hardware and power management.

  • Build upon the strengths of Windows NT Workstation 4.0. While extending the reliability, security, performance and networking capabilities of Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows NT Workstation 5.0 will be easier to deploy and offer broader support for hardware and applications.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing

Microsoft, Windows NT, Windows and IntelliMirror are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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