Windows XP Release 2 coming
N8 November 18th, 2004View/Print PDF Version
If you thought that Service Pack 2 for Windows XP was the last of
the big updates, think again. Speaking yesterday at the Gartner
Symposium in Orlando, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that a number of
important security initiatives were underway for Windows, some of which
would be part of a pre-Longhorn "Release 2" for Windows XP. Beyond
noting this, Ballmer did not disclose any details regarding when we
might see R2, or just what it would contain. In fact, he didn't give
any time frames for anything, be it Longhorn, Windows Server 2005,
Office 12, or when Steinbrenner plans to make his life easier by
recruiting Clone War rejects.
Our man on the scene noted that several people understood this talk
of Release 2 to be a kind of rebranding of "XP Reloaded," but our gut
feeling here is that we're looking at something different. From our
talks with Microsoft (both on and off the record), XP Reloaded was
nothing but an internal name for what we're seeing now: the big 2004
refresh, featuring not only Windows XP SP2, but also Media Center
Edition 2005. It's important to note that in Microsoft's eyes, MCE 2005
is the start of something special, and by special I mean a new OS that
won't be relegated to entertainment centers in the home if Microsoft
has their way. Think XP Home + MCE. But I shan't get into that now,
because there are bigger obstacles to address.
It seems to be just a version of windows that features all of the
updates thus far. Nothing new, that can be seen. We will
keep everyone posted about any updates we hear.
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