BetaONE will rise again! - ".NET Server" Changes to ".NET Server 2003"

Microsoft changed the name of the family of server operating systems it plans to release next year to Windows .NET Server 2003, company representatives said late Thursday.

The new name is the fourth for the family of server operating systems. Its code-name was "Whistler," a name it shared with pre-release versions of the Windows XP client operating system that shipped in October. It was briefly known as Windows 2002 in the spring of 2001. Then Microsoft renamed the OS family "Windows .NET Server" in line with a company-wide move to insert the .NET brand of its Web services initiative into many product lines.

Microsoft employees learned about the name change on Tuesday at an annual company meeting. Microsoft's public relations agency sent a statement about the new name to reporters Thursday night.

"During the Release Candidate stage of a product, Microsoft typically takes time to put final finishing touches on the branding and marketing of their products," the statement said. "Clearly, this is in line with naming conventions used in the past and will serve as a versioning identifier."

The product lineup in the server operating system family now goes like this:

Windows .NET Server 2003, Standard Edition (was Windows .NET Standard Server);
Windows .NET Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (was Windows .NET Enterprise Server);
Windows .NET Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (was Windows .NET Datacenter Server);
Windows .NET Server 2003, Web Edition (was Windows .NET Web Server).
The first Windows .NET Server 2003 release candidate was made available in late July. A second release candidate is expected this fall before the operating system is finalized and released to manufacturing near the end of the year. A formal launch for Windows .NET Server 2003 is expected in the first quarter of 2003.