So far, it hasn't been a very good year for Microsoft. The beleaguered software giant continues to fight legal battles on all sides, and public opinion (at least the media's public opinion) seems to be waning fast. In the midst of that whole mess, the next version of its Windows NT operating system has seen so many delays, you'd think it was code-named "Copland." And according to ZDNet's Jesse Berst, Microsoft has hinted that yet another delay will push the release of the renamed Windows 2000 into the year-- you guessed it-- 2000.

Another NT delay is a sticky situation, because according to Microsoft's own web site, the current NT 4.0 isn't fully Y2K-compliant; in fact, at some point we seem to recall Microsoft stating that the solution to NT 4.0's Y2K bugs was simply to upgrade to Windows 2000, but now that Windows 2000 may not ship in time, a strategy shift may be necessary. The remaining incompatibilities in NT 4.0 seem relatively minor, and Microsoft claims they'll all get fixed, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that businesses who leapt on the NT bandwagon are more than a little peeved. And that's why some of them have had enough and are looking for alternatives.

Now, Jesse of course sees this latest NT slip to be a big opening for Linux, the open-source UNIX variant that's been gaining popularity in recent years. Heck, even Compaq is preparing to start shipping servers pre-loaded with Linux soon. However, if Apple does a good job pushing Mac OS X Server loaded on Yosemite-based server machines, this could also be a big break for Apple to jam its foot in the enterprise door-- especially if, as rumored, they play up the whole Y2K-readiness thing in an advertising blitz next month. But several sources state that Apple is downplaying the importance of Mac OS X Server, which we find disappointing, because it really has a chance to make some noise. Presumably we'll all know how Apple chooses to play this game when the operating system finally ships next month.