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Delays All 'Round (8/25/99)
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If you don't use or rely on Windows NT, consider yourself lucky. People who do have been waiting for NT 5 for so long now, even the name change to "Windows 2000" couldn't disguise the grey hairs and stress lines caused by the seemingly unending delays. But a CNET article now says that there might be light at the end of that long, long tunnel; at least some analysts are predicting that Microsoft will unveil Windows 2000 this November at the big Comdex show, and the operating system will actually finally be available to users "early in 2000."
Microsoft, however, is wise enough not to commit to any dates. "We're going to ship it when it's ready," says Craig Beilinson, Windows 2000's lead product manager. According to other Microsoft spokespeople, "when it's ready" won't be any sooner than the end of this year, at least as far as releasing a final version to manufacturers is concerned. That means that regardless of whether or not Microsoft trots out Windows 2000 to an oohing and aahing Comdex crowd in November, customers likely won't be able to buy Windows 2000-preloaded systems until maybe March. And all of these release dates rely on Windows 2000's second release candidate meeting with testers' approval-- and it's not expected to be out until mid-September.
Sadly, Apple's own next-generation operating system isn't here yet, either. When Apple bought NeXT way back in December of 1996, few of us thought it would take three and a half years to turn the Mac OS into a modern operating system, but that's how things seem to be going. Sure, Mac OS X Server is available already, but we just can't see it being widely adopted until the "client" version of Mac OS X ships and brings NeXT technology to every new Mac sold. With all the Windows 2000 delays, we had high hopes that Mac OS X could beat it to the punch, but while anything's possible, it looks like Mac OS X will be at least a few months behind Microsoft's next offering. Oh, well-- them's the breaks.
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SceneLink (1742)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 8/25/99 episode: August 25, 1999: The rumors agree: Sawtooth is delayed until next year, as Apple hurriedly prepares Yosemite-based G4 Power Macs for a Seybold introduction. Meanwhile, Apple files yet another lawsuit in its herculean attempt to stem the tide of iMac knock-offs, and Microsoft nears the end of its Windows 2000 marathon (while Mac OS X will probably finish a few months later)...
Other scenes from that episode: 1740: All Sites Are Aligned (8/25/99) Well, it's happened: what faithful viewer Steve P. refers to as the "Golden Sawtooth Rumor Convergence." Earlier this week, Apple Insider reported that Sawtooth, Apple's next pro motherboard, had fallen far behind schedule, and wouldn't ship until the first quarter of 2000. That sounded a bit fishy to us, since earlier rumors implied that Sawtooth was way ahead... 1741: Third Time's The Charm (8/25/99) Three suits, no waiting; it's a litigation hat trick for Apple regarding those iMac knock-offs. First they sued Future Power when they unveiled the ePower, which means that Future Power's currently-listed availability date of "early September 99" may be more than a little optimistic...
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