Microsoft announces XP server date

Microsoft has announced a new shipping date for the delayed server version of the Windows XP operating system.

Renamed Windows .Net Server 2003, the operating system is now expected to ship in April 2003. A new version of Microsoft's Visual Studio.Net development tools will ship concurrently.

Microsoft released desktop and server versions of Windows 2000 simultaneously, but Windows XP for desktop computers will have been out for more than a year by the time the server version is released.

Also, a server version of the next-generation "Longhorn" product has been scrapped.

Speaking at Comdex in Las Vegas, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said .Net Server 2003 will bolster Microsoft's assault on Unix servers and mainframes, the stalwart high-end systems that have proven more powerful and reliable than Windows servers thus far.

In a separate announcement, Microsoft said Gateway and Alienware, among others, will be creating living room PCs using Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center edition.

The company also announced that the first smart displays - portable monitors that can remotely access a PC from throughout the home - will go on sale on 8 January, 2003.

Microsoft had originally planned to bring the devices out earlier and at a lower price. The first machines will come from ViewSonic and cost anywhere from $1,000 for the cheapest model to nearly $1,500 for a 15-inch screen with a docking station.

Ian Fried and Stephen Shankland write for News.com