Windows NT Workstation is on its way to be the business desktop operating
system of choice. That's the feeling I got after attending the Denver kickoff
of the Windows NT 4.0 (NT4) preview tour in February. About 900 IS
professionals attended this special user group event to see Frank Artale, the
guy who decides what makes it into NT4, demonstrate the operating system's new
and improved features. Artale highlighted the new Ul features while NT4 was
multitasking with several disk-intensive tasks, showing NT has both beauty and
muscle. The next day, Artale wrote, "It reminded me of when we kicked off
Wm3.1. The excitement of the crowd was extreme." Microsoft didn't buy this
excitement: It grew from champions of Windows NT.
As our cover story explains, the bulk of NT4-the Win95 interface, TAPI,
Unimodem, the Internet Explorer, Exchange client and more-affects Windows NT
Workstation. However, Windows NT Server 4.0 includes Internet Information
Server, a built-in WWW, FTP, and gopher server in one package. Microsoft's
Internet strategy is simple: Increase market share by giving away everything
that Netscape will charge you for.
Face it, Windows 3.x and DOS's days are numbered. Most software vendors
have stopped all development on these operating systems and have turned their
focus to Wm95 and NT. Corporations face a certain upgrade decision in 1996.
Microsoft recommends that all new hardware purchases be capable of running
Windows NT Workstation and be included on the NT Hardware Compatibility list
(HCL) (http://www.microsoft.com/NTWorkstation/NTWN9503.htm).
Regardless of your operating system choice, your minimum new purchase
configuration should include a fast computer with at least 16MB of RAM.
What about your future software purchases? We've found less than 500/o of
the Windows 95 logo applications are compatible with NT. Around the launch of
Windows 95, Microsoft relaxed the NT-compatibility standard, allowing for "architectural
differences' An increasing number of you have written me and complained about
this problem, saying that you can't trust the Win95 logo. Neither can we. The
damage has been done, and I don't think Microsoft can fix it. As NT users, we
want to buy software that has a "Windows NT: Ready to Run" logo on it.
Knowing that Windows 95 will eventually be positioned as a home operating
system, it bothers me to run anything that has a 95 at the end of it. To add
insult to injury, Office for NT ran on RISC platforms, while Office 95 does not
I'm not saying Windows 95 is bad-I use it at home, which is where it belongs.
What about OS/2? Edwin Black, editor-in-chief of OS/2 Professional
says, "The days of IBM using Warp as its exciting vanguard are over.
Big Blue and Big Lou are moving on to other things. This probably means a lot
to your company as managers may soon have to make some turning point decisions
about whether to stick with Warp or transition to NT (as many are)."
Microsoft has clearly won the battle for the desktop: Windows NT Workstation
for business, Win95 for home.
End of Article
Register
I have some observations about your April editorial about OS/2 Warp. First, based solely on disparaging comments by Edwin Black, editor of <i>OS/2 Professional</i>, you summarily dismissed OS/2’s success as a corporate desktop standard. Ed Black gave up on OS/2 (you quoted his January 1996 issue, and he closed down <i>OS/2 Professional</i> in February to concentrate on his healthcare magazines). But his giving up doesn’t mean NT reigns supreme. The market will make that determination. As a better measure of OS/2’s success, compare 1995 sales figures for OS/2 Warp and NT.
I know that Ctrl-Alt-Del is a rumors column, but you should get the facts straight. The April column states that for IBM’s PowerPC systems, “OS/2 and AIX will be non-standard add-ons—if OS/2 ever ships for PowerPC.” Did you miss IBM’s release of OS/2 Warp 3.0 for PowerPC last December? Just call your favorite IBM representative to order a copy.<br>
--Alan Zeichick,<br>
Editor-in-Chief, <br>
OS/2 Magazine<br><br>
<i>Thanks for the feedback. I just phoned IBM at 800-426-2255 and learned that OS/2 for PowerPC was available only between December 1995 and February 1996 and only to software vendors by special request. In March 1996, IBM completely withdrew OS/2 for PowerPC, and now it is not available under any circumstances. However, AIX and NT for PowerPC are available from IBM.<br>
--Mark Smith</i>
Alan Zeichick August 13, 1999