Microsoft To Release Virtual PC 2004

[Guest Grim Reaper]

Microsoft's acquisition of Connectix's assets is beginning to bear fruit on the Windows side of the market.

The software giant Monday plans to announce the release to manufacturing of its newly branded and enhanced Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, formerly known as Connectix Virtual PC.

The desktop software, expected to be available within the next 90 days, will allow customers to run multiple versions of Windows on the same desktop, as well as Mac and Linux on virtual machines.

Microsoft, which acquired Connectix's assets in February, shipped Virtual PC for Mac - 6.1 in August.

Running multiple operating systems in virtual machines on the same PC is ideal for corporations that want to test out and ensure quality of applications on newer versions of Windows before they go through an upgrade cycle, or for developers who wish to run both Unix/Linux and Windows applications on the same box, observers note.

One analyst said the emulation software is useful for corporations for a variety of purposes, including corporate application development, demonstrating software on laptops and for solution providers or ISV help desks that need to simulate a customer's environment on their desktop.

The server equivalent of the product, currently dubbed Microsoft Virtual Server, was originally expected to ship by the end of 2003 but has been pushed back to sometime during the first half of 2004.

In a recent CRN story, sources close to Microsoft said they expected the server software to be released during the first quarter of 2004.

And a bulletin on Connectix's dying web site confirmed that, saying, "Microsoft is approaching final stages of development with plans to ship Virtual Server in Q1 2004."

One Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed recently that the software's release has been delayed in 2004 but noted that the company is committing to shipment during the first half of the year, and not necessarily during the first quarter.

CRN.com