The inclusion Friday of a bizarrely named "Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for the Workstation" in various Knowledge Base (KB) articles on the Microsoft Web site had the rumor mills buzzing with talk of a new Windows client release that would fill the gap between Windows XP and Longhorn, now due in late 2004. As first reported on Neowin.net, several KB articles mentioned the edition before being pulled by Microsoft late in the day. A new Server edition was not to be, however. Microsoft told me late Friday that the name was a misprint, and that the product it refers to is actually Windows XP 64-bit Edition 2003, which was announced last July. The product will ship alongside the various Windows Server 2003 editions in late April.
"Microsoft identified some naming inaccuracies in KB articles that refer to a product listed as 'Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Workstation,'" a Microsoft representative told me. "These references are being corrected to refer to the actual product in question--which is Windows XP 64-bit Edition 2003. Basically, this is the 64-bit desktop product that will add support for Itanium 2, and be available \[only\] through OEMs."
Microsoft says that Windows XP 64-bit Edition 2003 is a high-performance platform enabling the next generation of powerful Windows-based workstation applications for Itanium 2. The platform is designed for business customers engaged in solving complex scientific problems, creating high-performance design and engineering applications, or creating 3-D animations.
