Microsoft will delay the first beta of Memphis--the code-name for the next version of Windows--and will probably not include an integrated IE 4 in the release.
"We're trying to accelerate shipment of the beta," said Moshe Dunie, Microsoft's director of test and release management. "There are a lot of hardware features that we can and should test now, before we integrate \[IE 4.O\]."
Attendees at the WinHEC conference in San Francisco received an early beta release of Memphis this week. The build given out at WinHEC was not the widespread beta Microsoft had hoped to have ready by now and it did not include IE 4.0. Microsoft is trying to give hardware manufacturers a solid build to test new device drivers, however, so the lack of IE 4.0 is not really an issue.
It was reported earlier that Memphis would not be ready for an August release and could therefore not be bundled with systems in time for Christmas. Microsoft is now considering a retail-only release for Memphis, which might be on shelves for Christmas. The only snag in this plan is that hardware vendors would be angered at such a release.