Windows Odyssey
Encyclopedia
Odyssey was the codename for a version of the Windows
operating system
that was in the early stages of development by Microsoft
during 1999. It was billed as the follow-up to Windows 2000
and was to be aimed at the business sector of the market.
In early 2000, Microsoft merged the team working on Odyssey with that developing Windows Neptune
, a consumer version of Windows 2000. The combined team worked on a new project codenamed Whistler, which was later released as Windows XP
.
One alpha build of Neptune, 5111, was released to testers
. However, no version of Odyssey was ever released. The NT version number that Odyssey was supposed to have is uncertain. Thurrott has suggested that it "would have been called Windows NT 6.0 had Microsoft not messed with the naming in late 1998", whereas unnamed sources cited by ZDnet
referred to it as "NT 5.5".
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
that was in the early stages of development by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
during 1999. It was billed as the follow-up to Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
and was to be aimed at the business sector of the market.
In early 2000, Microsoft merged the team working on Odyssey with that developing Windows Neptune
Windows Neptune
Neptune was the codename for a version of the Windows operating system that was under development by Microsoft during 1999. It was based on Windows 2000 and was scheduled to be the first consumer version of Windows to be built on NT code, to replace the Windows 9x series.In early 2000, Microsoft...
, a consumer version of Windows 2000. The combined team worked on a new project codenamed Whistler, which was later released as Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
.
One alpha build of Neptune, 5111, was released to testers
Software testing
Software testing is an investigation conducted to provide stakeholders with information about the quality of the product or service under test. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to appreciate and understand the risks of software...
. However, no version of Odyssey was ever released. The NT version number that Odyssey was supposed to have is uncertain. Thurrott has suggested that it "would have been called Windows NT 6.0 had Microsoft not messed with the naming in late 1998", whereas unnamed sources cited by ZDnet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
referred to it as "NT 5.5".