Final testing of Microsoft's Windows .Net Server 2003 operating system has begun. Microsoft says the software should ship in April. An earlier test version was downloaded from Microsoft.com 350,000 times, company executives say, indicating interest that matches all earlier versions of Windows.

Buyers will find some changes in .Net Server's licensing terms. Microsoft is making available a per-user option to the client-access licenses, making it possible for employees, for example, to use a PC, laptop, and PDA to access a .Net Server under a single license. "I think it was necessary. A lot of people are using multiple devices," says Paul DeGroot, a Directions on Microsoft analyst. The developer is adding an External Connector option for extending .Net Server to a company's partners. And it's requiring licenses for all client devices accessing .Net Server's Terminal Server.