Windows Gets Better, Virtually

Microsoft will make it easier for companies using older versions of Windows to join those using the newest. The vendor is acquiring virtual-machine technology for moving existing applications, including the underlying operating system, directly onto its latest platforms.

The software vendor is acquiring three virtual machines, and the people who developed them, from Connectix Corp. The technology makes it possible to run apps on the Macintosh platform, Windows PCs, and Windows servers.

When it becomes available, Microsoft's server virtual machine can be used to consolidate multiple applications on a server, migrate years-old apps to a newer operating system such as Windows Server 2003, or both. That's important because time is running out on the millions of Windows NT servers still in use. Microsoft plans to stop supporting Windows NT 4.0 at the end of next year.

There could be a gap of up to eight months between Windows Server 2003's introduction in April and the availability of Microsoft's server virtual machine. But alternatives exist. VMware Inc. expects to have a virtual machine for Windows Server 2003 available as soon as Microsoft's new operating system ships.

There's also the more resource-intensive approach: recompiling those old NT applications.