Windows Odyssey

Last updated
Odyssey
Version of the Windows NT operating system
Developer Microsoft
Working stateHistoric, never released
Marketing targetBusiness
Kernel type Windows NT
License Non-disclosure agreement [1]
Support status
Cancelled

Odyssey (also known as NT6) was the codename for a version of Microsoft Windows that was intended to succeed Windows 2000. The project was cancelled in early 2000 and later merged with Neptune to create Windows XP. [2]

Contents

Development

Development of Odyssey began alongside the consumer-based Neptune in 1999 and was based on the Windows 2000 codebase. [2] Features planned for Odyssey were the new Activity Centers as well as a new user interface. [2] [1] The version number of Odyssey is unknown, with some unverified sources claiming it as NT 6.0 or NT 5.5. [3]

Due to high hardware requirements and because Odyssey and Neptune would be based on the same codebase anyway, Microsoft combined them to form codename Whistler, for efficiency. [2] No builds or versions of Odyssey were ever leaked or released by Microsoft as the product never left the planning stage. [3]

Confidential documents from the Comes vs. Microsoft case do state that Odyssey was indeed under development. [3]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Road to Gold: The development of Windows XP Reviewed". itprotoday.com. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "A (very) brief history of Windows XP". Neowin. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  3. 1 2 3 "Windows Odyssey - BetaArchive Wiki". www.betaarchive.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.