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An open encyclopedia of software history

Did you know...

...that Windows XP has been supported in various forms for almost 18 years, which is the longest compared to any other version of Microsoft Windows?
...that Windows Server 2003 build 2462 includes login banners for a Personal edition of Windows 2000?
...that the Start Button in Windows 95 build 302 says "Ship It!" in reference to the year 1995 being around the corner?
...that Windows 95 build 90c has a mention to Windows 94 which could suggest that Chicago was planned to be called Windows 94 in the first part of 1994 and could've been released in 1994?
...that the Windows XP team created a decoy theme called Mallard to hide the fact they were secretly working on Luna?
...that Windows Neptune was a cancelled version of Windows that ought to bring a new user interface reminiscent of Metro later introduced in Windows 8?

Featured article

Windows 2000 Professional desktop

Windows 2000 (known as Windows NT 5.0 during development) is an NT-based version of Windows released by Microsoft. It succeeded Windows NT 4.0. Its Professional SKU was replaced by Windows XP, while its Server SKUs were replaced by Windows Server 2003. It reached general availability on 2000-02-17. Windows 2000 targeted both the high-end consumer market, as well as server and business markets. Multiple SKUs were made for both client and server uses, albeit the user interface remains largely the same. Even though Windows 2000 was intended mainly for use in businesses unlike Windows ME, which was more targeted at home users, many home users ended up buying the Professional SKU of Windows 2000 during the time due to Windows ME's negative reception.