64-bit NT due before the end of the year

With the release of Windows NT 5.0 slipping into late 1998 or early 1999,Microsoft is, for some reason, evangelizing a future 64-bit version of Windows NT, to be dubbed Windows NT 6.0. Microsoft will provide developerswith an early beta release of NT 6.0 by the end of this year, the companysaid Tuesday, which may first see the light of day as a Service Pack release for NT 5.0.

The release of Windows NT 6.0 will be timed to coincide with the releaseof Intel's 64-bit Merced chip, which is expected in 1999. This means thatthe release of NT 5.0 and 6.0 could be less than a year apart. Though theplan is unclear at this time, it is possible that a 64-bit version of NT 5would be released first, with NT 6.0 following a year after that. Microsoftsays that porting 32-bit code to 64-bit won't be that difficult.

"I don't think there will be big differences in the source code," said Ed Muth, a group product manager in Microsoft's personal and business systemsdivision. "There will be the same source deck, with the choice of generating a 32-bit or 64-bit executable. This will be a recompilation ofthe NT operating system as a 64-bit application. It will include a flat address space and 64-bit pointers, APIs, and system services and will coexist for many years with a 32-bit version of NT."

Meanwhile, Windows NT 5.0 is wallowing in delays. The first beta was rushedto testers in time for the Fall PDC and most developers are claiming thatit is unusable. Beta 2, originally targeted for December or January, isslipping into a June timeframe and Microsoft is still not sure if it willbe feature-complete by then. IntelliMirror, originally slated for releasewith Beta 2, may not be ready by then, says Microsoft's Jeff Price, though"the current plan is to have the IntelliMirror functionality in Beta 2.