Microsoft Extends Support for NT 4.0 ... Sort Of [UPDATED]

This week, Microsoft quietly extended support for Windows NT 4.0, the third time in recent years that the software giant has reneged on a promise to cease support for the aging enterprise system. NT 4.0 was first released in 1996; two major OS releases followed NT 4.0 on the server side alone--Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003--and support for the product was most recently slated to end after December 2004. This recent extension is a bit stricter than earlier extensions, however. Instead of continuing the amount of time that the company will support NT 4.0, Microsoft will instead offer customers a discount on paid extended support and only under certain conditions.
  
Those conditions include a requirement that customers give Microsoft a time line and plan for moving from NT 4.0 to a newer platform. And the company isn't yet publicly commenting about the nature of the discount it will provide.
  
Last month, Microsoft formally extended its business and developer product support life cycle to 10 years, although the extension included only supported mainline products. Because NT 4.0 and other products such as Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 no longer were receiving mainline support, Microsoft didn't extend support for those products at that time.

UPDATE: Microsoft Clarifies NT 4.0 Support Policy
A Microsoft representative contacted me yesterday to clarify the company's Windows NT 4.0 support position. According to the company, this most recent round of support changes doesn't represent a "third time" Microsoft has changed NT 4.0 support. "Microsoft isn't changing the strategy for NT 4.0 support," the representative told me. "The 'specialized support' mentioned in the release refers to a 'custom support' phase which Microsoft already made public for NT 4.0 and which customers have already been aware of as an option." Microsoft is partnering with BITS Financial Services "to provide Financial Services customers with the best security update support possible," the representative noted. "The end dates for no-charge NT 4.0 support remain the same as previously announced."