Microsoft officials often tout the company"s online crash reporting tool, code-named "Watson," for helping to cut the number of bugs in each subsequent release of Microsoft"s desktop-office suite. Microsoft is looking to take the Watson metaphor to Windows Server, according to Microsoft partner sources, who requested anonymity. The result, an automated crash-reporting tool, code-named "Zephyr," is expected to debut in 2005.
Microsoft is positioning Zephyr as a by-product of its Customer Experience Program, partner sources said. Zephyr will be integrated with "R2, the Windows Server 2003 update that is due out by the end of 2005. But only some, not all, of the R2 subsystems will be monitored by Zephyr, partners said. Zephyr is expected to work almost exactly like Watson. Windows Server users experiencing system crashes or hangs will be asked, via a dialog box, whether they would like to submit a crash report directly to Microsoft. Microsoft, in turn, will collect the user data and use it to weed out and fix the most commonly experienced system problems.