Well it is for Paul Thurrott anyway. He has got his hands on build numbered 3562 while Beta Testers are still waiting to get hold of Beta 3. Noticable niceties on this version are that the Luna UI has dumped the color schemes shipped with the Pro & Home Editions, Paul expects a greyscale theme to be included in the final, I say - What the hell for? Its a server, c'mon! Anyway a Blurb and a few screens courtesy of Paul cheers man.
Incidentally, the new product naming wasn't chosen randomly. Because this release will include the .NET framework as well as full support for XML Web services, the company felt that it was the right time to move to the .NET naming scheme. Even still, Windows .NET Server isn't a new product, but rather an evolutionary improvement over the Windows 2000 products that preceded it. Various product editions have been tweaked and renamed, and a new member of the family is coming onboard.
You'll recall that the Windows 2000 Server family consisted of Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. Each product was designed to meet the needs of specific customers, from the small office all the way up to the most demanding data centers. With Windows .NET Server, these products have been upgraded substantially, and a new single-purpose Web Server edition has been added. Here are the new family members along with comparisons to the 2000-era products they replace. Unless otherwise noted, all of these products are 32-bit only.
Screenshot: Windows .NET Server bootscreen - No change here then
Screenshot: Why Paul speculates Greyscale Luna for the Final
Screenshot: The UI, get used to it Sysadmins, no toys here
View: Paul Thurrotts take on Windows .NET Server Pre-Beta 3
All screenshots included in this post are courtesy of Super Site for Windows. Did I see that Windows 2000 Magazine are changing their name again? to Windows & .NET Magazine
