Beta 1 code of Whistler, the next iteration of Windows contains an inevitable upward creep in hardware requirements over its predecessor. The change, however, pales in comparison to the massive delta between Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000.

Whistler entered a narrow beta testing phase Oct. 31. This code, of course, is a far cry from final release code, which Microsoft currently projects for the second half of 2001.

Read more