ACADEMIA

Microsoft Watch reports that Microsoft is running about six months behind schedule on the release of its high-end Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition (CCE) product, citing "customer and partner feedback." A week ago, company officials said Microsoft expected to release an updated beta of the product, formerly known as Windows Server High Performance Computing Edition, in the first half of this year, with final product release likely before the end of calendar 2005. "Microsoft has collected customer and partner feedback on product features and specifications to ensure this first version release is tailored properly for our target customer segment -- scale-out, personal and department supercomputing. To ensure this feedback is incorporated, Microsoft is now planning to deliver the first beta to customers in the second half of 2005 and the final release is scheduled for first half 2006," said the spokeswoman in a statement. But yesterday, a Microsoft spokeswoman provided new, later ship targets, citing customer and partner feedback as the reason for the delay. Both groups are requesting the highest levels of ease of use and manageability, the spokeswoman said.