Development of stand-alone Windows has effectively stopped with Microsoft Corp placing all its desktop Windows development effort into version 3.11 of Windows for Workgroups. Codenamed Snowball, 3.11 is currently out in technical (early) beta and is likely to ship in the autumn. David Bridger, UK product manager for workgroup systems says that plain old Windows will not go past version 3.1 and that Windows for Workgroups 3.11 will include improvements to the core Windows operating system as well as communications enhancements. Workgroups is now being described by Bridger as the desktop of choice for both networked and stand-alone personal computers and although Windows 3.1 will not be discontinued, the likelihood is that it will wither those that do not want the networking facilities in Workgroups 3.11 will not have to install them. The move is necessitated by Workgroups’ failure to penetrate the corporate market as a network client – its current success is as a peer-to-peer network in small businesses. To improve matters, Snowball will offer improved network connectivity and, all important, a way for central administrators to manage and disable the peer-to-peer functions. But the biggest carrot of all to corporates will be the knowledge that to get the most up-to-date version of Windows they’ll have to buy Windows for Workgroups.
