List of Microsoft software codenames
Encyclopedia
Microsoft codenames are the codenames given by Microsoft
to products it has in development, before these products are given the names by which they appear on store shelves. Many of these products (new versions of Windows
in particular) are of major significance to the IT
community, and so the terms are often widely used in discussions prior to the official release. Microsoft usually does not announce a final name until shortly before the product is publicly available. It is not uncommon for Microsoft to reuse codenames a few years after a previous usage has been abandoned.
There has been some suggestion that Microsoft may move towards defining the real name of their upcoming products earlier in the product development lifecycle so as to avoid needing product codenames.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to products it has in development, before these products are given the names by which they appear on store shelves. Many of these products (new versions of Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in particular) are of major significance to the IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
community, and so the terms are often widely used in discussions prior to the official release. Microsoft usually does not announce a final name until shortly before the product is publicly available. It is not uncommon for Microsoft to reuse codenames a few years after a previous usage has been abandoned.
There has been some suggestion that Microsoft may move towards defining the real name of their upcoming products earlier in the product development lifecycle so as to avoid needing product codenames.
Windows 3.1x/9x
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta, Winball | Windows Plus | Windows for Workgroups 3.1 | Windows 3.1 (16-bit) with enhanced networking; designed to work particularly well as a client with the new Windows NT Windows NT Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement... . |
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| Snowball | Windows for Workgroups 3.11 | Although this release was still 16-bit Windows, it included a 32-bit TCP/IP stack (when running on compatible hardware). Along with Win32s Win32s Win32s is a 32-bit application runtime environment for the Microsoft Windows 3.1 and 3.11 operating systems. It allowed some 32-bit applications to run on the 16-bit operating system using call thunks.- Concept and Characteristics :... , this was one of the first steps towards moving the Windows desktop to a 32-bit code base. |
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| Chicago | Windows 4.0 | Windows 95 Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products... |
The 32bit protected mode kernel of Chicago (Windows 95) was codenamed Cougar and runs on top of Jaguar (Chicago kernel). | |
| O'Hare | Internet Explorer Internet Explorer Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year... , first shipped in Microsoft Plus! Microsoft Plus! Microsoft Plus! was a commercial operating system enhancement product by Microsoft. The last edition is the Plus! SuperPack, which includes an assortment of screensavers, themes, and games, as well as multimedia applications... for Windows 95 |
The codename O'Hare ties into the Chicago codename for Windows 95: O'Hare International Airport O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop... is the largest airport in the city of Chicago, Illinois Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... — in Microsoft's words, "a point of departure to distant places from Chicago". |
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| Frosting | Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 Microsoft Plus! Microsoft Plus! was a commercial operating system enhancement product by Microsoft. The last edition is the Plus! SuperPack, which includes an assortment of screensavers, themes, and games, as well as multimedia applications... |
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| Detroit | Windows 95 OSR 2 | Named after Detroit, Michigan Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River... . A writer for Maximum PC Maximum PC Maximum PC, formerly known as boot, is an American magazine and web site published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs... suggested that "Detroit" and other Windows 95-era names were answers to the question posed by Microsoft's "Where do you want to go today? Where do you want to go today? “Where do you want to go today?” was the title of Microsoft’s first global image advertising campaign. The broadcast, print and outdoor advertising campaign was launched in November 1994 through the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, the firm best known for its work on behalf of Nike, Inc.... " marketing campaign. |
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| Nashville Windows Nashville Nashville was the codename for a cancelled release of Microsoft Windows scheduled to be released in 1996, between "Chicago" and "Memphis" , causing it to be referred to as Windows 96 by the public... |
Windows 96 | Windows Desktop Update Windows Desktop Update Microsoft's Windows Desktop Update was an optional feature included with Internet Explorer 4 , which introduced several updated shell features to the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems... , Internet Explorer 4.0 Internet Explorer Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year... |
Cancelled upgrade for Windows 95; sometimes referred to in the press as Windows 96. Codename was reused for Internet Explorer 4.0 which incorporated many of the technologies planned for Nashville. | |
| Memphis | Windows 97, Windows 4.1 | Windows 98 Windows 98 Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid... |
The codename was the key to activating an easter egg in Windows 98:
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| Millennium | Windows Me Windows Me Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006.... |
Me stands for Millennium Edition. |
Windows NT family
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daytona | Windows NT 3.5 Windows NT 3.5 Windows NT 3.5 is the second release of the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. It was released on 21 September 1994.One of the primary goals during Windows NT 3.5's development was to increase the speed of the operating system; as a result, the project was given the codename "Daytona" in... |
Named after the Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross... in Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had... . |
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| SUR (Shell Update Release), Cairo Cairo (operating system) Cairo was the code name for a project at Microsoft from 1991 to 1996. Its charter was to build technologies for a next generation operating system that would fulfill Bill Gates' vision of "information at your fingertips." Cairo never shipped, although portions of its technologies have since... |
Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996... |
Microsoft originally planned for NT 4.0 to be just a simple "Shell Update Release" to integrate the Windows 95 GUI with Windows NT 3.51's kernel. | |
| Wolfpack | Microsoft Cluster Server Microsoft Cluster Server Microsoft Cluster Server is software designed to allow servers to work together as a computer cluster, to provide failover and increased availability of applications, or parallel calculating power in case of high-performance computing clusters .Microsoft has three technologies for clustering:... |
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| Hydra | Terminal Services Terminal Services Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 R2, formerly known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and previous versions, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allows a user to access applications and data on a remote computer over a network, using the Remote Desktop... , Windows Terminal Server |
Terminal Server adds "multiheading" support to Windows (the ability to run multiple instances of the graphics subsystem), and the hydra Lernaean Hydra In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even... is a mythological monster Monster A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions... with multiple heads. |
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| Janus | Windows 2000 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s... |
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| Impala | Windows NT 4.0 Embedded | ||
| Neptune Windows Neptune Neptune was the codename for a version of the Windows operating system that was under development by Microsoft during 1999. It was based on Windows 2000 and was scheduled to be the first consumer version of Windows to be built on NT code, to replace the Windows 9x series.In early 2000, Microsoft... |
Microsoft Neptune | Never named | Planned consumer version of Windows 2000, merged with Odyssey to form Whistler. |
| Odyssey Windows Odyssey Odyssey was the codename for a version of the Windows operating system that was in the early stages of development by Microsoft during 1999. It was billed as the follow-up to Windows 2000 and was to be aimed at the business sector of the market.... |
Never named | Planned successor to Windows 2000 for business customers, merged with Neptune to form Whistler. | |
| Whistler | Windows XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... |
Named after Whistler, British Columbia Whistler, British Columbia Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver... , where design retreats were held. |
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| Mantis | Windows XP Embedded | Named after the Mantis shrimp Mantis shrimp Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimp nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may reach in length, although exceptional cases of... |
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| Freestyle | Windows XP Media Center Edition Windows XP Media Center Edition Windows XP Media Center Edition is a version of the Windows XP operating system designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub. The last version, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, was released in October 2004.-Versions:... |
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| Harmony | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 | ||
| Symphony | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 | ||
| Emerald | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2 | ||
| Diamond | Windows Media Center | Included in Windows Vista | |
| Springboard | Set of enhanced security features, included in Windows XP Service Pack 2. | ||
| Lonestar | Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 | ||
| Whistler Server | Windows Server 2002, Windows .NET Server |
Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005... |
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| Bobcat | Windows Small Business Server 2003 | ||
| Eiger, Mönch | Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a thin client operating system from Microsoft, based on Windows XP Embedded, but optimized for older, less powerful hardware. It was released on 8 July 2006... |
Mönch included additional features for use on mobile devices. | |
| Longhorn | Windows Vista Windows Vista Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs... |
Went gold (RTM) on 8 of November 2006. Named after the Longhorn Bar in the Whistler-Blackcomb Whistler-Blackcomb Whistler Blackcomb is a major ski resort located 125 km north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America; it is 50% larger than its nearest competitor in terms of size, has the greatest uphill lift capacity, and until 2009, had... resort; initially planned as an "interim release" between "Whistler" and "Blackcomb" (which was "Vienna" and is now Windows 7). |
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| Mojave | Windows Vista | Spoof codename used for the Windows Vista "Mojave Experiment" marketing exercise. | |
| Q, Quattro | Windows Home Server Windows Home Server Windows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,... |
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| Vail | Windows Home Server 2011 | Windows Home Server 2011 | |
| Longhorn Server | Windows Server 2008 | ||
| Cougar | Windows Small Business Server 2008 | ||
| Viridian | Hyper-V Hyper-V Microsoft Hyper-V, codenamed Viridian and formerly known as Windows Server Virtualization, is a hypervisor-based virtualization system for x86-64 systems. A beta version of Hyper-V was shipped with certain x86-64 editions of Windows Server 2008, and the finalized version was released on June 26,... |
Virtualization update for Windows Server 2008. | |
| Centro | Windows Essential Business Server Windows Essential Business Server Windows Essential Business Server 2008 was Microsoft's server offering for mid-size businesses . It was released to manufacturing on 16 September 2008 and was officially launched on the 12 December 2008... |
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| Blackcomb, Vienna | Windows 7 | ||
| Fiji | Windows Vista Media Center Feature Pack 2008 | Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008 | |
| Red Dog | Windows Cloud | Windows Azure | Windows cloud services Cloud computing Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network .... platform |
| Aurora | Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials | ||
| Quebec | Windows Embedded 2011 |
Windows CE family
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasus, Alder | Windows CE Windows CE Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows... 1.0 |
(released November 1996) | |
| Birch, Gryphon | Windows CE 2.1 | ||
| Cedar, Galileo, Rapier, Merlin, Stinger | Windows CE 3.0 | (released April 2000) | |
| Talisker | Windows CE .NET | Windows CE 4.0 | (released January 7, 2002) |
| Macallan | Windows CE 5.0 | (July 9, 2004 | |
| Yamazaki | Windows CE 6.0 | Windows Embedded CE 6.0 |
Visual Studio family
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | Visual Basic 1.0 | The first version of Visual Basic Visual Basic Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model... . The standard dialog Dialog box In a graphical user interface of computers, a dialog box is a type of window used to enable reciprocal communication or "dialog" between a computer and its user. It may communicate information to the user, prompt the user for a response, or both... s and control Widget (computing) In computer programming, a widget is an element of a graphical user interface that displays an information arrangement changeable by the user, such as a window or a text box. The defining characteristic of a widget is to provide a single interaction point for the direct manipulation of a given... s created by the Visual Basic runtime library Runtime library In computer programming, a runtime library is a special program library used by a compiler, to implement functions built into a programming language, during the execution of a computer program... all have "Thunder" as a prefix of their internal type names (for example, button Button (computing) In computing, a button is a user interface element that provides the user a simple way to trigger an event, like searching for a query at a search engine, or to interact with dialog boxes, like confirming an action.-Description:A typical button is a rectangle or rounded rectangle, wider than it is... s are internally known as ThunderCommandButton). |
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| Zamboni | Microsoft Visual C++ 4.1 | After Zamboni Ice resurfacer An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California... , an ice resurfacing machine. |
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| Boston | Microsoft Visual Studio 97 | Named for Boston, Massachusetts. | |
| Aspen | Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 | Named after the popular ski destination Aspen, Colorado Aspen, Colorado The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005... . |
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| Cassini Web Server Cassini Web Server The Cassini Web Server is an open-source lightweight web server distributed with ASP.NET as an example of an ASP.NET web server written in C#.Cassini is used in various ASP.NET projects such as ScrewTurn Wiki.- External links :* * *... |
ASP.NET Development Server | The lightweight local Web server that is launched in Visual Studio in order to test Web projects. | |
| Hatteras | Visual Studio Team System's Source Control System | Named after the Cape Hatteras Light Cape Hatteras Light Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina near the community of Buxton, and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.... house in the Outer Banks Outer Banks The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States.... region of North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte... . |
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| Ocracoke | Visual Studio Team System load testing suite | Named after the Ocracoke Island Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, also in North Carolina. | |
| Currituck | Team Foundation Work Item Tracking | Named after the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, North Carolina Corolla, North Carolina Corolla is an unincorporated community located in Poplar Branch township, Currituck County, North Carolina along the northern Outer Banks. It has a permanent population of approximately 500 people; during the summer vacation season, the population surges into the thousands... . |
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| Bodie | Team Foundation Server SDK | Named after the Bodie Island Light Bodie Island Light The current Bodie Island Lighthouse is the third that has stood in this vicinity of Bodie Island on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and was built in 1872. It stands tall and is located on the Roanoke Sound side of the first island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The... house in North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte... . |
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| Tuscany | Online version of Visual Studio. | Currently a research project. | |
| Phoenix Phoenix (compiler framework) Phoenix framework, being developed at Microsoft Research, is a framework for developing compilers as well as program analysis, testing and optimization tools, to be used as the back-end for future compiler technologies from Microsoft... |
A Microsoft research software development kit. | ||
| Eaglestone | Visual Studio Team Explorer Everywhere | This is the name given to the Teamprise suite Microsoft acquired. The product is now named Visual Studio Team Explorer Everywhere | |
| KittyHawk | Visual Studio LightSwitch | RAD tool aimed at non-programmers. | |
| Rainier | Visual Studio .NET (2002) | Named for Mount Ranier, a volcanic mountain peak visible from the Seattle area (where Microsoft is based). | |
| Everett | Visual Studio .NET 2003 | Named after the town Everett, Washington Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and... in Washington state |
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| Whidbey | Visual Studio 2005 | Named after Whidbey Island Whidbey Island Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington... in the Puget Sound |
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| Orcas | Visual Studio 2008 | Named after Orcas Island Orcas Island Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, which are located in the northwestern corner of Washington state in San Juan County, Washington.-History:... in the Puget Sound |
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| Dev10 | Visual Studio 2010 | ||
| Rosario | Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 (formerly Team System or Team Suite) |
SQL Server family
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sphinx | SQL Server 7.0 | ||
| Yukon | SQL Server 2005 | (Version 9) | |
| Katmai / Akadia | SQL Server 2008 | (Version 10) | |
| Kilimanjaro | SQL Server 2008R2 | (Version 10.5) | |
| Plato | Olap Services 7.0 | This was the first release of Microsoft Analysis Services Microsoft Analysis Services Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services is part of Microsoft SQL Server, a database management system. Microsoft has included a number of services in SQL Server related to business intelligence and data warehousing. These services include Integration Services and Analysis Services... |
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| Blue | SQL Report Designer 2.0 | This is the stand alone release of the tool for SQL Server Reporting Services SQL Server Reporting Services SQL Server Reporting Services is a server-based report generation software system from Microsoft. It can be used to prepare and deliver a variety of interactive and printed reports. It is administered via a web interface... . |
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| Denali | SQL Server 2012 | (Version 11) | |
| Juneau | SQL Server Data Tools | Will be included in the next CTP of SQL Server "Denali" | |
| Crescent | Power View | A data visualisation tool that will be included in SQL Server "Denali" |
Other server products
| Codename | Final name | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Hermes | Microsoft System Management Server 1.0 | |
| Catapult | Microsoft Proxy Server 1.0 | |
| Geneva | Active Directory Federation Services Active Directory Federation Services Active Directory Federation Services is a software component developed by Microsoft that can be installed on Windows Server operating systems to provide users with Single Sign-On access to systems and applications located across organizational boundaries... |
Experimental operating systems
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singularity Singularity (operating system) Singularity is an experimental operating system being built by Microsoft Research since 2003. It is intended as a highly-dependable OS in which the kernel, device drivers, and applications are all written in managed code.- Workings :... |
Singularity Singularity (operating system) Singularity is an experimental operating system being built by Microsoft Research since 2003. It is intended as a highly-dependable OS in which the kernel, device drivers, and applications are all written in managed code.- Workings :... |
Experimental operating system based on the Microsoft .NET platform, using software-based type safety Type safety In computer science, type safety is the extent to which a programming language discourages or prevents type errors. A type error is erroneous or undesirable program behaviour caused by a discrepancy between differing data types... as a replacement for hardware-based memory protection Memory protection Memory protection is a way to control memory access rights on a computer, and is a part of most modern operating systems. The main purpose of memory protection is to prevent a process from accessing memory that has not been allocated to it. This prevents a bug within a process from affecting... . |
.NET
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Project 42 | Next Generation Windows Services | Microsoft .NET v1.0 | Project Lightning was the original codename for the Common Language Runtime in 1997. The team was based in building 42, hence Project 42. "Next Generation Windows Services" appeared in the earliest press releases about the upcoming platform. |
| Roslyn | Next Generation C# compiler | Unspecified, speculative to Microsoft .NET v5 or .NET v6 compiler | Roslyn is the next generation of design guidelines for developer tools, which is often highlighted by a C# compiler being written in C# (currently it is C++) and being offered as a service. This would enable scenarios like C# having its own version of the JavaScript JavaScript JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.... eval Eval In some programming languages, eval is a function which evaluates a string as though it were an expression and returns a result; in others, it executes multiple lines of code as though they had been included instead of the line including the eval... command ultimately leading to meta-programming. Mono Mono Mono is considered to refer most often to:* anything single, e.g. as in monorail, a train system using a single rail, as opposed to the conventional two-rail system... has had a similar feature since early on its life. |
| Project 7 | Codename for early .net academic recruiting program. 7 was a prime factor of 42. |
Xbox & Xbox 360
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DirectX Box | DirectX Box | Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... |
The original codename for the Xbox. | |
| Natal | Project Natal | Kinect | Motion sensitive control system. |
Others
| Codename | Preliminary name | Final name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acropolis | Application framework for Smart Clients | |||
| Aero Diamond | Used during the development of Windows Vista Development of Windows Vista Development of Windows Vista occurred over the span of five and a half years, starting in earnest in May 2001, prior to the release of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, and continuing until November 2006.... to describe a set of advanced user interface effects for the Desktop Window Manager Desktop Window Manager Desktop Window Manager is the window manager in Windows Vista and Windows 7 that enables the Windows Aero graphical user interface and visual theme. The Desktop Window Manager requires video cards supporting DirectX 9.0 and Shader Model 2.0. DWM is not included with Windows Vista Starter edition... to be introduced after Vista's release. |
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| Albany | Microsoft Equipt | Albany is Microsoft's all-in-one, subscription-based service for office, communication, and security software. | ||
| Alexandria | Zune Marketplace | An online music store. | ||
| Argo | Zune Zune Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie... |
A digital media player. | ||
| Atlanta | A cloud service that monitors Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network... deployments |
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| Atlas | ASP.NET AJAX | An implementation for ASP.NET ASP.NET ASP.NET is a Web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow programmers to build dynamic Web sites, Web applications and Web services. It was first released in January 2002 with version 1.0 of the .NET Framework, and is the successor to Microsoft's Active Server Pages ... of Ajax native to the .NET Framework .NET Framework The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability... 2.0. |
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| Avalon | Windows Presentation Foundation Windows Presentation Foundation Developed by Microsoft, the Windows Presentation Foundation is a computer-software graphical subsystem for rendering user interfaces in Windows-based applications. WPF, previously known as "Avalon", was initially released as part of .NET Framework 3.0. Rather than relying on the older GDI... |
Graphical subsystem released as part of .NET Framework .NET Framework The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability... 3.0. |
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| Bandit | Schedule+ 1.0 | Microsoft's first Personal Information Manager Personal information manager A personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study... . |
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| Blackbird Blackbird (online platform) Blackbird was the codename for an online content authoring platform developed by Microsoft in the mid-90s based on the concept of distributed OLE and meant as an alternative to HTML... |
An online content-authoring platform centered around the concept of distributed OLE Object Linking and Embedding Object Linking and Embedding is a technology developed by Microsoft that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects. For developers, it brought OLE Control eXtension , a way to develop and use custom user interface elements... (Object Linking and Embedding) and meant to be an alternative to HTML. The developer tools were originally released in beta and some titles were made available on MSN MSN MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its... before it was scrapped in favor of web development around ASP ASP ASP may refer to:-Electronics:* Analog signal processing, processing electronic signals that represent continuous variables by use of analog circuitry* Anti-skip protection or electronic skip protection, a protection of an audio compact disc playback... and ActiveX ActiveX ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality.... and the designer was refashioned into Visual InterDev Visual InterDev Microsoft Visual InterDev, part of Microsoft Visual Studio 97 and 6.0, is an IDE used to create web applications using Microsoft Active Server Pages technologies. It has code completion, database server management tools, and an integrated debugger.... . |
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| Marvel | The Microsoft Network | The classic version of MSN, originally as a proprietary, "walled garden" online service. | ||
| Bullet | Microsoft Mail Microsoft Mail Microsoft Mail was the name given to several early Microsoft e-mail products.-Mac Networks:The first Microsoft Mail product was introduced in 1988 for AppleTalk Networks. It was based on InterMail, a product that Microsoft purchased and updated. An MS-DOS client was added for PCs on AppleTalk... 3.0 |
Microsoft's first LAN Län Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.... -based email product written in-house. (Microsoft had earlier purchased Intermail for AppleTalk networks and Network Courier for PC networks.) |
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| Budapest | Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access 2005 | |||
| Catapult | Microsoft Proxy Server 1.0 | |||
| Cider | Visual Studio designer for building Windows Presentation Foundation Windows Presentation Foundation Developed by Microsoft, the Windows Presentation Foundation is a computer-software graphical subsystem for rendering user interfaces in Windows-based applications. WPF, previously known as "Avalon", was initially released as part of .NET Framework 3.0. Rather than relying on the older GDI... applications. Meant to be used by application developers. |
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| Cirrus | Access 1.0 | |||
| Concur | Aims to: define higher-level abstractions (above "threads and locks"); for today’s imperative languages; that evenly support the range of concurrency granularities; to let developers write correct and efficient concurrent applications; with lots of latent parallelism; that can be efficiently mapped to the user’s. | |||
| CRM V1.0, Tsunami | Microsoft CRM version 1.0 | The platform was initially code named Tsunami, but once the decision was made to make it an actual product it was just changed to the initials as the initials were enough of a code name. | ||
| D | M M (programming language) M is a programming language developed by Microsoft. The language is designed specifically for building textual domain-specific languages and software models with XAML.... |
Modelling language | ||
| Dallas | Easily discover, purchase, and manage premium data subscriptions in the Windows Azure platform. | |||
| Darwin | Microsoft Installer | Windows Installer Windows Installer The Windows Installer is a software component used for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems... |
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| Danube Phase I | Microsoft CRM version 1.2 | |||
| Danube Phase II | Microsoft CRM version 3 | |||
| Deco | Microsoft PhotoDraw Microsoft PhotoDraw Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 is a vector graphics and raster imaging software package developed by Microsoft. PhotoDraw fills a hole in the Office productivity suite, which includes software programs for word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and alike, but lacks a capable image creation and... |
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| Dorado | Zune PC Client | |||
| Dryad | A Microsoft Research Microsoft Research Microsoft Research is the research division of Microsoft created in 1991 for developing various computer science ideas and integrating them into Microsoft products. It currently employs Turing Award winners C.A.R. Hoare, Butler Lampson, and Charles P... project which aims to design a platform to make developing applications for large-scale distributed computing easier. |
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| Godot | Microsoft Layer for Unicode Microsoft Layer for Unicode Microsoft Layer for Unicode is a software library for Windows software developers to simplify creating Unicode-aware applications for Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me... |
Named after the play Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's... (centered around the failure of a man named "Godot" to appear and the endless wait for him), because it was felt to be long overdue. |
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| Greenwich | Real-Time Communications Server 2003 | Microsoft Office Live Communications Server Microsoft Office Live Communications Server Microsoft Lync Server is an enterprise real-time communications server, providing the infrastructure for enterprise instant messaging, presence, file transfer, peer-to-peer and multiparty voice and video calling, ad hoc and structured conferences and, through a 3rd party gateway or SIP trunk, PSTN... 2003 |
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| Indigo | Windows Communication Foundation Windows Communication Foundation The Windows Communication Foundation , previously known as "Indigo", is an application programming interface in the .NET Framework for building connected, service-oriented applications.-The architectures:... |
An application programming interface (API) in the .NET Framework for building connected, service-oriented applications | ||
| Istanbul | Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 Microsoft Lync and Microsoft Lync for Mac are instant messaging clients used with Microsoft Lync Server or Lync Online available with Microsoft Office 365 and Live@Edu... |
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| Clarity | LINQ | Language Integrated Query Language Integrated Query Language Integrated Query is a Microsoft .NET Framework component that adds native data querying capabilities to .NET languages, although ports exist for Java, PHP and JavaScript.... Language extensions to expose query syntax natively to languages such as Visual Basic .NET Visual Basic .NET Visual Basic .NET , is an object-oriented computer programming language that can be viewed as an evolution of the classic Visual Basic , which is implemented on the .NET Framework... and C# |
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| Maestro | Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005. | |||
| Media2Go | Windows Mobile software for Portable Media Center Portable Media Center Portable Media Center is a defunct hard drive-based portable media player platform developed by Microsoft. Announced at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show , and released in early 2004, it was originally positioned as a competitor to Apple's iPod.The platform was conceived in line with Microsoft's... s |
Platform built on Windows Mobile Windows Mobile Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is... found on portable media player Portable media player A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio... s. |
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| Metro | XML Paper Specification XML Paper Specification Open XML Paper Specification , is an open specification for a page description language and a fixed-document format originally developed by Microsoft as XML Paper Specification that was later standardized by Ecma International as international standard ECMA-388... (XPS) |
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| Milan | Microsoft Surface Microsoft Surface Microsoft Surface is a multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of gesture recognition. This could involve the motion of hands or physical objects. It was... |
Table-top style computer with multi-touch touchscreen interface. | ||
| Mira | Windows CE .NET-based technology for smart display Smart Display In computing, Smart Display was a Microsoft initiative to use a portable touchscreen LCD monitor as a thin client for PCs, connecting via Wi-Fi.... s. |
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| Monaco | Music-making program similar to Apple's GarageBand GarageBand GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:... application |
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| Monad | MSH, Microsoft Shell | Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell is Microsoft's task automation framework, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on top of, and integrated with the .NET Framework... |
Monads, according to philosopher Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German .... 's monadology Monadology The Monadology is one of Gottfried Leibniz’s best known works representing his later philosophy. It is a short text which sketches in some 90 paragraphs a metaphysics of simple substances, or monads.- Text :... , are the ultimate elements of the universe, individual percipient beings, and MSH is similarly composed of small, individual modules the user puts in interrelation. |
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| Morro | Microsoft Security Essentials | MSE was codenamed after the Morro de São Paulo Morro de São Paulo Morro de São Paulo is one of 5 villages of the island Tinharé in Bahia, Brazil, 272 km from the city of Salvador by route and 60 km by sea... beach in Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... . |
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| Origami | Ultra-Mobile PC Ultra-Mobile PC An ultra-mobile PC is a small form factor version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this direction in 2004 with its Vaio U series, which was however only sold in Asia... |
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| Omega | JET Engine | ISAM database engine used in Microsoft Access Microsoft Access Microsoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of... , a desktop database management system. |
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| Opus | Word for Windows Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,... |
Word for Windows 1.0 for Windows 2.x, named after the penguin in the comic strip Opus Opus (comic strip) Opus was a Sunday strip drawn by Berkeley Breathed for a period of five years, 2003 to 2008. It was Breathed's fourth comic strip, following The Academia Waltz, Bloom County and Outland.... . |
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| Palladium | Trusted Windows | Effort to develop a small, very secure operating environment within Windows, including curtained memory, trusted input, and graphics. Project renamed to Next-Generation Secure Computing Base, and was never fully implemented. | ||
| Pinball | High Performance File System | Implemented as an Installable File System when IBM and Microsoft were co developing OS/2. | ||
| Volta | C# to JavaScript compiler. | |||
| Softsled | Software based Media Center Extender Windows Media Center Extender Windows Media Center Extenders are devices that are configured to connect via a Network link to a computer running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium/Ultimate or Windows 7 Home Premium or higher to stream the computer's media center functions to the Extender device... . |
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| Springfield | Microsoft Popfly Microsoft Popfly Microsoft Popfly was a Web site that allowed users to create web pages, program snippets, and mashups using the Microsoft Silverlight rich internet applications runtime and the set of online tools provided... |
Website in Alpha testing stage providing mashup and webpages creation tools, with publishing as Rich Internet Application Rich Internet application A Rich Internet Application is a Web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered either by way of a site-specific browser, via a browser plug-in, independent sandboxes, extensive use of JavaScript, or virtual machines... option. |
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| Tahiti | Supposedly a family of multi-core technologies including an operating system, applications and development tools designed to make better use of today's multi-core CPUs. It is believed that Midori Midori (operating system) Midori is the code name for a managed code operating system being developed by Microsoft Research. It has been reported to be a possible commercial implementation of the Singularity operating system, a research project started in 2003 to build a highly-dependable operating system in which the... may be a part of this suite of new Microsoft technologies. |
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| Tahiti | Microsoft SharedView | A screen sharing tool which allows users to take over sessions and interact with remote desktops. No audio or conference facilities. | ||
| Tahoe | Sharepoint Portal Server 2001. | |||
| Titan, Kilimanjaro | Microsoft CRM version 4 | Was originally Kilimanjaro but changed to Titan as Kilimanjaro was too difficult to spell. | ||
| Jakarta | Visual J++ Visual J++ Visual J++ was Microsoft's specific implementation of Java. Syntax, keywords, and grammatical conventions were the same as Java's. Microsoft discontinued support of J++ in January 2004, replacing it to a certain extent with J# and C#.... |
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| Jasper | “Jasper” provides a programming interface to your data that is well-suited to rapid development. When a Jasper program runs, Jasper connects to the database, determines the database schema, and generates corresponding data classes. This generation step does not result in source files; the data classes are compiled in-memory and available for use within the running program. | |||
| Jolt | Silverlight 1.0 | |||
| Paxos | Silverlight 1.1 | |||
| Wolverine | TCP/IP Stack for WfW 3.11 | Named after the Wolverine the character from Marvel Comics. | ||
| Oslo | set of SOA - technologies | http://www.microsoft.com/soa/products/oslo.aspx | ||
| Velocity | Distributed Caching for .NET | |||
| Zurich | Azure | Microsoft's Cloud platform (See Azure Services Platform) | ||
| Metro | Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market... user interface User interface The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the... , largely based on Zune HD Zune HD The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009 by Microsoft. It is a direct competitor with the Apple iPod and iPhone series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A 64 GB version was released on April 9, 2010... |
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| Mango | Windows phone 7.5 | Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market... , largely based on Zune HD Zune HD The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009 by Microsoft. It is a direct competitor with the Apple iPod and iPhone series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A 64 GB version was released on April 9, 2010... |