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Windows Neptune was a test version of Microsoft Windows that was in development from early 1999 to early 2000. After the release of Windows 2000, the Neptune team was combined with the Windows 2000 team to work on Whistler, later released in the fourth quarter of 2001 as Windows XP, and Microsoft released another home user DOS-based operating system called Windows Me.

There are two known builds of Windows Neptune - Build 5000, and Build 5111 which was available publicly for a short period of time. Build 5111 still exists on the Internet today, as well as screenshots of Build 5000.

Scope of the project

The project was planned to be released as the successor to Windows 2000, and the first Windows NT versions to have a consumer edition as well, thus merging the Windows 9x and NT lines. The version of the project was 5.5. There was one service pack planned for it, codenamed Triton. Internally, the project's name was capitalized as NepTune.

Editions

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Windows Neptune, being the successor to Windows 2000, retained its editions, going from Professional to the various Server ones. However, it also added a Consumer Edition, and was the first NT-class Windows version to have a consumer version. There was minimal difference between the Professional, and the Consumer Edition, at least as far, as the known Builds are concerned, though Activity Centers were the new user interface being developed for the Consumer Edition, but not also for the other editions.

Builds

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Earlier Builds, 5.50.5000

These Builds had a logo which closely resembled that of Windows 2000. They were very primitive, and basically equivalent to Windows 2000, with the Consumer Edition being equivalent to a stripped-down Professional version. However, the activity centers worked without problems, at least partially.

The Build expired on June 3rd, 2001, at 1:39 PM.

5.50.5111

This Build is publicly available, and has a logo, which differs wildly from that of 5.50.5000. Namely, the logo has a half Windows flag in a multi-colored gradient, and saying "Windows Neptune". The activity centers are disabled, although there is an unofficial patch in development to reenable them. Compatibility with Windows 2000 is limited, at least in the Personal edition (publicly available), although DirectX has been reported to work with it with no problems.

The Build expired on October 31st, 2001, at 2:51 PM.

Post-5111 development

After build 5111 the project was ultimately merged into Windows XP, then codenamed Whistler, because its team was combined with the Whistler team, and subsequently released in 2002. Its successor, Odyssey, was also merged into Whistler. Due to the fact that some builds of Whistler contained system files with version numbers higher than 5.50.5111, there's some speculation regarding the possibility that there were some post-5111 builds.

Features

Some of the changes introduced in the Neptune build, such as the firewall, were later integrated into Windows XP as the Windows Firewall. It experimented with a UI called the Activity Center for task centered operation. However, in Build 5111, it is not automatically shown.

References

1. Christopher Jones (2002). "Written Direct Testimony of Christopher Jones". State of New York v. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 2006-01-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
2. Paul Thurrott. "Windows Millennium Edition ("Windows Me") FAQ". Windows SuperSite. Retrieved 2006-01-07.
3. http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_gold.asp
4. Microsoft vs. DOJ, 2002

External links

• German page about Neptune
• Windows Neptune Screenshot Gallery at NeoSmart Technologies
• Neptune: The Windows that wasn't on Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows.

• Microsoft Windows