Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Services for Windows 2000

Microsoft Corporation:(Directory Listing)

Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Services for Windows 20002/15With the release of Windows 2000, Microsoft announced its Windows Media Services (http://www.microsoft.com) for the soon-to-be released operating system.

So, what's new in the Windows Media Services for Windows 2000 Server?Essentially it's the scalability issue. As proof of an improvement, Microsoft says they can provide up to 9,000 concurrent video streams on a single server. But whether customers are switching en masse to Windows 2000 is another story.

The biggest reason why companies switch to Microsoft, is that Windows Media doesn't charge per-stream licensing like RealNetworks does. Windows Media services come free, included into the price into the operating system. Another reason cited, is that Windows Media integrates well with the Microsoft Office family.

"Customers moving to Windows 2000 are now discovering that Windows Media Services offers the best platform for enterprise streaming," said Jim Allchin, group vice president, Platforms Group, Microsoft. To back up their claims, Microsoft said that J.D. Edwards and SAS Institute have recently switched to Windows Media from RealNetworks.

Microsoft cites other example of a company moving to Windows 2000 streaming. Creative Arts Agency (CAA) uses it to broadcast video over its network. That means the agents can sit back and view their client's television shows or videos without having to use videotapes or turn on their TV sets.

"Integrating digital media into our offices allows us to better manage ourclient relationships and be more effective in our business," said MichaelKeithley, CIO of Creative Artists Agency. "Windows Media gives CAA acomplete, reliable and cost-effective software infrastructure."

The Windows 2000 family of operating systems will be publicly available on February 17th.