Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles) is readying a slimmed-down version of Windows XP for users who want to upgrade their Windows operating systems but not their PCs.
The software, code-named Eiger, will be based on Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 and is designed for server-centric computing environments. It can run on a system with a Pentium II processor, 128MB of RAM and a 500MB hard drive, said Barry Goffe, a group product manager at Microsoft.
Microsoft has not yet decided when it will ship Eiger. The company plans to have a first beta test version ready later this year, and a technical preview version is being sent to a very small number of customers this week, Goffe said. Pricing has yet to be determined.