Editing Windows Neptune

{{Short description|Cancelled Microsoft product}}
{{Self-published sources|date=April 2023}}<!-- namely BetaArchive, The Collection Book, and YouTube -->
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox OS
| name = Windows Neptune
| logo = File:Windows Neptune logo.svg
| logo caption = 
| screenshot = File:Windows Neptune.png
| caption = Neptune build 5111's desktop
| version of = [[Windows NT]]
| developer = Microsoft
| working state = Historic, never released
| license = [[Non-disclosure agreement]]<ref name=gold />
| website = <!--Does not have a website-->
| logo_size = 206px<!--Native size, supplied to prevent distortion -->
| preview_version = 5.00.5111 (kernel reports)<br>5.50.5111 (version in many files)
| preview_date = {{start date and age|1999|12|27}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thurrott|first1=Paul|title=The Road to Gold: The development of Windows XP Reviewed|url=http://winsupersite.com/article/product-review/the-road-to-gold-the-development-of-windows-xp-reviewed|website=SuperSite for Windows|publisher=[[Penton Media]]|access-date=12 August 2014|date=6 October 2010}}</ref>
| source_model = <!--No one knows-->
| kernel_type = [[Windows NT]]
| marketing target = Consumer
| support_status = Cancelled
}}<!-- approximate date of template insertion for dating hidden maintenance categories -->
__NOTOC__
'''Neptune''' was the [[codename]] for a version of [[Microsoft Windows]] under development in 1999. Based on [[Windows 2000]], it was originally to replace the [[Windows 9x]] series<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,2072502,00.htm|title=Neptune - the new Windows|date=July 5, 1999|work=[[ZDNet]]|url-status=live|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080725000000/http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,2072502,00.htm|archive-date=25 July 2008|access-date=2010-01-07}} [https://www.zdnet.com/article/neptune-the-new-windows/ Alt URL]</ref> and was scheduled to be the first home consumer-oriented version of Windows built on [[Windows NT]] code. Internally, the project's name was capitalized as '''N'''ep'''T'''une.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/7000/PX07297.pdf |title=Platforms Group - Desktop Three-Year Outlook |work=Microsoft Corporation |date=February 1998 |access-date=2010-01-08}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Windows_Neptune_login_screen.png|thumb|Neptune login screen]]
Neptune largely resembled [[Windows 2000]], but some new features were introduced. Neptune included a logon screen similar to that later used in [[Windows XP]].<ref name="gold" /> A [[firewall (networking)|firewall]] new to Neptune was later integrated into Windows XP as the [[Windows Firewall]]. Neptune also experimented with a new [[HTML]] and [[Win32]]-based user interface originally intended for [[Windows Me]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://winsupersite.com/article/windows-95/activity-centers-a-windows-me-technology-showcase-127979 |title=Activity Centers: A Windows Me Technology Showcase |work=winsupersite.com|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710054008/http://winsupersite.com/article/windows-95/activity-centers-a-windows-me-technology-showcase-127979 |archive-date=10 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://winsupersite.com/article/windows-xp2/activity-centers-preview-a-windows-2000-technology-showcase-127613 |title=Activity Centers Preview |work=winsupersite.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722143332/http://winsupersite.com/article/windows-xp2/activity-centers-preview-a-windows-2000-technology-showcase-127613 |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> called Activity Centers, for task-centered operations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft-Cancels-Neptune-Readies-Whistler/948780419 |title=Microsoft Cancels Neptune, Readies 'Whistler' |date=January 25, 2000 |work=betanews |access-date=2010-01-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://winsupersite.com/windows/supersite-flashback-neptune|title=SuperSite Flashback: Neptune|work=winsupersite.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809034605/http://winsupersite.com/windows/supersite-flashback-neptune|archive-date=9 August 2013}}</ref>

Only one [[Alpha test|alpha]] build of Neptune, 5111, was released to [[Software testing|testers]] under a [[non-disclosure agreement]],<ref name=gold>{{cite web |url=http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_gold.asp |title=Windows XP: The Road to Gold |first=Paul |last=Thurrott |work=SuperSite for Windows |access-date=2010-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124020419/http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_gold.asp |archive-date=2007-01-24 }}</ref> and later made its way to various beta collectors' sites and virtual museums in 2000.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100913223446/http://www.theopenbracket.net/?p=25 The Windows that Never Was…] at theopenbracket.net</ref><ref>[http://www.digibarn.com/collections/screenshots/XP%20Neptune%20Build%205111/index.htm DigiBarn Screen Shots: Windows XP Neptune Build 5111] DigiBarn Computer Museum</ref> Other builds of Neptune are known to exist due to information in beta builds of [[Windows Me]] and [[Windows XP]]. In November 2015, a build 5111.6 disk was shown in a [[Channel 9 (Microsoft)|Microsoft Channel 9]] video; version 5111 was the last build of Neptune that was sent to external testers, as the .1 or .6 after the build number stood for variant, not for compile. It is the only build of Neptune that made its way to the public. Build 5111 included Activity Centers -  a new task-based user interface that featured individual "pages" focusing on daily tasks with facilities that include (but are not limited to) browsing the Internet, communication, document management and entertainment. User management was also improved in Neptune with the introduction of several new user types as well as a dedicated full-screen user interface. The new interfaces were primarily implemented using Internet Explorer's web technology, often using the then-new Mars framework. A key focus of the Neptune project was to experiment with user experiences that did not require manually saving previous work; some of this effort is visible in the only available build, which enables hibernation by default and requires the user to take extra steps to fully shut down the device. The Activity Centers could be installed by copying ACCORE.DLL from the installation disk to the hard drive and then running [[regsvr32]] on ACCORE.DLL.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.betaarchive.com/wiki/index.php?title=Windows_Neptune/5.5.5111.1|title=Windows Neptune/5.5.5111.1|work=betaarchive.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecollectionbook.info/builds/windows/build/220#fixes|title=Builds • The Collection Book|author=Rob Jansen|work=thecollectionbook.info}}</ref> The centers contained traces of [[Windows Me]], then code-named Millennium,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/WindowsMilleniumActivityCenters]{{dead link|date=March 2020}}</ref> but were broken due to [[JavaScript]] errors, missing links and executables to the Game, Photo, and Music Centers. In response, some Windows enthusiasts have spent years fixing Activity Centers in build 5111 close to what Microsoft intended.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=3189|title=View topic - Neptune's Activity Center... - BetaArchive|work=betaarchive.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725170822/http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=3189|archive-date=25 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8vcUdUhUnQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709195004/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8vcUdUhUnQ|archive-date=2015-07-09|title=Activity Center ACCORE.DLL Partial Fix.|date=13 June 2014|work=YouTube}}</ref>

In early 2000, Microsoft merged the team working on Neptune with that developing [[Windows Odyssey|Odyssey]], the successor to Windows 2000 for business customers. The combined team worked on a new project codenamed ''Whistler'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/01/27/ms.whistler.idg/index.html |title=Microsoft combines Neptune, Odyssey into Whistler |work=[[CNN]] |date=January 27, 2000 |access-date=2010-01-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901024005/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/01/27/ms.whistler.idg/index.html |archive-date=September 1, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="zdnetasia">{{cite web|url=http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/hardware/0,39042972,13024681,00.htm|title=Microsoft consolidates Windows development efforts|date=January 25, 2000|work=[[ZDNet]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314032531/http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/hardware/0,39042972,13024681,00.htm|archive-date=14 March 2012|access-date=2010-01-06}}</ref> which was released at the end of 2001 as [[Windows XP]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/90/windows_xp_preview/index.html |title=Windows XP Preview |work=TweakTown |date=August 21, 2001 |access-date=2010-01-06 |archive-date=2009-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805085554/http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/90/windows_xp_preview/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legal/jones.mspx|title=Written Direct Testimony of Christopher Jones|author=Christopher Jones|date=April 2002|work=State of New York v. Microsoft Corporation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023215342/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legal/jones.mspx|archive-date=23 October 2007|access-date=2006-01-07}}</ref> In the meantime, Microsoft released Windows Me in 2000 as their final 9x series installment.<ref name="zdnetasia" /> Early development builds of Whistler feature an improved version of the [[logon screen]] found in Neptune build 5111.

== Triton ==
[[File:Service Pack Calendar of Microsoft Windows Versions.png|thumb|Internal [[Microsoft]] calendar of service pack release dates for Neptune, NT 5.0, and Triton]]
Neptune was intended to have a successor named '''Triton''', which was to be a minor update with very few user interface changes; service packs were additionally planned for it.<ref name=Thurrott>{{cite web | last=Thurrott | first=Paul | date=August 22, 2019 | url=https://www.thurrott.com/dev/212797/programming-windows-more-roads-not-taken | title=Programming Windows: More Roads Not Taken | publisher=Thurrott | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022095401/https://www.thurrott.com/dev/212797/programming-windows-more-roads-not-taken | archivedate=October 22, 2020}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="CONFIDENTIAL">{{cite web | url=https://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/7000/PX07297.pdf | title=Platforms Group-Desktop Three-Year Outlook February 1998 |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> Triton was slated for a spring 2002 release (coinciding with Microsoft's final [[fiscal quarter]] of 2001). Triton was devised back in 1998 alongside Neptune; the only details of it within Microsoft's internal planning documentation that year relate to a deadline for added hardware support by December 2001.<ref name=Thurrott />

According to Paul Thurrott, the timeline of releases was to be Windows NT 5.0 (the former name for Windows 2000) for high-end workstations and [[Windows 98]] for entry-level and mid-range PCs from 1998 to 1999, followed by Neptune in 2000 and 2001 for both workstations and consumer PCs, followed by Triton for the same target audience.<ref name=Thurrott /> However, according to [[Charlie Kindel]], Triton was to be a version of Neptune centered on [[home server]] usage.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kindel | first=Charlie | author-link=Charlie Kindel | date=August 8, 2011 | url=https://ceklog.kindel.com/2011/08/08/after-21-years-goodbye-microsoft/ | title=After 21 Years: Goodbye Microsoft | work=Kindel.com | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809174852/https://ceklog.kindel.com/2011/08/08/after-21-years-goodbye-microsoft/ | archivedate=August 9, 2011}}</ref>

The project's codename refers to Neptune's largest moon, [[Triton (moon)|Triton]].

==Legacy==
The touch-oriented [[Metro (design language)|Metro]] design language introduced as part of [[Windows 8]], released in 2012, shared a large number of common goals with the Neptune project, including the unimplemented Activity Centers' focus on typography as well as dedicated full-screen applications for common tasks. In addition, Windows 8 introduced hybrid boot, a functionality that takes advantage of hibernation to capture the initial states of necessary system applications and boot drivers, largely similar in principle to the Boot Accelerator feature that would have been included as part of Neptune.

== See also ==
*[[List of Microsoft codenames]]
*[[Development of Windows XP]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{History of Windows}}

[[Category:Microsoft Windows|Neptune]]